Persistence rewarded at UK Finals

The weekend of September 5/6th 2009 saw the year's popular Trax event at Silverstone (Oxfordshire, England), and the show was host to the UK national finals round of EMMA UK's 2009 Autosound Sound-Off season. Having shown continuous growth in competitor numbers throughout the season, the national autosound finals attracted 43 entries and provided a significant added feature for visitors to the Trax event, with an attendance thought to be around 15,000.

As usual, judging began on the Saturday afternoon and two extra judges were flown over from Europe to ensure that everyone got judged and awards presented before 4 p.m. on Sunday. The weather was a lot kinder than for the same event last year and, as a result, a lot more smiles were to be seen and the general atmosphere was cheerful and friendly - exactly what EMMA sets out to do.

Competition for the round threw up some interesting results due to the sternness of the European judges, however this gave competitors a taste of what is to come at the Euro Finals in Rotterdam in October. The league winners received an impressive silver salver and were generally those who had put a good deal of effort into improving their installs throughout the year. Results and pictures can be viewed at www.emma-uk.com.

Trophies were presented by Girish Janday from Pioneer, and Alpine's Phil Thomas. EMMA UK MD, Carl Hynes said, "This was a truly fabulous event for us. We saw a lot of consumer interest from an older, more family oriented show-goer and the classes who had been judged on Saturday were very helpful in showing consumers their cars and explaining what the competition is all about. Huge thanks go, once again, to our highly valued sponsors, Event Director, Ken (Bloke) Robinson, all the back office staff, judges and everyone who has helped with organisation, as well as those who have competed throughout the year."

EMMA UK - sponsored by Pioneer, Alpine, JVC, Morel, DLS, FOUR MASTERS and CDT - is currently planning events for next year and has already committed to kicking off the season at Creative Media's brand new consumer show "Auto Sound and Style" at Stoneleigh Park on March 7th, 2010.