AIS Ballot

As an AIS garden judge, I received my awards ballot yesterday.  This is only
my second year of voting, but I can't help thinking that something is
seriously awry in the method of selecting the Dykes Medal winner.  Perhaps
some of you more experienced than I can help me understand why it's done as
it is.

37 irises are eligible for the Dykes, but only ONE of them is a Tall Bearded.
 Now, TB's have almost always won the Dykes, but with the present ballot
configuration, the deck is more stacked in their favor than ever.  If we
assume that some judges will on principle always vote for a TB, BEFORE THE
STORM will get ALL their votes, whereas those willing to vote for medians,
arilbreds or beardless will have 36 choices!  The way this system perpetuates
itself seems unfair.  As long as a TB gets the Dykes, the next years Wister
winner will have no TB competition.  The Wister Medal is a guarantee of
winning the Dykes.  The Dykes voting is meaningless.

An unfavorable aspect of this system is that since the Wister is equivalent
to the Dykes, judges have one less year to evaluate the top irises before
choosing THE ONE.  Distribution of a cultivar is a key factor in its getting
awards.  It is beneficial to have as much time as possible between an iris'
introduction and its elgibility for awards so that it can be distributed as
widely as possible and so that judges can observe it over an extended period.

Incredible as it may seem to some of you, I have never seen BEFORE THE STORM.
 I planted it in my garden two years ago, but it didn't bloom as a first year
plant.  It looks pretty puny right now, so I'm not sure I'll see it before
casting my ballot.  Colorado doesn't have a lot of growers who acquire new
cultivars in much quantity.  If any of you Coloradans grow BTS, please let me
know.

A simple runoff election between the top two vote getters would remedy the
situation.  So would allowing the top three or four vote getters for the
Wister to appear on the ballot for the Dykes.  Have these ideas been
discussed?

Slightly beside the point, I think it would also be good if two years elapsed
between a plant winning a sectional medal and appearing on the Dykes ballot.

-Lowell Baumunk
Colorado
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