C&SC has been inundated with applications for our annual Club Awards, held in association with Lancaster Insurance at the Classic Motor Show on 12 November.
Among the early contenders are no less than three previous Club Magazine of the Year winners including the recipient of last year’s prize.
The Land-Rover Series One Club has submitted its bi-monthly Legend magazine in the hope that it will take the crown for a second year running while the popular, 6000-strong Mazda MX-5 Owners’ Club is hoping to again take home the silverware for its bi-monthly Soft Top Hardtop publication, three years after its club title won over the judges.
Admissions for the another hotly contested category: Best Club Website are flying in, too, with the Citroën Car Club’s effort (www.citroencarclub.org.uk) looking strong.
Also popular is C&SC’s Show/Event of the Year group with the MG Car Club’s global MG80 event – which featured 25,000-plus owners around the world celebrating the club’s birth 80 years ago and which took place in late 2010 – a prime candidate for top slot.
That doesn’t mean that they won’t face stiff opposition, particularly from the likes of the joint Jaguar clubs' efforts in arranging a Guinness World Record-setting track parade of 767 Jaguar E-types to mark the model’s golden anniversary during the Silverstone Classic in July this year.
There’s still time to go before entries close on 11 October, but other events that could well put up a fight for prime position are likely to include the 20-Ghost Club's epic London to Edinburgh Rolls-Royce centenary re-run (currently on the go) or the Mini Cooper Register’s Minis to the Borders tour around the UK in early September.
The awards take place at the end of the second day of the Classic Motor Show, which is held at the NEC, Birmingham from 11 to 13 November and – most importantly - they’re your chance to celebrate the great lengths your classic car club has gone to promote interest in the cars you are passionate about and the broader classic car hobby – so make sure your club committee is aware of the need to enter.
As a reminder, nominations can be made for the following categories:
NOMINATIONS NEEDED
• Club Personality of the Year (the person who has done the most for a model, marque or club over the past 12 months)
• Club of the Year
• Best Club Run/Rally
• Best Club Show/Event
• Club Magazine of the Year
• Most Improved Club Magazine
• Best Club Website
Plus, if your club has a stand at the Classic Motor Show, it will automatically be eligible for one (or more) of the following awards, to be decided at the Classic Motor Show:
• Best Club Stand (three awards, depending on stand size)
• Best Themed Club Stand
• Most Interesting Selection of Cars
• Car of the Show
• C&SC Special Award (for the car that captures the judges’ hearts)
Entries must be sent or emailed - with a confirmation from the club secretary and recent copies of club publications for the magazine categories - for the attention of David Evans at C&SC (david.e@haymarket.com).