2006 San Diego Koi Show !!!!!

[Nancy M.]

Quote: Originally Posted by jnorth Congrats to all the winners! Now somebody post some pics!!

Louie was taking pictures last night, I think we will have to wait for him to get back into town, see the the pics.

Yes, all the shows are suffering from lack of participation. It is very sad to see so many of the High end hobbiest leaving the show ring. Hopefully with this new generation of hobbiest, we will see the numbers rise. Anyone who takes there fish out to shows should be commended, it is a lot of stress on the fish and owner. And with so many shows coming up in California right now back to back, it is hard to participate in all of them. So we all pick which ones we will enter in.

Perhaps we need a combined show with several clubs involved, from Socal and Norcal that way we would have all the top fish in one show. Hobbiest from all over could see what California has. We have the most dealers in one state than anywere else in the US. We are the koi capital of the USA. The home of AKCA / Koi USA. I think a " 1st Annual California Koi Show" would bring out "the best of the best".

[karipeters]

I love the idea of a large show! I think there is a new wave a positive thinking that will hopefully be extremely contagious. Good will goes very far in making things work. This is a great idea Nancy.

[RayJordan]

Reading this thread and some of the posts taking cheap shots at the San Diego show and the GC award winner really ticks me off.

First, the San Diego club and their show are first rate. Great people, venue, and all around class event. The amount of effort and work that goes into putting on a event like this is enormous. Everyone involved with the San Diego show should be thanked for their efforts and contributions. I cannot imagine anyone that has attended a San Diego show or is significantly involved in planning and putting on a koi show would bash another club's event for such poor reasons.

Second, rather than marvel and celebrate that a smaller non-gosanke was the best in Show and awarded Grand Champion some have assumed it was by some kind of default and that there were no larger worthy gosanke in the competition. Unless the show dictates that the GC has to come from a certain size or group it is the judges responsibility to pick the best koi in the show for GC. Not the largest gosanke - but the best koi is how it should be. It is very hard for a smaller non-gosanke to win GC let's not devalue that significant accomplishment.

We should be congratulating the Monis family and all the show winners. This same family won GC at San Diego last year with a similar sized GR showa that was stunning and very deserving of it's top ranking. To win two years in a row with another smaller non-gosanke speaks volumes about their ability to select and prepare koi for a show.

Shame on those that forget the purpose of koi shows and events. It should be about the koi and getting together with other koi people to learn and enjoy the experience. The best koi shows should not be measured just by the number or size of the koi entered but by the overall event experience.

Our hobby faces many significant challenges:
Aging members with fewer new young members to take on the hard jobs
Increasing costs of keeping koi and local regulations about building ponds
Increasing costs of putting on a koi event
KHV and other significant health threats to our koi
It is almost a cliche but it is still true that if you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem.

I am disappointed that some choose koi bito to express such negative thoughts.

[TategoiKohaku]

Ray,
Well said. However, I disagree with some of your comments. First, I don't see anyone expressing negative thoughts about this show. We all respect and appreciate the GC award winner and have no doubts about the judges picking these winners. We just stated the fact that the show is getting smaller than the previous years as Nancy and Toni said many high-end hobbyists leaving the show ring. And I don't see anything wrong as making the fact. You over react, and I can see your negative feeling against others' comments.
KN

Quote: Originally Posted by RayJordan Reading this thread and some of the posts taking cheap shots at the San Diego show and the GC award winner really ticks me off. First, the San Diego club and their show are first rate. Great people, venue, and all around class event. The amount of effort and work that goes into putting on a event like this is enormous. Everyone involved with the San Diego show should be thanked for their efforts and contributions. I cannot imagine anyone that has attended a San Diego show or is significantly involved in planning and putting on a koi show would bash another club's event for such poor reasons. Second, rather than marvel and celebrate that a smaller non-gosanke was the best in Show and awarded Grand Champion some have assumed it was by some kind of default and that there were no larger worthy gosanke in the competition. Unless the show dictates that the GC has to come from a certain size or group it is the judges responsibility to pick the best koi in the show for GC. Not the largest gosanke - but the best koi is how it should be. It is very hard for a smaller non-gosanke to win GC let's not devalue that significant accomplishment. We should be congratulating the Monis family and all the show winners. This same family won GC at San Diego last year with a similar sized GR showa that was stunning and very deserving of it's top ranking. To win two years in a row with another smaller non-gosanke speaks volumes about their ability to select and prepare koi for a show. Shame on those that forget the purpose of koi shows and events. It should be about the koi and getting together with other koi people to learn and enjoy the experience. The best koi shows should not be measured just by the number or size of the koi entered but by the overall event experience. Our hobby faces many significant challenges: Aging members with fewer new young members to take on the hard jobs Increasing costs of keeping koi and local regulations about building ponds Increasing costs of putting on a koi event KHV and other significant health threats to our koi It is almost a cliche but it is still true that if you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem. I am disappointed that some choose koi bito to express such negative thoughts.

[koiczar]

Ray

I have to ditto what tategoi kohaku said. No one bashed the "show". It's just amazing that a shiro could win a show like that, quality notwithstanding. Knowing how long that show has been in existence, it surprises me that more quality gosanke weren't entered. It just shows you how the hobby can age for a period of time and then fresh members and ideas come in and the competition level gets reborn. Having produced a few shows myself, I know what is involved. I also know how frustrating it gets after a while when the older hobbyists stop showing and there are fewer and fewer high quality fish that get entered. For Vaughn and Kim's sake, I hope they in fact did beat out some serious entries. They are tried and true hobbyists at the highest level. I saw a sanke they purchased recently up here from a local dealer. I'm wondering how well it did. Absolutely an amazing fish and it was a male!!

Mike

[aquitori]

Kinda interesting that Shiro took all top titles expect of Mature. Anyways, no one is ragging on the show or the winners. What I want to see is more hobbyist helping promote the show back to what it use to be. But we all can agree that not alot of us seen the fish in person we cant say.

[aquitori]

Quote: Originally Posted by Nancy M. Louie was taking pictures last night, I think we will have to wait for him to get back into town, see the the pics. Yes, all the shows are suffering from lack of participation. It is very sad to see so many of the High end hobbiest leaving the show ring. Hopefully with this new generation of hobbiest, we will see the numbers rise. Anyone who takes there fish out to shows should be commended, it is a lot of stress on the fish and owner. And with so many shows coming up in California right now back to back, it is hard to participate in all of them. So we all pick which ones we will enter in. Perhaps we need a combined show with several clubs involved, from Socal and Norcal that way we would have all the top fish in one show. Hobbiest from all over could see what California has. We have the most dealers in one state than anywere else in the US. We are the koi capital of the USA. The home of AKCA / Koi USA. I think a " 1st Annual California Koi Show" would bring out "the best of the best".

All Cali koi show? Wasn't that done in the 70's before? I think it can come true...Alot of work!!!

[Louie]

San Diego Grand Champion will be at other shows in the future. This Shiro utsuri WILL be a fish to watch!!! THis fish has it all When I looked at that fish my first impresstion was that it was BIG I was surprised when Kim told me it was 23". To see this fish in person is to belive how worthy the fish is.The shiroji from head to tail is great and the sumi is as strong . Quality is the key word to discribe the shiro utsuri that won GC ,Best young [15" -18" ] Best Baby, [12'] The Best Mature was a kohaku over 25" difinitly a contender for GC The lighting for this years show was a big improvement .
On a side note there was a Koromo well over 24" that was to die for. This fish was very impresive and a welcome addition to anyones pond. Now to let you all know I can not take pictures worth a damm. But I am working on geting some.
Louie

[Louie]

I have to agree with Ray he has pointed out some very important points. let me give you some stats on past ZNA So.CA shows. I use this only because I have referance to stand by this. In 1979 the entries were 1029 fish.1980 603 fish

1981 312fish, 1983 636 fish. In the late ninties fish counts seemed to drop 350 fish and less . What are the contributing factors ? In the late eightie hole in the side as it was called then, was a major reason for low attendence. In the late nineties KHV reared its ugly head. The hobby has faced a number of health problems and has continued in great strides. What has not continued in great strides is the hobbyist that is willing to give back to the hobby. A few can carry the load for only so much . Most hobbyist join a club to learn about koi once that is done they go on their way. My hat is off to the folks that have helped promote the all Bay show.You see a bunch of folks getting together for a common cause It really makes a differance.
Louie

[B.Scott]

Adding my two cents... I have never been to a US Koi show and my experience it limited to many trips to the UK national BKKS and the Dutch National NVN show. I would love to go to the San Diego show if for no other reason than the fact it's were I was born. But having said that I would be VERY disappointed if I went to a show and the best fish in the show was no longer than 23". I think that reflects poorly on the quality of the fish entered, NOT the quality of the show itself. The people running the show cannot judge fish that don't enter and I have no doubt the best fish won.

I have never been to a show were the GC was less than 30"and frankly I would not want to go to one. I am sure the SD people did their best I would hope that next year brings bigger and better entrants to their show.
B.Scott