| Hi Anton,
Yes, the judge in me jumped out with shameless abandon. It actually happens a lot. I couldn't help it. It's a really nice bloom. I hadn't let it out on the forum yet because the forum seems so strongly geared to growing. I don't think I've seen a thread about shows or awards or judging apart form our own competitions. Also I frequently encounter folks who think that if a plant gets passed for judging that means the judges think it is ugly or not worth having, or worse yet, that the grower has poor taste in orchids. Nothing could be further from the truth. I and many of my judging colleagues regularly find orchids that are not award-quality but that we would be happy to own and grow. Anyway, for this reason I am sometimes careful not to let the judge come out very strongly.
About 7 years ago i started observing AOS judgings, I was fortunate enouugh to live in a town that had a judging center. I entered the AOS judge training program (Great Lakes Judging Center) and finished 2 years of it before moving to Australia. After being here about a year or so i joined the AOC. i've been with them for 2 years now and am (or will soon be pending approval at the next centre business meeting) an Associate Judge in the Victoria Regional Judging Panel.
Here in the Australia, the AOC judges handbook does not specify a particular time frame for becoming a judge. Advancement from student to associate to certified judge happens upon the recommendation of the judging panel. In the US (AOS) it takes a minimum of 6 years to become a certified judge.
Regarding knowledge, judges are expected to have a thorough knowledge of commonly grown species and hybrids and a fundamental knowledge of lesser known species and hybrids. They are, naturally, required to have an applicable knowledge of evaluating criteria and judging standards. They also need to know a bit about hybridizing so that they may know what is expected from a particular cross. For example, in Paphs, if you were looking at a rothschildianum hybrid, you would expect to see multiple flowers as roth is a multi-floral. Even when roth is crossed with single flowered Paphs like malipoense (Harold Koopowitz) it bears more than one flower. If you saw a Paph Harold Koopowitz (roth x malippoense) and it had only one flower you'd say, "Hmmmm...this isn't flowering up to its potential."
The AOC has judge training days and evenings. Sometimes it's a presentation in just one evening, sometimes it is a whole day at someone's nusery. Usually there's a theme and alot of practice evaluating plants. AOC judging also happens at monthly club meetings and students and associate judges get practice there as well.
If people have questions about the AOC judging system or how plants are evaluated I'd be happy to answer questions as best I can.
Cheers  |