News / Stories

AMCA Joins Forces with AACA Judging

Keith Kizer | Published on 2/18/2025

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN
From the AMCA Home Page, Go to the National Event Page and look for AACA Charlotte Event

Members wanting to have their motorcycles judged have always been limited by the location of National Meets. This drastically limits the ability of everyone West of the Great Plains to participate in judging.

Those who live on the far West Coast have only one opportunity a year to have a motorcycle judge. If you live in Los Angeles, it’s over 400 miles away. For our members in Washington State, its over 750 miles away.

In comparison, on the East Coast, if you are in Washington, DC, there are seven National Meets in the same footprint. For members in Texas, the closest AMCA National Meet is over 900 miles.

So, how do we give half the country the opportunity to have a motorcycle judged? The solution came from the CEO of The Antique Automobile Club of America, Steve Moskowitz. He and I were conversing at their Hershey National Meet in October of 2023. For those of you who do not know anything about this event, well, It’s the biggest swap meet and car show in the world. They have 10,000 vendor spaces with 1,000 cars (a dozen motorcycles) on the judging field. It’s a week-long event that has been going on since 1955. This year, they will celebrate their 70th Anniversary at Hershey.

Only 1% of their 1000 entries are motorcycles? Okay, it is the Automobile Club, so understandable. So, Steve’s suggestion was twofold. He was offering an opportunity to elevate their 1%, but more importantly, he presented a situation where we could also conduct AMCA judging at selected car nationals.

How will this work, you ask? AACA Nationals conduct judging on Saturday. We will conduct AMCA Judging on Friday, completely separate from the cars. To sweeten the pot, Steve offered to give any AMCA member who was willing to participate in both the AMCA judging and AACA judging a free AACA membership if they were not already an AACA member.

Let me tease you with the main reason for participating in AACA judging. THERE AWARDS and awards ceremony that is over the top. Below is a sampling of AACA Awards.

I belong to the AACA North Alabama Region, which hosted an AACA National Meet this past October. I had the honor of participating as the Trophy Coordinator. AACA shipped me a 600 lb pallet of trophies. The first award you receive by obtaining a modest score nets you a ten-pound metal award on a marble base for Junior First. It’s their biggest award. It makes an Oscar look like a wiener.

Although not required, a lot of the audience and all of the AACA officials are dawned in coat and tie. It’s a big deal. It is a must-attend event, even if you only attended once. But my guess is, it’s like a Lay’s potato chip, "betcha can't eat attend just one.”

The long-range plan is to attend events outside the normal area of AMCA Judging. But, to get our feet wet in a familiar area where we know we have members who have had bikes judged and ample judges, we will launch this experiment at the AACA’s Hornets Nest Region’s Southeastern Spring Nationals in Charlotte, NC, April 3-5.

Then, after the regular AMCA season is complete, we move out to the big State of Texas for the Gulf Coast Region’s Central Fall Nationals in Galveston, TX, October 22-25. This will give over 450 active Texans the opportunity to participate for the first time in AMCA Judging.

I hope I’ve energized the base to want to get involved in the judging opportunity, even if you have never had a bike judged. If so, AACA has strict registration deadlines. The reason is that judging teams are assigned to each vehicle prior to the event to ensure the best judges for your motorcycle. For the upcoming meet in Charlotte, the deadline to register is March 7.

To take Steve up on his offer for free membership, contact me at Kizer@AntiqueMotorcycle.org to get signed up for either event and obtain your free membership if needed.

Unlike AMCA, AACA National Events take place in different locations every year, with the exception of Charlotte and Hershey. This gives us a greater opportunity to offer more locations each year. We are starting with two events for 2025 and will determine future needs based on success. Please be a part of that success. See you at a car show soon.

PLEASE EMAIL KEITH KIZER TODAY if you have any interested in possibly attending either the Charlotte or Galveston Meet. We need to give the AACA a heads-up to order awards. Email: Kizer@AntiqueMotorcycle.org or call (256) 509-9095.

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