Eastern Suburbs Philatelic Competition (ESPC)

  2010 Competition
Latest News from Brian Fuller, ESPC Convenor

This year the ESPC will be conducted in conjunction with the Waverley Philatelic Society Stamp Fair on Saturday, 15 May.

The venue is the Monash Community Centre opposite the Mount Waverley railway station in Miller Crescent.  The Fair will be open from 9.30 till 4pm.

For those considering entering please remember the range of postally or philatelically related material allowed to be submitted - Topical, thematic, cinderellas, postal labels such as Registration and Certified labels, parcels documentation, stamp boxes, etiquettes, revenues, perfins, post cards, even stamps of King George V and hosts more.  So please take this opportunity to open your shoe boxes and show their contents on 6 - 15 pages including an Introductory Page.  Remember each entrant will be judged entirely on its own merits against the "Points to be Awarded".

Three entries per Club is ideal as it maximises the Club's chances to win the Club award.  One or two entries are also very welcome as they may score 'Best Judged' or the 'Popular Vote' awards.

PLEASE ensure your entry is of the correct size: i.e the top row frame sheets are 290mm or less to avoid potential damage by the frame's external rail and has PROTECTIVE sheet covers.

If you wish me to visit your Club and explain the breadth of the Rules, or encourage potential displayers to participate, please advise me by e-mail or call me on (03) 9802 8802 or mobile 0400 532 400. Acknowledgement of potential participation or otherwise (email/telephone etc) would be appreciated.

Please start preparing now for delivering your entries to me by Saturday, 1 May.  Please advise me if your Club wishes to host the ESPC in 2011, otherwise the Waverley Philatelic Society will conduct the 2011 ESPC.

Tips for intending entrants in the ESPC
by Robert Williamson

Stamp collecting is a wonderful activity enjoyed by many and offering an unlimited scope of how and what to collect.

The Eastern Suburbs Philatelic Competition is designed to encourage stamp collectors to develop their collections and gain even more enjoyment by taking their collection to another level 'to take the collection beyond the shoe-box' by writing-up and displaying what has been sourced.  Allowing for displaying a collection at a local stamp club, for other members to enjoy and then for the club to choose entries to be entered into an inter-club competition, for other clubs and the public also to enjoy the efforts (and perhaps for some collectors to go on and display their collections nationally and internationally.)

By the nature of any competition some rules need to be applied.  The Eastern Suburbs Philatelic Competition is opened to all club members and is aimed at and wishes to encourage widespread involvement.  The rules have been kept as simple as possible and despite the belief of some are not focused on the value of the material.

The most important part of a completion entry is the title page, the display must tell a story, it cannot be just some pages taken from a wider collection.

Points are broken down into five areas each focusing on an area of how well the entry meets the promise set out in the title page and tells the story.

Knowledge and Research (30 points)

To tell what is being displayed and inform the viewer.

Development (20 points)

To give a structured approach of telling the story, to allow the viewer to appreciate the stamps and work you have done.

Coverage (20 points)

To show what has been promised. Perhaps the most difficult area to meet with only fifteen sheets. The choice of the display title and plan are critical. It is important to re-read the introduction and ask yourself have you delivered on your promise.

Condition (20 points)

What is the condition of the material allowing for the age and nature of what is being displayed.

Presentation (10 points)

How does the display look, is it pleasing to the eye and easy for the viewer to follow.

As well as the competition being judged by highly experienced judges all viewers are given an opportunity to cast a vote for the entry they consider best.

Lastly please remember everyone who enters into the competition is a winner, they have gained from developing their collection and given enjoyment to those who are privileged to view it.

Consideration for Judges to follow:-

The rules have been designed to encourage the development of displays at a club level and are not designed for International Large Gold exhibitors.

Value of material, importance and resources available should not be considered; instead focus should be placed on the effort and difficulty in obtaining the material, knowledge and research.  (E.g. £2 Roo's are easy to obtain, for a price, at most large auctions but for a thematic collection of Santa Claus the 1954 issue from Cuba on cover would be very hard to locate, despite the used stamps being catalogued at around £1.)

While it is essential to meet the promise of the title page undue penalties should not be imposed on entries who have attempted to show 'to wide a topic' e.g. 'Transport' or 'Motor Vehicles' or even 'The Volkswagen' because everything has not been shown.  The focus should be on how well they have covered and treated what they have promised.  E.g. did (and have they) they promised to show major forms of transport.

Allowance should be made for innovation, originality and how well the exhibit appeals to the viewer.  An in-depth study of the Australian 5d brown KGV issues may be very interesting but if it bears great similarity to another entry of the same stamps it should not score as highly as a truly innovative and original entry.

2009 Competition

The 2009 Eastern Suburbs Philatelic Competition (ESPC) was held on Saturday, 16 May at the Monash Community Centre (previously the Mount Waverley Community Centre) in conjunction with the Waverley Philatelic Society annual fair.  The 2009 Victorian Philatelic Council Annual Congress was also held as part of the same event.

A total of 18 exhibits were on show with 5 societies fielding full teams of 3 entries each with a further 3 entries from 2 other societies.  The Peninsula Stamp Club narrowly took out the 2009 trophy with a total score of 245 points, just 2 points ahead of the Australian Philatelic Society.

Pictured right is Dennis Collings having just accepted the ESPC trophy on behalf of the Peninsula Stamp Club ESPC team.

Jon Fladeby (Peninsula Stamp Club) with his entry "Bundi (Indian Fuedatory State)" won the award for the entry with the highest score and Jim Shaw (Waverley Philatelic Society) won the Popular Vote award for his entry "NZ 1 1/2d Boer War 1898 Pictorials".

Australian Philatelic Society  [ Total 243 points ]

A Lyon NZ Military Mail WW2 1939-42

82 points
J Young Airmail postcards from Home

81 points
M Barden Brussels Expo 58

80 points

Brighton Philatelic Society  [ Total 223 points ]

J Waugh TPOs East Gippsland

74 points
B Baker Opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge

76 points
I Sadler First Stamps of Asia

73 points

Dandenong Philatelic Society  [ Total 209 points ]

T Prendergast Tuvalu

58 points
N Wilson Early Postal History of Caribbean

69 points
A Stevenson A-Z of Philately

82 points

Peninsula Stamp Club  [ Total 245 points ]

D Collings Armed Forces Markings of the Mornington Peninsula

80 points
J Fladeby Bundi (Indian Fuedatory State)

87 points
R Seller Manchukudo

78 points

Waverley Philatelic Society  [ Total 237 points ]

J Shaw NZ 1 1/2d Boer War 1898 Pictorials

85 points
D Collings Mathew Flinders

78 points
M Crawford British Postal Slogans

74 points

Representing Other Societies

B Fuller (Oakleigh) Assisting Stamp Displayers

79 points
M Crawford (Oakleigh) The Old Kingdom

76 points
P Bradbury (Mooroolbark) South Africa QE2

72 points

Special Note

The ESPC organisers are seeking input from Eastern Suburbs clubs regarding possible changes to the structure of the competition to encourage more clubs to compete and be able to field complete teams.  Options identified include permitting smaller clubs (e.g from regional Victoria) to field a combined team entry and/or to invite philatelic societies from Melbourne's west into an expanded competition.  Clubs wanting to provide input into these possible reforms are encouraged to contact Brian Fuller.

ESPC On Show

To view a selection of scenes from the 2009 ESPC and VPC Congress, click here.

The ESPC Philosophy

Surprise, surprise, there are some very positive aspects to displaying.  Firstly change your mindset to: what can I gain out of this and can I help a fellow collector with their collection!

First you have to find out what you have or more likely what you do NOT have.  You have to get your shoebox in good order. You have to decide what it is it you want to display and how well you have collected it.  By publicly declaring your interest your audience will keep an eye open for you and may even dispose of their surplus material to you for little or no cost.

You need to collate your references and research those areas where you have made assumptions and presumptions.  To feel even better about yourself you need to form liaisons with those that have been there and done that. Many people are willing to help.  You can even help your fellow collector by imparting knowledge at Club workshops and with Items of Interest.

Can the Eastern Suburbs Philatelic Competition (ESPC) Rules assist me improve my collection?  Briefly the design of the rules and criteria are to encourage the club level collector to display and not to penalize them for using material that does not accord with judging criteria for traditional or exhibition classes of philately.  The main guidance on content permitted is that material must mainly purport to be for postal or philatelic purposes and be issued or used by any entity.  Both eminently cover your collecting and displaying interests.  Good displays will please both you and your audience.

How, in detail, can the ESPC scoring system help me prepare a good display or improve my collection?

Knowledge and Research (30 points)

Knowledge can be demonstrated in many ways not just through the choice of words accompanying the displayed items. Your Introduction to the display will give the viewers an insight into level of subject and/or philatelic knowledge and research that you have attained. Unappreciated displays are usually those that offer little supporting information, or provide information that is already evident in the material being shown. Knowledge and research should 'value-add' to the display. It should enhance and deepen the viewers' understanding and appreciation of the material being displayed.

Development (20 points)

This criterion reminds displayers that haphazardly arranging the text, illogically presenting information, or not supporting conclusions will reduce their likelihood of appreciative acknowledgment for the work you have done. The sequence of the story to be told is outlined in your Introduction and should be followed.

Coverage (20 points)

The intent of Completeness is to reward the displayer who displays exactly what they say they are going to present according to the title of the display and the outline given in the Introduction. With only fifteen sheets as a maximum available to display one's chosen subject, the choice of display title, and accompanying plan is therefore critical. If the title and scope of the display and becomes so broad it can be unachievable to show in such a limited space. Before submitting your display, you should always re-read the Introduction and ask yourself whether you have delivered on your promise.

Condition (20 points)

For condition of material the audience will take into account the age and nature of material in allocating points for condition. Modern material in plentiful supply will be expected to be in pristine condition - avoid including damaged, grubby, or unclear items (if showing postmarks, etc) if better material is freely available.

Presentation (10 points)

Good presentation is wholly in the hands of the displayer. Well-balanced pages, supported by clear and easy-to-read annotations, are the basic ingredients. Sheets should not look crowded, nor should there be large gaps or spaces. Points are easily lost for sloppy mounting, writing which is too small, or annotation that is not clearly attributable to the items being displayed. You should ensure that you have followed your plan, presented your material carefully, and demonstrated a reasonable level of relevant subject and philatelic knowledge.

More Information

For more information about the ESPC, contact Brian Fuller.