when all the discussion is over, i think what will - or imo, should - prevail is unfixing what wasn't broken. any kind of sound score - whether it be based on perceived noise or equipment is going to be subjective and arbitrary with no basis in logic. I don't care for the zoneless box because it results in bizarre presentation that is sometimes hard to judge and often ugly to watch. and i for one could care less how noisy an airplane is, imac is about precision flying. there is no precision in flying a "center" 4 pt roll 500 feet away from the judges. i know the history of why the change was made, and it was another tail (IAC) wagging the dog. at some point, imac has to face the fact that it has more in common with motocross than pattern - some pilots like to rip their props, just like so many who like to listen to their Harley's. Contests should be held at fields with no noise issues. Assessiing points doesn't quiet airplanes, it simply assesses a penalty which a lot of pilots could care less about anyway. Judging clinic have proven to be of questionable benefit for a number of reasons, one of the most obvious is that there is nothing in place to measure the benefit - are scores really more rules based, or how many "graduates" of judging schools emerge with a firm understanding of the rules. IMAC has rarely enforced its box limits - I was part of a committee that drafted rules )that were the published rules) years ago that included a rear limit that was ignored as soon as they were printed. anyway, good luck on this one....