Re: Common Goals II

[krandall@world.std.com]

At 09:23 AM 7/18/99 -0500, James wrote:
>Good Morning,
>
>After a good night's sleep, I am not as angry as I was when I entered my
>last posting, but I remain frustrated.

Good, I'm glad.  You're doing a good job in a very frustrating forum.
DON'T let frustration cause you to fold.<g>

I've held back in many cases on expressing exactly how _I_ think things
should be structured, because I wanted to hear what other people had to
say.  I know my star doesn't shine _quite_ as brightly as George's, but I
didn't want to intimidate people.<g>

>There is no point in our discussing _anything_ else until we can agree on a
>number of points. To help everyone focus on what those are, I submit the
>following to you for your consideration and comment:
>
>1. While the word I initially used on the APD to describe what we are here
>for was "contest", what I really had in mind, and what I sense a lot of you
>favoured, was more of a "showcase" of the "state of aquascaping as it exists
>today in various parts of the world". Now, this concept is large enough to
>encompass aspects of both "showcase" AND "contest", but the prime purpose of
>the event is the "showcase".

I like the concept of "Showcase", and find no conflict in also awarding
prizes.  I do not like the idea of restricting some types of tanks from
competition.  I'd rather see them placed in a separate category if necessary.

_I_ think (not AGA, me) That the term "aquascape" is and should be, pretty
broad.  I would define it as anything contained in a glass box with water
in it.  How GOOD the aquascape is, is a subjective matter for the judges to
decide.

I think the _AGA_ will support an aquascaping showcase/contest whether it
is limited to real plants and natural "decorations" or not.  Just because
we are gardeners, doesn't mean we can't appreciate tanks of other types.

I agree with George, that the more restrictions we put on things, the more
complicated it gets, and the more we set ourselves up for people to "cheat".  

I suggest that we divide the "showcase" into two groups.  "Natural" tanks
being those that appear natural, and "Artificial" tanks being those with
patently artificial items such as bubbling divers, or undisguised flower
pots.  I think paludariums should be allowed, but I do not think they need
a separate category.  They should be judged as an entire entry, not just
the "water portion".  If they are outstanding, they deserve to be
recognized.  If they are not, again, the judging process will weed them
out.  I would include brackish tanks the same way.  They don't need their
own division.  If they have enough merit, they will receive recognition.  

While I would not oppose a separate division for strictly marine tanks, I
don't think they need to be included in a competition of this kind.
Therefore I suggest that that rules for the contest require that the
entries be clear fronted tanks containing, but not necessarily filled with
fresh or brackish water.  Keep it simple.

I agree with George, that trying to mandate "real" plants or driftwood is a
very slippery slope.  I wouldn't bring the subject up.  I am _only_
suggesting a division between "natural" and "artificial" to provide a
comfort zone for novices.  My personal opinion is that it is extremely
unlikely that knowledgeable judges would choose a tank with pink gravel and
a plastic mermaid over one of George's tanks. (or probably even one of mine
;-)  I look at the "artificial" division as a place where a person who has
a tank for their kids with a sunken ship in it, or the person who has a
breeding tank for their Kribs with a flower pot on its side can still
proudly display their tank, and maybe, win a prize.  It's not to ban them
from the other part of the competition... are we really worried about them?
 It's to give them a better chance to feel good about what _they_ are
doing!  Allow judges to move an entry from one division to another if
warranted, and make the decision of the judges final.

Finally, I think we _should_ divide the tanks by size, if we have more than
a very few entries, but we don't have enough information ahead of time to
do it.  On the entry form, ask for the measurements of the tank, LxWxH.
(allow measurements to be cm or inches, we're big people, we can do the
math)  Request the volume (allow liters or gallons) if you don't want
volunteers to have to bother doing the math for that number.  Ask for
entrant to inform us of any unusual shape, such as "bow front", "flat back
hex" or "cylinder".  That, plus the photos, should give us enough
information to divide the tanks into reasonable divisions for judging.
State in the rules that tanks will be placed in size divisions based on the
number of entries received.

Karen
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