A new rule to being a judge...

[dinh]

Quote: Originally Posted by schildkoi Broad shoulders and kevlar underwear. One has to beable to take all the shots thrown at them as well Steve

OK, that is doable, reasonable, and acceptable as well ;-)))

[koibito]

In my humble opinion, if you want to be certified to become a judge, you have to have at least one champion koi (AJ is preferred) under your belt. When you are already a judge, you can not be certified to judge any kind of nishikigoi if you have never win any in that category.

[luke frisbee]

Quote: Originally Posted by karipeters Going to the AJ show is a great learning experience. Here is the problem I see. Everything is written in Kanji or Harigana (sp?), and the judging is done on Friday & doesn't allow anyone but the judges inside... There would need to be a lot of translating going on, and a lot of time with the judges to understand their process... It's a great idea for them to go, but hard to figure out how they would work those issues out...

As soon as I read the first post I thought, "Going to the BKKS National would be a better step. There you can eavesdrop on a number of conversations and understand them as they Speak the language of the God Almighty Dollar; AMERICAN.
Even the judges speak AMERICAN, and you can stand across from them and listen...heck BKKS might even let Canidate judges Shadow the BKKS Judges...and The British show has better and More koi than the Big US Shows I have attended so the eye could get tuned as well

[koiczar]

Bob and Steve

Thanks for all your candid asessment of your trip down judges lane. Now that I'm retired I certainly have the time but unfortunately not the funds. Hopefully things will change here over the next year.

When you talk about going to visit breeders in Japan you're correct! A little knowledge is dangerous - more is better. If you can somewhat talk to a breeder and inquire e.g. about his oyagoi and what his philosophies are for his breeding program, you can gain respect for your knowledge and inquisitiveness while at the same time show them the respect they so richly deserve. These guys are basically farmers (though very sharp) and they work very,very hard and long to achieve their stature within the Shinkokai. This, as growing bonsai for example, doesn't blossom overnight. It takes years and years to understand. That's why most don't want to give away their success story to just anyone. It took them too long a journey to get to where they are. I have been very fortunate in my travel to Japan to have made friends with a couple of high profile breeders. The next time I go over (hopefully in Oct.) I can discuss more of their philosophies with them. I think by this trip, they may let me know a little about how they see things.

Thanks again for both of your input. It has helped open my eyes a little more to what it takes

Regards

Mike

[koiczar]

Koibito

IMHO, your idea is a very difficult one.First, a lot of hobbyists don't have the funds to win at that level. I sure as hell don't. But, I have found that over the years, you learn to find your niche in a competition, be it competing for Baby, Young, Mature or Grand Champion. To me, they all have the same significance and prestige attached, just a different price tag. I have been in the hobby for over 40 years and still don't have an award higher than "Best in Size". Doesn't mean I don't have a good eye, just a short pocketbook. That's why, for me, trying to find a young fish that I can afford, grow it to a larger size and maintain it's intended quality, that to me is what the hobby is all about.

[aquitori]

First off the AKCA is topping off their judges at 30 people. Anybody after that has to wait until someone retires. My question to that is how old will a judge be until he/she retires? It's like the Supreme Court of Koi...

[schildkoi]

I cringe at the funds spent on judging as it is. I don't have a GC, let alone a GC at the AJ. AJ champions wouldn't be enough to supply all of the judges required either. Now how many GC's could I have purchased had it not been for the monetary committments of judging? More than a few, for sure LOL. Its not about whether you own a GC, its a matter of you can correctly pick a GC and sort through the attributes through your "eyes" to make that determination.

I think I have won every award possible short of GC over the last 10+ years of showing Koi from one coast to the other and most places in between. Even a few awards abroad. Does that in and of itself mean I can judge? Nope, the exposure and experience however has helped my "eyes" sort out the attributes though.

Steve

[schildkoi]

There have been candidates added to the judging program, if not mistaken, every year since it was formed. There are I believe new new candidates entering this year as well. Although the cap is I believe 30, many candidates never get certified ( for a variety of reasons) and almost every year a certified judge will drop out or retire. There are some judges who "retire" and other judges who are "retired".

Steve

[aquitori]

Quote: Originally Posted by schildkoi I cringe at the funds spent on judging as it is. I don't have a GC, let alone a GC at the AJ. AJ champions wouldn't be enough to supply all of the judges required either. Now how many GC's could I have purchased had it not been for the monetary committments of judging? More than a few, for sure LOL. Its not about whether you own a GC, its a matter of you can correctly pick a GC and sort through the attributes through your "eyes" to make that determination. I think I have won every award possible short of GC over the last 10+ years of showing Koi from one coast to the other and most places in between. Even a few awards abroad. Does that in and of itself mean I can judge? Nope, the exposure and experience however has helped my "eyes" sort out the attributes though. Steve

To me I am a poor man in a rich man's hobby. I get a kick if my $250 fish beats out a fish someone paid $3000 for. That was the case for my Mature Champion at Gardena last year. In all honesty I will never win GC, but I have trained my eye for the last 6 years to focus on what is the best out there. When I say out there I mean around the world. Those "Nishikigoi Monthly" magazines have really paid their weight in gold and I can find koi with a budget to play with the big boys at a show....

Honestly, I wish all judges had the means to make a trip to an "All Japan" Koi Show and checkout what the caliber is so they can gauge koi when they judge.

[koiczar]

Tony

AKCA has a higher percentage of shows in the U S yearly. Therefore, until they succumb to the same style of judging as ZNA, why bother worrying about going to Japan? That would do one of two things come to think about it

1. It would confuse the hell out of the AKCA judges

2. They might start changing their decisions based on what they learned abroad rather than here.

Please understand folks, I'm not ragging on the AKCA. I'm simply pointing out that there are some differences in the two organizations' judging aspects. The major one is how much emphasis is placed on pattern!