Re: Fw: AIS Dykes Medal restrictions
iris@hort.net
  • Subject: Re: Fw: AIS Dykes Medal restrictions
  • From: R* P* <r*@embarqmail.com>
  • Date: Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:21:09 -0500 (EST)
Since the AIS board just had a lengthy discussion of the Dyke's Medal I can
give you the latest information as of November. First the board reaffirmed the
Judge's Handbook but I think one should know more than that. The Dyke's Medal
is essentially a British Award that is given to the various countries to be
the highest honor within those award systems. My understanding is that in
recent correspondence the British reiterated that they are providing an award
to that Societies hybridizers. In other words only a British hybridizer can
win the British Dyke's Medal, Only an Australian Hybridizer can win an
Australian Dykes Medal and only a North American hybridizer can win the
American Dyke's. This creates a discrepancy within the American awards system
since all of the American Medals are open to anyone in the world provided they
introduce it first in North America (USA and Canada).

About 20 years ago I pointed out to the board that the "introduced first part"
of the rule was ambiguous. At the time one could have read it as only that it
had to be introduced in the USA/Canada so that judges could see it and grow it
which is essential for good judging. but one could also read it as its first
introduction had to be in the USA/Canada and not somewhere else before that.
Although I favored the first interpretation the second one, won out because it
was feared that an Iris could rise to the top awards in another country first,
then be introduced into the USA and enter the awards system with an unfair
advantage. I did not know ahead of time that the topic was going to come up at
the board meeting this fall. If I had, I would have tried to work out an in
between position that would not advantage or disadvantage foreign hybridizers.
In my mind i would like our medals to be based only on how Irises perform in
North America and have no bias as to where the hybridizer is from. Creating an
equal playing field for everyone is not as easy as one would suspect.

----- Original Message -----
From: "loic tasquier" <tasquierloic@cs.com>
To: iris@hort.net
Sent: Saturday, December 12, 2009 10:35:02 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: [iris] Fw: AIS Dykes Medal restrictions

this link might work better:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/loic_tasquier/4178286127/sizes/o
----- Original Message -----
From: loic tasquier
To: iris@hort.net
Sent: Saturday, December 12, 2009 4:14 PM
Subject: AIS Dykes Medal restrictions


It says on page 28 in the Handbook for Judges and Show Officials that the
Dykes Medal honors William Rickatson Dykes (1877-1925), the English botanist
and author of the great monograph The Genus Iris.

It also says that this award is restricted to irises first introduced in the
United States or Canada.

Isn't there a slight paradox in banning English registered irises from an
award supposed to honor an English botanist?



you can see the page 28:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/loic_tasquier/4178286127/sizes/o/

Loic
----------------------------------------------
       Looc TASQUIER
       zone 7 - The Nederland
 Email : tasquierloic@cs.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/loic_tasquier/collections/72157622353621378/
http://www.le-jardin-des-deux-bons-diables.com/2222.html

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