This was my second BASH. I re-read the feeback from last year as a reminder of what might have influenced the changes for this year.
Upfront, the BASH was very kind to me this year. I entered contests solely for the fun and for pushing the limits of what I have done to this point. My purpose isn't a quest to win a prize, but that sure is a great outcome.
I was surprised at the few entries this year, and even more surprised that many of the SOYP pictures could have just as easily been entered in a contest. Mark James' summary above was interesting. I wonder if last year's influx of entries was a bit of an outlier. There were a bunch of people that seemed to have joined around the same time as I joined.
I liked the diversity of contests, but now I'm a little concerned that I entered some contests intended for a skill level that I've surpassed. I didn't see that any of the contests were dedicated to a skill level. The change from "Beginner," "Intermediate," and "Advanced" categories was discussed last year.
I thought the purpose of the "Kit Contest" was to have less emphasis on the blank and components and more on the fit and finish. I'm surprised that it didn't have more entries. That should have appealed to the most people because it didn't require anything other than a kit with at least one tube described as for a 3/8" hole an a blank.
I really liked the concept of the "Get It Done" contest. I was a little lucky because I had everything set up for the celtic knot because I did a demo for the MN IAP group. It wasn't a stretch to make an extra and reserve it for the contest without tipping my hand or showing it.
The "Simple Ballpoint" was another that should have appealed to anyone. I don't understand why there were not more entries.
The question of segmented or not, or having a separate contest for segmented, came up last year. I don't have a strong feeling either way, because I used a little segmenting in my entry. I feel that if somebody is going to use segmenting, then it adds a layer of exactness that needs to be considered in voting. A poorly structured, overdone, and ill-fitted segmented pen (not saying any were) is no better than an expertly executed "simple" ballpoint.
I was surprised at how few entries were in the Blank Creation contest. I wonder if people just figured that the "long hitters" would dominate, so chose not to participate. I don't think that should get in the way of entering (I did, and didn't have any grand illusions). Personally, I'd like to see Brooks, JohnU, Toni, Seamus, Simon, and a host of others square off. :biggrin: We'd probably end up with a poll of zero votes because everyone would be too stunned to manage anything other than drool on the keyboard.
Major thanks to D. Oliver, the plethora of Eds, the contest chairs, and the peanut gallery of chatterers that gave us good laughs. Without this enthusiasm I don't think the BASH would be as fun.
I enjoy the trivia and the puzzles. Don't change those. I wasn't into the wood ID contest last year, because I was typically not able to access the forum until the end of the day.
So that's the good. I can only think of one bad thing that seemed to temper early enthusiasm, but there's no need to re-hash that here. The only Ugly was the Ugly Pen contest, which was awesomely grotesque and funny.
I had a great time, and thank you all.
