Judging the Contest

I have just had an email from some women asking me to convince her that the contest in Birmingham was not fixed as she had heard that Gordon Hendricks was going to win it some months ago!
Frankly I'm sick and tired of all this.
By saying they thought it was fixed they are saying that all the judges and organisers are corrupt and dishonest - I don't take too kindly to that.
I worked bloody hard to ensure that the judging was fair, I know the other judges did the same.
We didn't get paid to do this, in fact it cost me over £200 (I know that's not as much as you spent Garry but we did have our own swimming costumes)
I suffered a migrane headache all day on Saturday - a direct result of intense concentration to make sure everyone had a fair chance in the heats.
Without judges - this whole thing would not take place - if the judges have this sort of flak then no one will do it - then no contest!
Sorry - thought I would just get that off of my chest!
Neil J Duncan
PS - to add insult to injury this stupid ill-informed woman called me a former ETA!!!

Haha. Told you the rumour was rife!

Take it easy and enjoy your retirement, you former eta you!

personally , Fix or not Gordon totally deserved it , superb look , superb vocals , superb performance , i do not think for one minute there was any thing corrupt going on , and i for one was pleased when the judges were announced , don't listen to this cods wallop Neil

EDDIE P wrote:

personally , Fix or not Gordon totally deserved it , superb look , superb vocals , superb performance , i do not think for one minute there was any thing corrupt going on , and i for one was pleased when the judges were announced , don't listen to this cods wallop Neil

Quote :

personally , Fix or not

It wasn't fixed and i'm with Neil on this one getting sick of hearing it now !

pauldb38 wrote:

EDDIE P wrote:

personally , Fix or not Gordon totally deserved it , superb look , superb vocals , superb performance , i do not think for one minute there was any thing corrupt going on , and i for one was pleased when the judges were announced , don't listen to this cods wallop Neil

Quote :

personally , Fix or not

It wasn't fixed and i'm with Neil on this one getting sick of hearing it now !

i was actually defending you Paul , i said it was not a fix and that Gordon won it fair and square because he was the best over the weekend in my opinion , i was just saying that if it was a fix ( which it was NOT ) that nobody could argue anyway because Gordon was the best

EDDIE P wrote:

pauldb38 wrote:

EDDIE P wrote:

personally , Fix or not Gordon totally deserved it , superb look , superb vocals , superb performance , i do not think for one minute there was any thing corrupt going on , and i for one was pleased when the judges were announced , don't listen to this cods wallop Neil

Quote :

personally , Fix or not

It wasn't fixed and i'm with Neil on this one getting sick of hearing it now !

i was actually defending you Paul , i said it was not a fix and that Gordon won it fair and square because he was the best over the weekend in my opinion , i was just saying that if it was a fix ( which it was NOT ) that nobody could argue anyway because Gordon was the best

and i am saying not only to Neil but to you as well not to listen to this rubbish , please don't imply that i am saying that teh event was fixed , because i definately and will say it again DEFINATELY AM NOT

It saddens me to hear this and can only put it down to sour grapes or narrow minded people. There may well have been rumours going around who was going to win but that was just purely speculation. I will acknowledge that it didnt help matters with a prominent figure at the competition telling everyone that Gordon Hendricks was going to win as soon as people started arriving on the Thursday, but that's all it could have been, speculation.

What on earth would the organisers have to gain out of fixing the competion? and why would the Judges risk their reputations, integraty and standing within the ETA/Elvis world for such a thing.

The competition has gone from strength to strength each year and is now a firm date in the Elvis calender. I thought the Judging was excellant and as I have said beofre, would whole heartadly support all the judges standing again.

It would be such a shame if they would not consider standing again should they be asked due to the acidic acusations from a group of ignorant people.

I know this is slightly off the subject but once you read this youl know why
My Wife is a European Championship Highland dancer.
we was at a Competition in Oban and there was a piece of paper circulating around the crowd that a judge had dropped it and it had 1st 2nd and 3rd place winners on the list.

Although this judge with in the hour was dropped from the judges pannel she insisted it was just her predictions before hand.

Turns out she wasnt far off her predictions.
WHat am getting at is i dont see there is anything wrong with folk saying they thought Gordon was gonna win My predictions was Johnny lee memphis and Malcom king but JLM pulled out to do a showcase instead so i was way off lol

but you are always gonna get folk predicting winners and trying convince folk after all its a competition!Now i wasnt there so i can not comment on who is and wasnt a worthy winner but ive seen a few Videos of Gordon and i think he has a fantastic look and Voice.
Well done to him

Rossvegas wrote:

My predictions was Johnny lee memphis and Malcolm King

no Scottish bias there then....lol

nawwwww lol

Many thanks for the supportive replies.
I'm sure I speak for the other judges in saying that we are not seeking acolades for judging the contest but we are equally insulted by suggestions that we were able, somehow, to fix the results!
I have spend time sending a quite detailed and lengthy reply to this lady...guess what - she hasn't had the decency to reply or at the very least acknowledge it!
Ah well...as they say...we're not packing parachutes!
On a personal note I have just done two shows on Thursday and Friday night.
Being a judge and watching very closely the performances of 104 ETA's has most definately helped me in my own performance.
Even though I have been doing this for over 20 years, it's never too late to learn and improve.
Although there are only 3 winners on paper, every ETA that goes to the contest should be able to come away with something from the experience. To be able to improve your own show is just as valuable as any other prize!
Onwards and upwards!
Neil J Duncan.

PS - I did manage to get quite a few good shots of contestants so if you were in the contestprivate message me and I will email them to you.

Ive only been to one competition and it was a Nightmare my CD wouldnt play lol

and when it did start it was the wrong song hehe

so i guess my next competition couldnt get any worse lol

jasper wrote:

It saddens me to hear this and can only put it down to sour grapes or narrow minded people. There may well have been rumours going around who was going to win but that was just purely speculation. I will acknowledge that it didnt help matters with a prominent figure at the competition telling everyone that Gordon Hendricks was going to win as soon as people started arriving on the Thursday, but that's all it could have been, speculation.

What on earth would the organisers have to gain out of fixing the competion? and why would the Judges risk their reputations, integraty and standing within the ETA/Elvis world for such a thing.

The competition has gone from strength to strength each year and is now a firm date in the Elvis calender. I thought the Judging was excellant and as I have said beofre, would whole heartadly support all the judges standing again.

It would be such a shame if they would not consider standing again should they be asked due to the acidic acusations from a group of ignorant people.

I don't think it is a case of people being narrow minded, Jasper. Speculation...possibly?...but the information came from someone with inside knowledge. Like I said, earlier, I would need more evidence to believe it. ..like a poster created last month to promote his up and coming tour, declaring him winner, something similar to Ross' experience. The lady that Neil is referring to has been going to the comps for years, and is not naive at all, just misinformed, like many of us were, including me

Of course the questions need to be asked...and answered! It keeps judges and organisers on their toes, and if we showed total apathy, then it could be open to corruption. Remember that a lot of money changes hands in these comps. We all want the winner to be worthy of the title...Gordon deserved to win, and did.

In the past, the judging has not been transparent, apparently, and could easily have been fixed. I do not think this is the case this year. The judging was transparent, and the judges for the most part have shown a great deal of integrity. They have explained the issues, the system involved, and shared the criteria in detail.

It won't be a case of sour grapes either, as she is not close friends with any of the etas in the comp. I have been accused sour grapes as I am a friend to someone who didn't get through to the final. He is so much better than a lot of the guys that did make the final. It doesn't mean the judges cheated, it just meant they are not as good as me at deciding who sounds like Elvis and who doesn't.! The eta concerned was very philosophical and magnaminous about it, so no, there is no sour grapes on my behalf, though I was gutted for him, cos I know how hard he works at it, and the technical problems really threw him....but he'll be prepared for that next year. Hey ho! C'est la vie!