# Car Audio Tournament of Champions™ (CATOC™) to officially launch in October, 2012



## Dave Ritter (Apr 23, 2010)

Mesa, AZ USA – Car Audio Tournament of Champions™ (CATOC™) to officially launch in October, 2012.

Car Audio Tournament of Champions™ (CATOC™) is a sound quality (SQ) focused organization that is dedicated to the highest possible audiophile listening standards in the automotive environment. We are not just a car audio “sound off” sanctioning body; we are also dedicated to making infotainment and new vehicle technology better.

The first CATOC™ “sound off” events for the 2012-2013 competition season will be held in Mesa, AZ, Phoenix, AZ and surrounding areas; Tucson, AZ and surrounding areas, and southern California.

Additional events will be held in Central and northern California, Las Vegas, NV, as well as New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado. Expansion into the rest of the United States and Canada will follow, based on demand for events in any specific city or region. Please contact us at [email protected] with any questions or comments that you may have. Please allow up to 24 hours for a reply, as we have already gotten significant e-mail traffic.

*Mission Statement©*

Our quest is to determine who designs, engineers, and builds the finest audio and infotainment systems and/or the most innovative new vehicle technology as defined by our rules and standards for the benefit of the automotive consumer. CATOC™ is the arena in which people representing “the aftermarket”, “the OEM”, and “the DIY” (Do It Yourself) compete for the rewards and accolades that accompany victory while enjoying the common bonds of enthusiasm for cars, audio and technology, and the “road trip travel lifestyle” for the mutual betterment of all who participate in this quest.

Here are CATOC™ highlights; these are the aspects of CATOC™ that makes us stand out from other organizations:

1) *CATOC™ OFFERS PRIZE MONEY* at all levels of events, from 1X point “Locals Night” events to 4X Regional Finals and above. Available prize money will vary from event to event based on sponsor/partner support and other factors; however, prize money pools will vary *from $500 to up to $50,000 per event*!

2) There are only 3 SQ Divisions based on the simplicity or complexity of the installation


3) CATOC™ is the first organization to offer a new technology division. New technology does not have to be audio or infotainment related. 

If you have an idea for a new vehicle safety technology, performance technology, or some other totally new concept, you now have a platform on which to showcase your new idea! We can even help you protect your idea and sell it to applicable companies, if you so choose.

4) Our General Competition rulebook is only 8 pages long. It is very straight forward and easy to understand for anyone, regardless of the level of car audio experience and knowledge.

5) CATOC™ rewards installation practicality, ingenuity, and craftsmanship above all else.

6) We evaluate sound system performance with a wide variety of music, so your system will need to play “anything” well. 

Our rules focus on proper tuning based on your specific vehicle’s acoustic environment, not your ability to tune to one judging CD. The systems that do the best overall job of musical reproduction will be determined over the course of a season, not at just one event.


7) We have a division dedicated to stock OEM systems! If your budget or your time has not allowed you to build the system of your dreams, you still “have a place to play”!

8) CATOC™ rewards vehicle owner/enthusiasts, installers, and teams! If you an installer who has built multiple high quality systems, you can vie for a North American Installer Championship. Competition teams can also vie for a North American team title!


9) Our immediate goals are to add availability of academic and trade school scholarship programs, as well as career opportunities throughout the automotive and “road trip lifestyle” related industries.

10) We will be making sponsorship opportunities available for loyal and enthusiastic CATOC™ members who best demonstrate the combination of God given talent, dedication, persistence and creativity

*There are two basic requirements to compete in CATOC™:*

1) You must be a paid CATOC™ member in good standing

2) You must pre-register for each and every CATOC™ event in which we wish to compete!

The reasons for these requirements are simple: We ask that anyone who competes respect a basic code of conduct; paid membership helps ensure that the code of conduct will be respected. We like good, nice people at our events. We don’t like jerks.

Successful events require great planning, including proper staffing of certified, qualified judges. Only the highest levels of judges are hired by CATOC™ and great judges cost money. We must know how many competitors will be participating so that the proper number of judges is present for each event in order to have the best events possible.

Please look for CATOC™ related posts for additional posts. Thank you.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

This sounds pretty cool! Wish i lived in or even near Arizona :/ .. In that case, come to the north-east


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## 83corolla (Nov 5, 2009)

sounds pretty good (no pun intended). i would like to see something like this in the Midwest


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## wdemetrius1 (Aug 16, 2007)

We would love to have you in the South East as well.


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## Genxx (Mar 18, 2007)

Now we just need a link to the rule book, this looks promising.


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## chefhow (Apr 29, 2007)

Can you post a link to your rules? I saw your "membership fee's" in another thread on another site but no other info. Lets see whatcha got.


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## SouthSyde (Dec 25, 2006)

Looking forward to more info..


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

I am interested to see where this goes. Sounds like a very cool platform compared to iasca/meca/usaci


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## DeanE10 (Apr 19, 2011)

interested for sure, but what are the plans for the rest of the US?


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## KP (Nov 13, 2005)

I wouldn't send him a dime until some proof he is actually going to do something besides take the $$ and go into hiding.


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## BigRed (Aug 12, 2007)

50k??


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## SQ Audi (Dec 21, 2010)

interest is here


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## BumpaD_Z28 (Dec 12, 2011)

I hope to hear of events in NORTHERN UTAH 

~DaVe


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## DAT (Oct 8, 2006)

Come to KY,OH,TN,IN area


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## ALL4SQ (Mar 28, 2009)

Its interseting for sure. Can we see some show dates, locations and shop names please?

Where would your finals be? I hope it would be indoors and airconditioned. 

Thanks

Edit: I dont fit within the rules so I'm out on this one.


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## Darth SQ (Sep 17, 2010)

Subscribed.
I would suggest patience until we see more such as scheduled dates, locations, contacts, and of course, the rule book.

Bret
PPI-ART COLLECTOR


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## TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL (Jan 31, 2011)

It looks like all of the more modified vehicles will not be allowed. For instance, the rules state that absolutely no vehicle with the airbags removed will be allowed, in any class, and you will not be refunded if you pre-register a vehicle that doesn't comply.

That puts me out.

There are three classes.

Stock - Completely stock, no modifications to the audio system from OEM what so ever.

OEM enhanced - signal processing, amps, but aftermarket speakers must be installed in stock locations. There is no provision for adding a sub for those cars that don't come with one. Nothing structural can be cut, and nothing visible can be cut, along with no pods, kick panels, etc.

Modified - Anything goes as long as all factory functionality, ergo's, and safety features remain installed. No off-board power, everything must be powered onboard, although it does state it doesn't have to be powered by the stock 12v system.

Rules can be found here
CATOC™


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## Neil_J (Mar 2, 2011)

Love the 'under construction' animated gif on their main page, reminds me the good old frontier days of the WWW circa 1994


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## chaser9478 (Aug 16, 2011)

This sounds great. I can't wait until it comes to the east coast. The comps I have been to have been a joke. The winners were selected before the comp. The criteria seemed to be based on who you knew.


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## goodstuff (Jan 9, 2008)

Ehh looks like I'm out unless I want to lie and say my rear middle seat belt is bolted down. I could make it "look" installed. Took it out because it rattled no matter what I did to it. I can see why after reading the site they want you to have all your safety gear installed.


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## Neil_J (Mar 2, 2011)

I'm not really interested either, my rear seatbelts have been removed, and my airbag light is often on from removing the passenger seat (taking it out is the only way I can haul IKEA furniture in a MINI, lol).

The founder does seem to have a bit of a vendetta towards anyone defeating vehicle safety devices, which personally annoys me. Last thing I need is another nanny telling me what I can and can't do with my personal property. Would be nice to have a fully "outlaw" anything-goes SQ class, like MECA Extreme, I would love to see that.


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## Genxx (Mar 18, 2007)

I don't get the three classes at all. 

OEM class show up with nothing done as you car came from the factory and compete. This is some how supposed to help shops sell equipment, what???

OEM Enhanced Division-Basically a modified version of the MECA stock class.

So if you currently have built a car for anything other than the MECA stock class, you will be competing with everyone else in the same class. If you have altered safety equipment at all you cannot play in this org. That knocks out most of the big guns from the other orgs. 

Not sure how well this is going to work out. These rules eliminate a ton of current competitors but maybe it was suppose to. 

The rules are just odd to me. Goodluck. I could still play here as all my vehicles have everything.


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## pocket5s (Jan 6, 2012)

I'm kind of on the fence about the safety device issue. On one hand if it is a federal law then it should be there anyway, unless it is an "outlaw" style vehicle that is not driven on the road. Mark Eldridge's nascar vehicle is a perfect example. 

On the other, some things are a bit extreme. parking brake for example. Seriously who uses that in an automatic trans vehicle? The only time I have ever engaged one in a non-manual car was during my drivers test and to see if the thing actually worked one other time.

Beyond that, really I don't think we need yet another org. we need more competitors. There are currently 3 active competition leagues and not enough competitors for all of them. One org is having a really, really hard time with SQ, another is kind of iffy it seems, but they have no posted schedule anywhere for SQ so who knows. The third seems to do well.

However I feel for the folks west of the great plains. No org seems to really have any traction out west. Even here in the central states it is kind of spotty at best. Very little to nothing in MO, KS, NB. Here in OK there is usac but spl only and one shop in north Texas (Clutts Customs) that is doing quite a few MECA shows. One shop here in Tulsa had 5 shows last year and none this year (from an established org anyway). Mark added on IASCA to his MECA show a few weeks ago so a few of us could qualify to attend finals, but otherwise the only IASCA show in the region that I know of was in AR at John Sketoe's show.


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## audionutz (Dec 22, 2005)

LOL next we will see Team Scion....Team Toyota.....Team GMC...and so on  

I dont get it. Who did u consult when making these three classes and rules up?


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## pocket5s (Jan 6, 2012)

audionutz said:


> LOL next we will see Team Scion....Team Toyota.....Team GMC...and so on


LOL, that's funny...


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## DeanE10 (Apr 19, 2011)

So the seat belt issue is more than lame is several instances... IE: Dodge Quad Cab, I have a seat belt for the center console... I will have a sub box there and will not allow anyone to sit there so... I will remove the seat belt, the response I got back from Dave was



> Most of the time wont be an issue unless someone wants to challenge it


This DOES NOT violate federal law as this seat is "Optional" This also tells me that if we are close enough in points, I can challenge you so I can win... Super lame.

Yes, Dave DOES have a personal issue with the seat belt thing... more can be found here:
(bottom of the page)
CATOC™


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## chaser9478 (Aug 16, 2011)

They should ammend the seat belt thing, to cover things like when the whole seat has been removed not just the seat belt, ie pickups that have removed the center for a console.

How would they judge 2 identical oem systems? Would it be a tie?


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## pocket5s (Jan 6, 2012)

chaser9478 said:


> How would they judge 2 identical oem systems? Would it be a tie?


Depends on how you have the balance/fader adjusted. It makes all the difference...


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## chaser9478 (Aug 16, 2011)

Hey my oem had dsp effects, pop, rock, jazz, country and news plus stadium, hall and live! I could dominate. Lol


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## Neil_J (Mar 2, 2011)

pocket5s said:


> Depends on how you have the balance/fader adjusted. It makes all the difference...


Holy crap I just spit Diet Dew out my nose


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## pocket5s (Jan 6, 2012)

chaser9478 said:


> Hey my oem had dsp effects, pop, rock, jazz, country and news plus stadium, hall and live! I could dominate. Lol


I completely forgot about those!


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## Neil_J (Mar 2, 2011)

Dave Ritter said:


> 7) We have a division dedicated to stock OEM systems! If your budget or your time has not allowed you to build the system of your dreams, you still &#147;have a place to play&#148;!
> [...]
> 1) You must be a paid CATOC&#153; member in good standing
> 
> 2) You must pre-register for each and every CATOC&#153; event in which we wish to compete!


So if your budget is tight, skip the aftermarket sound system so you'll have more money to pay CATOC dues and entry fees. Sounds legit


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## TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL (Jan 31, 2011)

Technically, the way the rules are written, im out due to cuts in the kick panel metal, no airbags, and no rear seat belts to match my removed rear seat. Even more, someone could argue that seat brackets modified to move back more than stock would be illegal, as the stocl safety systems aren't designed for that.

Sounds like a car audio competition league for non car audio people. Of course non car audio people could care less about a car audio competition league.


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## MacLeod (Aug 16, 2009)

Sub'd. I'm interested but I agree the classes need a little work. You take my Accord, put speakers in the stock location and I'm in one class. Stick a sub in the trunk and I'm in the same class as Mark Eldridge's NASCAR? Huh?

Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt using Tapatalk 2


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## Darth SQ (Sep 17, 2010)

Yeah all very good points.
Let's see how it all plays out before "we" DIYMA members throw money at this organization.

For the record, there is no endorsement from DIYMA that I know of regarding CATOC.

Caveat emptor.

Bret
PPI-ART COLLECTOR


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

yea. those rules sound really crappy to me.


oh well.


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## donnieL72 (Jun 20, 2012)

I can't see anyone basically over stock competing with each other in basically one open class. This would not be fair to someone that just has kicks to compete against someone else that has a full on competition vehicle, with all safety equipment present of course. 

Two stock classes and one anything goes class, no thank you.

The other thing that bothers me is that if you get disqualified because of a safety violation you won't recieve any of your money back. None of it back that you might have paid to pre-register for future competitions unless you fix your vehicle. I can see not getting your money back for that show, but to forfeit any money paid out for upcoming events is rediculious. If you don't choose to fix your car, it is your perogative, not someone else. They might as well have a state vehicle inspection upon entering these events.


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## strakele (Mar 2, 2009)

Never knew so many people took out their seatbelts and airbags for some stereo purpose...

But I guess my 2004 sedan is just old enough not to have 12 seatbelts and 37 airbags.


Anyway, I agree there needs to be a couple more classes if this were to ever work. But like one dude said, we need more competitors for existing organizations.

Also, does anyone know membership/entry fees? I can't imagine what they must be if they think they'll have enough to give away hundreds or thousands in prizes at each show.


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## stochastic (Jan 24, 2012)

I will say that I like the concept of the OEM class rules. Currently my build has entirely stock active system, but I've installed substantial passive acoustic modifications (birch ply drop ceiling, binary array diffusers, sound deadener, bass traps, etc...). The thing sounds pretty nice now but the stock speakers could use some more clarity and a touch more in the sub 50Hz region.

Technically I can compete in the OEM class from what I read. But I don't plan on driving to California any time soon.


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## adrenalinejunkie (Oct 17, 2010)

50G's :O


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## decibelle (Feb 17, 2011)

I just do not see this organization going anywhere unless the classes expand to include the types of people and cars that actually compete regularly. Perhaps implementing subclasses so that you don't get the equivalent of MECA Street Modified class competing against someone who would be in a slightly higher class or even Extreme.

What about a class that encourages creativity and even improvement from factory? Make a "Stealth" class for those who made the extra effort to do some heavy modifications in the car yet still keep it looking factory. Making a more customized car that doesn't appear to be customized on the surface takes a lot of work and should be appreciated in the dying sport of SQ. I could see that being the equivalent of Modified - Mod Ex. And then have an "Outlaw" class as stated above for those who truly use any means to get to the ends of sound quality, barring not implementing seatbelts, etc. if the car is actually used on the road. Safety is top priority, but there needs to be a happy middle.

Point is, this org needs more classes to cater to the kind of (comparatively few) competitors we actually have in SQ.


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## chefhow (Apr 29, 2007)

The membership was listed as $120 per competitor per year iirc.


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## chaser9478 (Aug 16, 2011)

chefhow said:


> The membership was listed as $120 per competitor per year iirc.


That settles it I am starting a comp circut, anything goes as long as you show up and pay me.


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## lucas569 (Apr 17, 2007)

lazy sub


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## Neil_J (Mar 2, 2011)

I'm starting my my own league as well, all cars are judged to Dubstep remixes of Conway Twitty's greatest hits, and an audio book of 50 Shades of Grey. 
Entry fees are one six pack of Magic Hat #9 Not Quite Pale Ale and three gold Krugerrands. 
There are three different entry classes, which are determined directly from social class. Poor against poor, rich against rich, etc. Any challenges must be duked out, UFC style. No word yet on event locations.


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## chefhow (Apr 29, 2007)

Neil_J said:


> I'm starting my my own league as well, all cars are judged to Dubstep remixes of Conway Twitty's greatest hits, and an audio book of 50 Shades of Grey.
> Entry fees are one six pack of Magic Hat #9 Not Quite Pale Ale and three gold Krugerrands.
> There are three different entry classes, which are determined directly from social class. Poor against poor, rich against rich, etc. Any challenges must be duked out, UFC style. No word yet on event locations.


If you do it in a fully enclosed cage I'm in


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## customtronic (Jul 7, 2007)

I just read this thread front to back. Can't say I like any of it except the potential for cash prizes. Like a few others stated, I don't see this thing going anywhere. Not trying to piss in the cornflakes but it just seems hokie and a bunch of hot air to me. I'll stick with MECA and IASCA.

50 grand in prize money? Really? I'd like to know where the heck that is going to come from. The 90's are gone. I don't see manufactures stepping up and donating the big bucks like they did to IASCA back then. For those of you that weren't doing the thing back then you got $5000 for a first place win in your class at finals! Only manufacturer donating any money to the organizations these days is Audio Control's $500 purse for winning RTA at MECA Finals. You do of course get the rare occasions like The Vinny and ESN where you'll get some cash for placing well.


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## chefhow (Apr 29, 2007)

customtronic said:


> You do of course get the rare occasions like The Vinny and ESN where you'll get some cash for placing well.


Dont forget the End of Summer Showdown in Pa. DiY Mobile Audio put up $300 to sponsor first place and we gave away cash for top 5 places with prizes for 6-10 all donated but Ant and Syracuse Customs.

Shameless plug over/


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## customtronic (Jul 7, 2007)

chefhow said:


> Dont forget the End of Summer Showdown in Pa. DiY Mobile Audio put up $300 to sponsor first place and we gave away cash for top 5 places with prizes for 6-10 all donated but Ant and Syracuse Customs.
> 
> Shameless plug over/


True. There are a few events out there that I can think of where event promoters like Vinny Taylor, Joe Zelano, and some others go above and beyond to put on an awesome show as well as entice us all with the hope of putting some cash back in our pocket. Not one of us does this for the money.


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## DeanE10 (Apr 19, 2011)

customtronic said:


> True. There are a few events out there that I can think of where event promoters like Vinny Taylor, Joe Zelano, and some others go above and beyond to put on an awesome show as well as entice us all with the hope of putting some cash back in our pocket. Not one of us does this for the money.


Agree...! It's more like a sport... Key term here "like" Same category as Skeet Shooting maybe? Spend a bunch of money just to learn and compete with a bunch of other like minded folks 

It's one of the first things I am asked... "Any money in that?" I always tell them "Nope!! It's all about the fun and education..."


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## customtronic (Jul 7, 2007)

^^^^what he said.


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