2005 All Japan Show

[Bob Brudd]

Hey Brian,

I just received an email from the ZNA folks at Beppu stating that the 2005 AJS is a go, that the date will be January 22nd and 23rd, and that it's being moved back to the Ryutsu Center. Have you heard the same thing from anyone else in Japan yet?

[Brian]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bob Brudd I just received an email from the ZNA folks at Beppu stating that the 2005 AJS is a go, that the date will be January 22nd and 23rd, and that it's being moved back to the Ryutsu Center. Have you heard the same thing from anyone else in Japan yet?

Hi Bob,

Great to hear from you! No, I've not heard that yet. I spoke with someone yesterday that would have told me about this, but let me check and see what I can confirm.

[Andrew]

It is also confirmed on ZNA website!!

http://www.zna.jp/english/index.html

That indeed is not good news for those who bought air tickets for the original dates.

[Brian]

I've confirmed that has indeed been switched back to the usual date, and the usual venue of the Ryutsu Center. The earthquake played a part in this in both a lower number of expected entries (and hence the need for less space than the stadium offers) and also the long hiatus caused by the cancellation of the ZNA show in Ojiya.

Indeed bad news if you've planned travel and accommodations, but earthquakes don't announce their arrival, and this decision looks to have been heavily influenced by that event.

[Andrew]

Indeed they don't Brian but I don't see why they would influence the date coming forward?

Staying the same would have been sensible as many people all over the World must have made arrangements to varying degree's, and if the date was to change, for whatever reason, I'd have thought moving it back would have assisted those Niigata souls affected by the quakes by giving them more time to sort and reorganize.

From this distance this decision sure seems a strange one.

[Brian]

Dunno Andrew,

They are going to be lesser numbers of koi being shown now, so not enough koi to justify paying for a more expensive stadium. Doubt that the Ryutsu Center had been booked during the original time, and is much cheaper and a more familiar venue to the people that have to stage the show and handle the fish. It's also indoors and warm, something that the folks in Niigata probably appreciate after the mess.

I know it seems a strange decision, and I'm not speaking for the Shinkokai...only guessing why they would move the show date and venue. The only conclusion that I can come up with is due to the earthquake.

[Bob Brudd]

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the verification. I know it's probably too early to know the answers to these queries, but:

1) do you think it will still be English style?
2) do you think it will be an actual show or an exhibition similar to what they put on last year?
3) with the Niigata breeders tied up trying to restore their lives and businesses, who will do the actual work of putting on a show? Does the south actually have the type of manpower capacity to pull it off?

Thanks,

BOB

[Brian]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bob Brudd 1) do you think it will still be English style? 2) do you think it will be an actual show or an exhibition similar to what they put on last year? 3) with the Niigata breeders tied up trying to restore their lives and businesses, who will do the actual work of putting on a show? Does the south actually have the type of manpower capacity to pull it off?

Bob,

The date and venue have been make public, but the rules for entry, benching and showing have not. I'll keep you posted as soon as I get more information. I'd assume that with the KHV debacle of the past year that the show would indeed be English style. The Niigata folks will no doubt be pressed for resources, but between North and South lies the "middle" from Gunma, Nagano, Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Shizuoka, Nagoya, etc. which is filled with both breeders and dealers that can pitch in to pick up the slack if needed.

[James P]

Brian, the whole thing seems to be getting scarier and scarier. Now that many breeders have been forced to co-mingle stock at Kato's, the auction house pond, Niigata ponds and elsewhere, how safe can it be to warm these fish up publicly? I hope I'm very wrong but I'm haven't a bad feeling about the old adage “the show must go on". JR

[Brian]

Hi Jim,

Your concerns are being echoed in conversations held over here as well. The earthquake caused a lot of the affected breeders to move their respective could where ever they could, as fast as they could. Given the circumstances, nobody can blame them for doing so.

The rescheduling of the show from February came as a shock, and the fact that the rules of showing have yet to be publicized tell me that the planning for the January show is still a work in progress. I totally agree with you that an indoor show is not the place to be co-mingling koi, some of which are not being kept in high temperatures.

I'm not sure how the Shinkokai plans to handle it, but a slip up here could add to an already bad situation and make things unbearable. Let's wait and see how they plan to handle and display at the show, and then let's all voice our concerns here and I'll see if I can't channel them back to the Shinkokai.