March 2005

Below is a response that I received to my January column. It is from my friend Egil Thomassen, former Chairman of this commission. It follows:

While I was on the net your "Chairman's Chatter" was interesting. To answer a question: At the international Espana'04 show the aerophilatelic exhibits in the One Frame Class were judged by the Aerophilatelic Team. As far as I remember we gave credit to exhibits that could not be extended further than one frame. (Note: In Singapore they were judged by two separate teams who judged across all classes.)

At the FIP Congress in 2002, I raised a question whether the One Frame Class ought to be split into two sections, one for "professionals" i.e. exhibitors who previously had got a medal of a certain value at a FIP show, and one for "greenhorns" i.e. beginners. I think one of the US delegates replied that the mix had been no problem in USA. (Note: It is no problem for the seasoned exhibitor!)

I understand that the idea of the One Frame Class is double. Both a way to support collectors to start exhibiting and also let "small fields," not able to fill more than one frame, be exhibited. But is it necessary to let them compete in the same section? I remember similar attempts to promote exhibiting being "killed" because "heavy" exhibitors dominated the stage and won all the prizes.

Kind regards,
Egil

I need to hear from more of you. This matter of “what is a one frame exhibit?” and “how do we judge an aerophilatelic one frame exhibit?” is an important one. Please feel free to give us your views.

Respond to me by e-mail at sreinhard1@optonline.net. I will use some, and perhaps all, responses in a future “Chairman’s Chatter.”