Re: [Killietalk] regional vs national shows.

[Gary Elson or Mary Frauley <fraulels at videotron_ca>]

There are a lot of questions in this thread. I'd like to throw an idea or 
two into the ring, and see what people think.

First, it would be interesting to compare fish sales to show entries. Are 
fish sales rooms getting bigger or smaller?

I know that where I live, the general clubs have long since ceased to have 
shows because we saw that while the older generation of aquarists loved 
competing, younger fishkeepers didn't care about trophies. Even competitive 
programs like the Breeder's Award are in decline. It's not that people have 
stopped breeding fish. I suspect more killiekeeprs get gratification from 
having a rarity to offer on Aquabid than winning a plaque. It's not the 
money - that seems to be where the recognition is.

I can't bring fish to an AKA convention because I'm across the border, but 
if I could, I'd be delighted to put some of my rarer species in tanks so 
people who might not have seen them could. I love seeing new populations and 
species when I go to a show. But I never check who won. To me, that doesn't 
matter, and I'm not sure it's a motivation for as many members as tradition 
makes us think.

Up here in Killi-Quebec, I'm an old guy at 48. Most of our members are in 
their late twenties to early thirties. We have never even seriously 
discussed a show. We do have great fish at auction. We start at $5 a pair 
and most of the time, we pass that $5 bill back and forth all afternoon. 
It's not a commercial thing - it's a nice sociable auction. Until the 80s, 
shows were very big around here. They've been gone and not really missed 
since the early nineties. The last local show I went to had five fish in it.

As for attendance - generally, our members who go to either NEW or the AKA 
are the ones who have older children or no children. It's hard to plan well 
ahead when you have young ones. Money's tight and time is tighter. My wife 
and I both work hard, and she needs her weekend too. Regional shows with 
less travel/planning and less expense are certainly more appealing, even 
though the members with young kids don't get to them either.

The AKA convention is THE convention. I won't be there this year because of 
work and the fact Memorial Day's not a long weekend in Canada, but I would 
be if I could. If I could attend one convention all year, the AKA would be 
it. Once you've atteneded, you see that. It's getting people there for the 
first time that's the challenge.

Gary 


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