[Killietalk] RE: Top 10 things I learned from my 1st AKA convention: was The AKA Convention Fish Show

[Joel Antkowiak <mrkillie at optonline_net>]

<1.  The Germans and other Europeans are better than us because they have
bigger shows.>
 
And don't forget that they supply most of the fish for our auctions.
 
<2.  Even though the host clubs had trouble dealing with, judging and
auctioning <300 show entries, we are all a bunch of stingy bastards for not
entering twice as many fish.>
 
I still don't understand how registration problems happened. I started
looking to register my fish at about 1:00  pm Friday (registration was
supposed to start at 11 am) and couldn't find out who to see and no one
could give me a definitive answer. Tried again about 6:00 and the same
thing. Finally, about 9:00 I found Mike trying to enter all of the day's
entries at once.
 
As far as I know, there were no problems judging, but then I only judged 1
class.
 
<3.  Enter your best fish into the show, but don't be surprised if the
judges
give them a cursory glance and award them 75 points.  No feedback on why
your fish didn't score well, as the judging criteria and point assignments
are explained in excrucuating detail in the Beginner's Guide and on the AKA
web site!>
 
Rich, there is a form that the judges are supposed to fill out telling why
the fish were not pointed. I don't know what the policy is on having the
entrants review it. Contact Liz Hutchings for that. I personally have hated
this concept from the beginning. I believe every entrant has taken the time
to enter their fish, they have a right to have their entry scored,
ESPECIALLY AT THE AKA CONVENTION where you are donating the fish. 
 
<7.  The show results and fish auction list will be made available just
before the auction starts.  You wouldn't want to have it while the show room
is still open.>
 
I remember the times when the scores for each entry were placed on the tank
itself. I can't remember the last time I saw it though! Would be nice to see
it again instead of waiting for a master list to show up and then scrambling
through the listings to try to find the fish you are looking at.
 
<Regarding the show:  It was a difficult decision for me to give up some of
the fish I entered into the show.  These are not just any fish, but what I
judged to be the best fish I had.  A few were still young, but I had been
told that future breeding potential also counted.  Several pairs were at
their prime breeding age and condition.  They would have given me many more
pairs of offspring (which I could have sold on Aquabid ;-}).  Many of these
fish were given 75 points by the judges, which I take as a dismissal as
"adequate" and not worth even pointing.  This may be reality but came as a
slap in the face.  My best fish weren't even worth judging!  Of course there
is no feedback as to why.  How am I supposed to chose fish for future shows?
As best as I can tell it is a crap shoot!  Of course I was very happy to win
one 3rd place.  And I do prefer art to cash.  The art will hang on my wall
for years and will remind me of the great time I had in Rockville.>
 
A score of 75 is not necessarily a bad thing. It just means the fish were
not going to compete with some of the other entries in the class and the
judges needn't waste their time scoring it. The fish may have been too young
(note I said too young and not too small-a poor judge will eliminate a fish
because it is too small), too old or very nice but just not quite up to par.
A very young fish may not be full size, fully colored up, and may be without
fin extensions expected for the species. I hate the concept with a passion.
A fish that's too small may have everything going for it except size, which
is a small fraction of the point total, and some judges will dismiss it. If
pointed, the result may have been different in some cases. But having been
there in the past when some classes with 30 or more entries took hours to
judge, I understand why it was implemented. However, I became a certified
judge because I enjoy it, not because I want to be able to rush through the
judging process.
 
A score of 75 may also be a bad thing. That is the problem with not scoring
all the entries. Novices who don't know how a particular fish is supposed to
look or act may be lost without the help of judges. 
 
Anyway, if you entered any Nothos, contact me off list with the specifics of
the entries and maybe I can remember what the problem was with the
particular fish. For other fish, can't help you!
To join the AKA see http://aka.org/modules/tinycontent0/index.php?id=9
Archives are at http://fins.actwin.com/killietalk/