Re: OT: judging and ethics
- Subject: Re: OT: judging and ethics
- From: P* D*
- Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 09:54:31 -0600
From: "Perry Dyer" <pdyer@flash.net>
Maureen,
You bring up good points, and I suspected I would get some "action" out of
my comments. First, on the Louisiana boo-boo's. The Classification
Committee at that show should have caught such blatant mistakes. But
realistically, we know how fast and furious those entries come in the
morning of the show. At the Sooner State shows, we try to "walk" the show
quickly, immediately before the judging begins, to catch any strays.
Always, always, have the entire set of registrations and introductions books
readily available. I always throw mine in the back seat, just in case the
show doesn't have them available (such as at the smaller clubs).
I say, "when in doubt, look it up". Now you could waste a whole morning
looking up varieties at a show you don't know. But that's what CLERKS are
for. When I come upon a variety I don't know, and if it has the potential
for going on to bigger and better (e.g., best of section), I ask the clerk
to look up the variety. The judge shouldn't waste valuable time looking up
every single mystery iris.
I learned my lesson at a show in north Texas a few years back. It was a
small show, small club, but they had a really nice representation of
medians, a few dwarfs, the first half of the TB season, and some dynamite
arilbreds. Right off the bat, the very first thing judged, was an arilbred
that was out of this world. I recognized the name and knew it was a newer
variety. I had the clerk look it up, because I wanted to see the parentage
and registered height before we sent it up to the head table. Lo and
behold, it was MISNAMED! The hybridizer had gotten the stock mixed up, and
sent the exhibitor the wrong thing. Not even close. Can't really fault the
exhibitor -- it was a brand new introduction. What if we hadn't had a clerk
look it up? It was hands-down the best thing in the show and WOULD have won
Queen.
The RVP and Regional Judges Chairman should regularly scope out the judges
of their region, and find out where there are deficiencies. Then take the
plunge and arrange to have judges training in those areas, bringing in the
best person they can find, if schedules and budget will allow.
The Show Chairman should have a feel for what-all is being grown in the
general vicinity, and work with the person in charge of the judges to
arrange to have at least one expert in that field on the panel. At the
early Sooner State shows, we always have a good mix of dwarfs, medians,
arilbreds, and sometimes early TB's. The late show will almost always have
TB's, siberians, Louisianas, and spurias (with an occasional I. pseudacorus
to really confuse things!). Sooner State sponsors THREE shows every spring.
So, judging our shows alone should really be an education to the judges.
Perry Dyer
central Oklahoma
-----Original Message-----
From: Mark, Maureen <MARKM@tc.gc.ca>
To: 'iris-talk@onelist.com' <iris-talk@onelist.com>
Date: Tuesday, March 16, 1999 9:12 AM
Subject: [iris-talk] OT: judging and ethics
>From: "Mark, Maureen" <MARKM@tc.gc.ca>
>
>I attended a very useful judges training session on ethics given by Dorothy
>Fingerhood. I was surprised at how much guidance on ethics was actually
>provided in the judges handbook.
>
>Perry's comments on that judges should stand back when unfamiliar with the
>class of iris raised a number of questions for me.
>
>What if none of the judges are comfortable with judging the class?
>
>Is the show chairman responsible for making sure that the judges secured
can
>cover the waterfront of irises?
>
>What if the weather plays havoc and a whole different range of irises are
>shown and the judges are unfamiliar with many of them?
>
>For current AIS judges, what do you do when you are uncertain about the
>identification of a particular cultivar? Do you give it the benefit of the
>doubt?
>
>I'm sorry to hear about your experience, Perry, but judges do make
mistakes.
>That's why an appeal mechanism is important -- to inform judges. I
>complained once at a hort. show when the judge disqualified my rose as he
>considered that it was exhibited in the wrong class. The judge, who didn't
>know that I had complained, mentioned the next year that he learned
>something from that show. He looked up that particular cultivar and said
>that he wouldn't ever make that mistake again.
>
>Judge's training is important too but it is not always easy to get the
>judge's training that we all need. Other priorities do get in the way
>sometimes. (I can't believe I'm saying that on this list! Irises RULE,
>don't they?)
>
>Maureen Mark
>m*@ottawa.com
>Ottawa, Canada (zone 4)
>
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