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Pacific Northwest Judging Centre - Richmond Site: A Service to the Community The Pacific Northwest Judging Center-Richmond Site The American Orchid Society has encouraged and recognized advancements in the cultivation and hybridization of orchids through its judging system since 1949. Today, the system, led by nearly 600 certified judges throughout the world, is undoubtedly one of the most extensive, elaborate and prestigious horticultural judging systems in the world. The AOS's system of judging was developed to grant recognition to new and superior forms of orchid species and to improved forms of orchid hybrids, as well as to plants of superior culture. Ideal flower form and optimum cultivation are elusive goals that hybridizers and growers strive to achieve. Judges must be knowledgeable of basic species used in hybridizing and the expected results of their use in breeding, and they must keep current on developments in modern hybridizing.
Clonal Name: Capilano AOS Award #20088211 HCC/AOS 76 points Exhibitor: Don Bednarczyk Photographer: Judith E Higham Images from November 2008 Judging in Richmond, British Columbia (Photos courtesy: Judith E. Higham) 5.1 Purpose of Judging The purpose of judging at AOS (American Orchid Society) judging centers and at AOS-sanctioned shows is to provide a service to members of AOS, the Affiliated Societies and to orchid growers in general, by which their orchids may be evaluated and judged for AOS awards at any time of the year. This is a volunteer activity for which there is no renumeration. Any grower of orchids is invited to participate, and there will be not entry fee charged. Dates and details of monthly judgings and of AOS-sanctioned orchid shows are published regularly in Orchids and posted on the Society's website, www.orchidweb.org. Any certified AOS judge must be allowed to participate in AOS award judging at any AOS-sanctioned judging activity. No payment shall be charged for this privilege. This shall not necessarily exempt a judge from payment of other registration fees at shows, seminars or other functions. 5.3 Submission of Plants for Judging Submission of plant material, either blooming plants or cut flowers, shall be considered valid evidence of the exhibitor¹s acceptance of the rules pertaining to the judging. All plants or flowers submitted at a monthly judging session or exhibited at an AOS-sanctioned show shall be considered as candidates for an award. Exhibitors are obligated to accept and pay the fee for any award granted except where they have clearly indicated before the judging that the entry is not to be AOS judged. An exhibitor may not specify what award will be accepted. Plants may be entered by owners in person, by someone else on their behalf, or submitted by mail. Plants and flowers must be accompanied by sufficient information for them to be properly judged, ie., the name, the cross (if a hybrid), the cultivar names of the parents (if known), the variety (if a species), the proposed cultivar name, the name and full address of the exhibitor and other pertinent data such as previous awards. Lack of such information may constitute cause for the elimination of the entry from consideration. The plant or flower should bear no grower or owner identification, since anonymity in terms of ownership provides greater objectivity. All entries shall be submitted at the expense of the exhibitor. International exhibitors must make arrangements in advance for customs declaration and delivery from port of entry. Plants should be entered in the most presentable condition possible. Pots should be clean or covered, and dead pseudobulbs and leaves removed. leaves should be clean, but not treated to produce an artificial shine. Inflorescences may be staked to permit them to appear to best advantage, but staking should be as unobtrusive as possible, and may be removed temporarily during judging if the judging team feels this is necessary to evaluate the inflorescence. Additional staking or artificial supports may be needed while a plant is being transported, but should be removed before the plant is entered. Cotton, styrofoam wedges, or other material may be used on a developing inflorescence to encourage the buds to develop naturally. Attempts to manipulate flower parts after the flower has opened are usually self-defeating because of damage to the flower. An inflorescence may be disqualified by judges if it is evident that an attempt has been made to mechanically force a flower to a more desirable conformation. All plants and cut flowers will be judged as individuals unless agreement is made in advance for judging them as a group. At the time of judging, flowers shall be in perfect condition unless the judges are unanimous in deciding that the unfavorable condition is an unavoidable accident of shipping or handling and is in now way confusing to their conception of its quality. Plants that are obviously diseased will not be awarded even if their flowers are considered to be of award quality. At any time before judging has started, the chair of judging may advise an exhibitor that the flowers he proposes to submit are not in proper condition to warrant judging at this time. The inflorescence may be withdrawn and will not be considered to have been judged and may be submitted for consideration at a subsequent judging session or show. Once an inflorescence has been judged, it cannot be judged again on the same flowering; however, successive flowering or branching inflorescences may be resubmitted for judging consideration if previously considered flowers are no longer present. When cut flowers are submitted, the entire inflorescence, in one piece, must be available to the judges. Reference: American Orchid Society Handbook on Judging and Exhibition, 11th Edition, Section V, pp. 33 - 34. |
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