SATURDAY:

On Saturday morning some of the last judging was completed followed by the post processing of the results. Some arbitrary judging was required in cases of discrepancies but this was only required in twenty instances as the majority was on par. Unfortunately the public attendance was not as high as experienced in previous years at some of the other Conventions. No fault of the hosts as the event was properly advertised in the media, commercial radio and the Internet. During the morning John Weidemann from IPMS Cape Peninsula presented various clinics on advanced scale model techniques. Some members took the opportunity to gather some last minute information on the various exhibits located throughout the area. The actual Armour Museum building which host a number of interesting items like early night vision equipment, various uniforms and the ZT3 anti tank missile system amongst others, were open to the public and the visitors. Throughout the Museum various scale models were on display to illustrate the armour concept in warfare. All the scale models were constructed by member of IPMS Free State. Staged throughout the day were various re-enactments which saw the local members dress up in various uniforms from the WW II area. Throughout the weekend a number of Warhammer games were also staged in the Sahara hall.

Dress up for the re-enactments.	Warhammer

AGM:

The AGM commenced at 15h00 with Colin Burgess the current Chairman opening the proceedings. It was very well attended by all visitors in the “Big Willie” hall. Various proposals were discussed to ease the judging process and the feasibility to use different competition formats but none was accepted. It was however agreed the actual problem is the need for more trained judges in order to have a large group of judges available at scale model exhibits. It was proposed to look into the Judging Clinics started as part of the Africa Militaire, in order to have the info of the clinic available at branch level. This will be the responsibility of the newly elected committee. The establishment of the various SIGs over the last few months were welcomed. This was followed by a report on the IPMS SA Website.

The election of the new committee saw Marc Cilliers from IPMS Cape Peninsula elected as new Chairman. Treasurer has already been appointed due to the resignation of Allistair Johnstone to pursue other interests. As from the last two months the post of the R5 coin counter rests on the shoulders of Murray Baxter from IPMS Cape Peninsula. In his address Murray Baxter raised the issue of,   not all the National Subs have been paid over to the National fund. The question was raised what the National subs were actually used for. It was however pointed out that the members do not have a problem with the fund but would like to know what the money is used for. The current Chairman, Colin Burgess explained how the money is used to serve as a initial “kick-off” fund to assist the hosting club with staging the next IPMS SA National Convention. This fund is absolutely critical to ensure the hosting of the next Convention. If your club has not paid the subs over please do so in due course. Even if you did not attend the Nats your contribution is used to further the hobby in SA as the Convention in actual fact is a showcase for what the hobby means to our members in South Africa. This minimal amount is currently only channelled towards the Convention. Further the club that hosts the National Convention does not pay subs in the year of hosting the Convention.

As for the Vice Chairman this is traditionally the Chairman of the club which host the next Convention. Any bids to host the next Convention were then asked to be tabled. IPMS Free State were however thanked for an exceptional Convention which all unanimously agreed were of an exceptional standard and can be considered to be possibly the best ever as staged over the last few years. Upon the enquiry if the Bloemfontein club would be prepared to host the next Convention – Bloemfontein was grateful for the vote of confidence but respectfully declined due to other commitments with third parties like projects for the School of Armour etc. IPMS Vaal then offered to host the next Convention at the Emerald Casino in Vanderbijlpark. The outline of the convention as sketched by Tappie Scholtz sounds very interesting. More info including the dates will be available soon. IPMS Vaal presents a trial run scale model exhibition on the weekend of 1 September 2006 as a build-up towards the National Convention for 2007. IPMS Vaal stated they regret the exhibition co-inside with the SA NNL but unfortunately it is the only weekend available to all parties concerned in Vaal. Tappie Scholtz was subsequently elected as Vice Chairman.

Under General Chris Baxter from IPMS Cape Peninsula asked if there were any grievances on the judging process as used by Bloemfontein. If any member had grievances to please table it during the AGM in order to prevent the fiasco which followed the Cape Town Nats. None were tabled but Gary Osthoff from IPMS Free State subsequently explained the judging process which was used during the current Convention. No one expressed any concerns and stated that in general they were quite happy with the judging.

Marc Cilliers the new Chairman, thanked the IPMS Free State and in particular the School of Armour for hosting an excellent Convention. With the AGM adjourned the BIG pack up started. In all this went very smooth with visitors fully packed for the very early drive home, the next day.