The Judgment
by Rick Graham
Reprinted from Feb/March 2001 "Tank Topics," Greater Akron Aquarium
Society, and originally appeared in the December 1984 issue of The Aquatic Forum, the
official publication of the Stark County Aqua Life Enthusiasts Society (SCALES), Canton,
Ohio.
Aquarticles
It is interesting to see some new members of any aquarium society enter their first
monthly bowl show or annual all-species show. The pattern is usually the same; first, they
just want to learn. Next, they want to place, followed by winning from time to time, then
winning most always. FINALLY comes the time to second-guess the JUDGE. Now don't get me
wrong, second-guessing the judge is healthy. As with all humans, judges do make mistakes,
However, there is usually a rational reason why that judge didn't pick your entry. In this
article I will attempt to explain just how a judge may go about selecting show winners and
losers. Let's start with bowl shows and then progress to the all-species show.
Before discussing the judging of a bowl show, let's first review the bowl show itself.
What is the purpose of a bowl show? Is it a place to learn how to show fish? Is it a
place to see different varieties of fish available of a certain family? Or is it a place
to show off your favorite fish? The answer is: it is all these things and more. It can
also be very competitive and a very ego inflating experience. No matter how you may try to
down play the competitive side of the bowl show, it still exists. Some members are always
going to be more competitive than others, just because of their nature. If handled in a
constructive (translated as fun, informative and friendly) manner, the competition can be
good for the society. However, if egos grow too large and the reasons for becoming
interested in the hobby are lost to the glitter and gold, bowl shows can and will cause
problems. The first indication that things are getting out of hand is when members become
overly irritated by a bowl show judge's selection. Judging a bowl show, if done correctly,
is not as easy as it may seem. Let's fantasize a little with a make-believe monthly bowl
show. The category is "All Livebearers except Guppies". A total of sixteen fish
were entered, six of which are worthy of placing in only three award positions.
The first possible winner is a large, beautifully colored Pineapple Platy with no
flaws. The second potential winner is a very large Ameca splendens, a truly impressive
entry. The third candidate is a rare Veiltail Molly with a long flowing caudal. The fourth
candidate is a huge Anableps. The fifth potential winner is a vividly colored Red
Swordtail, which is extremely large. Finally, the last potential winner is an outstanding
Hi-fin Plumetail Platy. All six entries were flawless and represented the highest quality
of its type. Which would you select? Would you select the less common and very large
entries such as the Ameca splendens or Anableps? Or would you select the extremely fancy
varieties, such as the Veiltail Molly and the Hi-fin Plumetail Platy? Both of these
varieties took a lot more work to develop. Or would you select the very colorful, more
common entries such as the Red Swordtail and the Pineapple Platy? After all, such
outstandingly colored specimens arc seldom seen. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Should
you select the rarer or the fancier? Maybe the larger. No, how about the more colorful.
You look hard but can't find a flaw on any of the six finalists. What can you do? The
answer may be in the deportment of the fish or the way the exhibitor displays his entry.
If the tank has water pots or no background paper, it could decide in what position the
entry finishes. If you can't use these methods as a tiebreaker, there is only one other
thing to do. That is, choose the one YOU LIKE BEST!! After all, you are the judge. If you
have been consistent and fair, you have no alternative and it is the best way left to go.
Now, let us take a look at the entries in another "make believe" class. This
time the class will be in a multi-class (all species) show. At first you may think this
will be easier to judge than our bowl show class. After all, those livebearer entries from
our bowl show would now be placed in a number of classes instead of one. However, the
multi-class show can develop its own judging problems.
Since our example of bowl show entries were so excellent, lets go to the other extreme
for our multi-class show. The "make believe" class this time with be Large
Cichlids. Now Large Cichlids, like all large fish classes, have an element that can cause
irritation with the entrant when their fish does not win. This is because a large fish
becomes more personal as a pet. In many cases this may be their only entry, and only one
of a few fish the hobbyist may have raised. With the intelligence of a large fish comes a
closer bond between the fish and the owner. So, the owner of a losing fish can become very
upset if his fish doesn't place where he thinks it should.
In our "make believe" example class we have only seven entries. They are a
Longfinned Red Oscar (Astronotus ocellatus), a Black Belt Cichlid (Cichlasoma
maculicauda), an Aztec Cichlid (Cichlasoma managuense), a Mozambique Cichlid
(Tilapia mossambica), a Ringtailed Pike Cichlid (Crenicichla saxatilis),
a Texas Cichlid (Cichlasoma cyanoguttatum) and a Chanchito Cichlid (Cichlasoma
facetum). Each entry has a flaw of one kind or another. As a judge you must select
which flawed entry will win or lose, since you can't disqualify the whole class. The
Longfinned Red Oscar has good coloration. Now, I personally do not like the frayed finnage
even though it is common with this variety. Should you or I as a judge reward the entry
because it is rare? Or, if you feel this variety needs more genetic work because of the
frayed finnage, be disqualified? The next entry is a very large Black Belt Cichlid. This
entry has very, very permanent scars, probably from battles with tank mates. The
Mozambique has a one half inch split in the caudal fin. Since this is a large entry it was
probably damaged during the process of catching it and bringing it to the show. The
three-fourths grown Ringtailed Pike Cichlid is a worthy entry. Other than the size of the
fish it is flawless and had outstanding color. The Texas Cichlid is a large entry but is
very underfed and the eyes had a film on them indication the entry was stressed. The Aztec
Cichlid is a nice entry however it has numerous pin holes (some large) in between the
dorsal rays. It has been my experience that these holes do not heal. The last entry is the
Chanchito Cichlid, which has small hole in the lip area. This is common with Cichlids and
is often caused by locking lips with other fish during combat or spawning. Small holes can
mend, however larger holes can leave dents or scars. Now that you have reviewed each
entry, how would you place them?
Since each have a flaw, how do you come to a decision? First, consider if the flaw is
temporary or permanent, The entries with a split in the finnage, underfed and undersized
are probably all temporary defects. The entry with holes in the hp area may or may not be
temporary. The remainder of the entries have what I would consider permanent defects. Now
you can reduce the competition down to three or four entries. How you select the order of
the top three positions is up to how you feel about each entry's defect. Many judges would
select the younger, smaller entry since it was otherwise flawless. Keep in mind that fish
shows are beauty contests. As you can see I am not saying which entry should be first,
second or third. The reason for the article is to let you see how a judge may go about
judging a class. It is important to know that both of these examples were extremes.
Normally a class will have one or two outstanding entries to place first or second plus a
few that could be the third place winner.
Another item that can be a factor in judging an 611-species show is the fact that not
all judges are experts with the types of fish they are judging. While most show committees
try to get the best judges for each class, there are many of the odd classes that the
judge must pick up because the show committee cannot afford to bring in a judge for one
Killifish or Saltwater class. So, the judge does the best he can with his limited
knowledge in these classes. This is when the judge looks hard for flaws in an entry and
uses the flaw as a reason to remove (sometimes referred to as disqualify) the entry from
competition.
So the next time you second-guess that judge, take a minute to understand why they made
their selections. If you don't agree, voice your opinion in a mature and intelligent
manner. To be honest, you will win some when you should have lost and lose some when you
should have won. It all seems to even out in time if you show often enough.
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