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jason,
that is interesting that the judges are allowed to make the decision as to whether a koi is "good enough" to be "given a first."
There are two kinds of contests that i am aware of, the competition between the fish that are present, and a given standard established prior to the show...however the decision should rest with the show committee and be established and advertised prior to the show.
In orchid competitions both are done. The orchids are judged against each other, and judged against a standard. however if an orchid does not meet the criteria to be considered an example of then it is not awarded a ribbon even if it is the only orchid entered.
After that judging individual plants are pulled to be precisely measured (such things as flower size, number of flowers, length of certain parts). These plants are the best in the show and if the achieve a certain number of points they are given international recognition..not every "Best in show" is pulled, just those that the judges consider to be of a high enough quality to meet the criteria.
i entered a Phal in the Vero Show 5 years ago, at the request of some of my club members. I didn't go to the show. But was met with a long face by my friends whe they returned.
They told me my phal got second. Then they told me it had been pulled by the judges for national judging, but the winner of the phal group hadn't, and it was obvious and raised some eyebrows that my phal was the best phal.
Seems as though the judges for the Phals, had seen my phal and when they pulled the tag they saw at the top that it said "Phal. Hybrid" and never bothered to read the rest of the tag which stated what cross it had been.
So they did not consider the phal for placement within the show. When a committee member saw that the plant had not placed they asked the phal judges....and the phal judges said the plant was not properly labeled. The judges were shown that indeed it was.....so the judges gave it a "second place". So there were two second place ribbons. the reason? The person that had the phal that had been given the first place position had been told already.
So judges screw up and aren't strong enough to acknowledge their screw up. Even to the point that other judges, other than the phal judges, recognized my plant to be measured for international recognition, much to the chagrin of the phal judges.
i sold that plant to the president of the club that put on that show for like $30. i didn't want it back. i hope it has won since then. I haven't "competed" in another orchid show.
i mention this because if judges are deciding on their own that they get to decide the rules of the show it needs to be stopped. And if the show rules don't address which type of competition the show is using they need to. and they need to keep a handle on the judges. ..Oh I can see it now...judges clicking on the "reply" option so they can defend their idea of how koi shows are to be run....Judges Judge. They should not make rules.
I'm not saying that judges should be influenced concerning how they judge, but they shouldn't interject their agenda. if a show is set up so that the koi are to be judged against each other then the "quality" of a first place is a moot point....I've never been to a track meet where they didn't give first place to the fastest runner because he was to slow.
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