OT: Judging & Ethics

From: Sharon McAllister <73372.1745@compuserve.com>

Perry Dyer wrote:

>  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.

Yes.  We must be aware that ANYONE can make a mistake.  In the early 90s,
one of my customers reported a similar story with the opposite outcome -- a
"superb" stalk of WHIRLWIND ROMANCE had been disqualified because the show
official had made only a cursory check.  

The ASI CL that was distributed in 1989 covered registrations only through
1988, and listed WHIRLWIND ROMANCE as a 1987 registration:  golden peach
standards flushed pink at the base, darker golden peach falls with an
orange-red signal and grey poupon beard.  

The 1989 AIS Checklist, which also includes 1989 data, records that the
WHIRLWIND ROMANCE registered in 1987 was not introduced or distributed and
the name was released.  

The 1990 R&I lists the registration of a different cultivar under that
name:  pewter standards, brass falls, and a burnt-orange signal.

A thorough check would have shown that the entry was correctly labeled, but
the show official either didn't notice that there was no record of
introduction for the registration listed in the ASI book or didn't consider
it important enough to check later AIS references -- so a stalk that the
exhibitor thought would be a serious contender was unjustly disqualified.

Yes, anyone can make a mistake.  But all of us can be careful that we don't
get our own stock mixed up or mislabeled AND learn how to use checklists to
confirm the identity of the iris we receive so that we don't pass on
someone else's error.

Dismounting the soapbox now....

Sharon McAllister
73372.1745@compuserve.com
http://www.geocities.com/~smcallister 

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