Reworked Judging Guidelines & new "Scoring Guidleines"

["James Purchase" <jpurch@interlog.com>]

Reworked Judging Guidelines and Scoring Guidelines

Again, comments in square brackets, [], are to the group and do not form
part of the guidelines.
----------

Judging Guidelines

There are four basic criteria which we wish considered in the judging of the
aquascapes entered in the contest. They are:

a. Overall Impression
(between 1 - 35 points)
b. Composition, Balance, Use of Space, Use of Color   (between 1 - 30
points)
c. Selection & Use of Materials                                     (between
1 - 20 points)
d. Viability of Aquascape
(between 1 - 15 points)

To assist the judges, and to clarify and expand upon the basic criteria,
these are some of the things we ask each judge to consider when reviewing
each entry:

a. Overall Impression -  maximum 35 points

   i.   Does the aquascape make a signifigant positive visual impression
upon the viewer?
   ii.  Do all parts of the aquascape work together to present a harmonious
whole?

b. Composition, Balance, Use of Space, Use of Color - 30 points

   i.   Is the aquascape laid out well?
   ii.  Does balance exist between the various components of the aquascape?
   iii. Is space within the aquarium used effectively? Do open areas exist
and balance and compliment more enclosed spaces?
   iv.  Are the colors of the various elements of the aquascape
complimentary and do they work well together?

c. Selection & Use of Materials -  maximum 20 points

   i.   Are the materials selected for use within the aquascape appropriate
for use in an aquarium?
   ii.  Are the various materials harmonious with one another? i.e. if
several rocks and/or pieces of driftwood are used, do they compliment one
another or do they produce a discordant effect?

d. Viability of Aquascape - maximum 15 points

   i.    Is the aquascape set up in a manner which, with proper maintenance,
is likely to lead to long term success of the aquarium?
   ii.   If used, are the plants selected for the aquascape appropriate for
long term use in an aquarium?
   iii.  If visible, are the animals selected as inhabitants of the tank
likely to cause damage to one another or to the aquascape itself?

--------------

Scoring Guidelines - Instructions to Judges

[Karen criticized earlier attempts at things like this as being "too
detailed" and potentially tying our hands. I have tried to be very flexible
in my choice of words here and in what discretion I allow the judges. The
importance of this is more for placing on the web-site so that potential
entrants can see just exactly HOW the Contest is to be marked and HOW prizes
can be awarded (or not awarded) for each category. The wording is
preliminary, so nobody freak out over anything. If you have suggested
adjustments, please make them but make them constructive.]

1. For each of the four main criteria listed above, please review each entry
and decide how many points you wish to award from the range of points
available for that criteria item. Record the marks for each entry. The sum
of the individual criteria points awarded is the total score for that entry
by that judge.

2. Judges are requested to not, when at all possible, award identical total
point scores to more than one entry per category (i.e. for individual
judges, there should be no tied scores within categories.)

3. The contest organizers will collate the individual judges scores  and
will determine the ranking of entries within each category for each judge.
These rankings will be collated and used to determine the final ranking of
all the entries within the category.

4. Should ties result following this collation, the judges will be requested
to review the placed entries and break the tie.

[This will ensure that the final ranking of entries within each category is
based upon the ranking of images produced by the individual judges and not
on the aggregates of the point scores, which could be overly influenced by
differences in how individual judges award points to the entries.]

5. Once the final ranking of entries within each category is deterimined,
the contest organizers will request that the judges deterimine the awarding
of prizes for each category.

[This should be kept very open - not only because at this point in time we
have no "prizes", but also to allow the judges to exercise their own
discretion based upon the entries received. For example, if a category
attracts a large number of poor aquascapes and even the highest placing
aquascape is nothing to brag about, the judges should have the ability to
"reserve" the awarding of _any_ prizes within that category. Similarly, for
a category which attracts only three very high quality entries, the judges
should be able to award prizes to all three if they so wish.]

At their discretion, the judges may award, based upon the final ranking of
entries within a category, awards as follows: First Place, Second Place,
Third Place, Honourable Mention. Judges have the discretion of awarding any
workable combination of these awards as they see fit. More than one
Honourable Mention award may be granted, at the discretion of the judges.
[i.e. the judges may decide to only award one or more Honourable Mention
awards without awarding 1st, 2nd or 3rd place awards, should they feel that
the entries within a category not merit such an award.]

6. Judges should feel free to consult with one another and with the contest
organizers should they experience difficulties during the judging phase of
the contest.

7. The decisions of the judges are final.

[Not mentioned is the fact that we have discussed the minimum number of
entries required within a category before the judges could award particular
prizes - I trust that the judges can decide that for themselves.]

[Also not discussed yet are the actual prizes and awards to be handed out -
we'll get to that later.]

James Purchase
Toronto





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