[AGA-Contest] My thoughts on the Aquascaping Contest

["Carlos Sanchez" <tsunamicarlos@hotmail.com>]

Hello all,

First, I'd like to say that we had the best turnout ever this year -- and 
that is really something to be proud of, especially since American 
participation alone was nearly equal to total participation in previous 
years. With this large boost in numbers and the expansion of the scope of 
the contest, I think the contest should also begin to look toward how judges 
are chosen. This contest has always been an 'American' contest by the judges 
that have been chosen year to year. I think it is time to make the shift 
completely to 'international' by having representative judges from around 
the world --which would necessitate an increase in the number of judges to 
at least five or so. Because Asia and Europe alone contribute around 40% of 
participation, I think we should have at least two international judges (one 
from each of those continents) every year. Token? Perhaps, but the contest 
will only expand in scope if the international community is well represented 
in the judging panel.

Second, I think the point system for the judging needs to be rehauled. I 
think there was far too much emphasis on maintenance (and who here wants to 
keep tanks only with Anubias barteri var. nana and Java fern for years?). I 
believe the categories 'selection and use of materials' and 'composition' 
are redundant. Composition of wood and rock should fall under the same 
category as composition of plants. Fish choice should be given more 
importance, as it is a critical aspect of an aquascape -- the harmony of the 
fish with the plants both in shape, color, and movement (if the judge is 
familiar with the fish, he can make such a judgement).

I think Overall impression is weighted too heavily on the scale. It allows 
too much room for subjectivity in an already rather subjective aquascaping 
hobby.

More to come... but here are some initial thoughts,

Carlos


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