Fw: ADA Contest

As I mentioned earlier this spring, I suspect that one of the biggest barriers was the requirement for slides. I am really glad that you have decided to allow digital images as well, but as quickly as we tried to get the word out, it may still have been too little, too late for this year. Hopefully, if the web site and your entry form for next year contain the information that digital images will be accepted, people will be encouraged to enter.

The other comment I have heard repeatedly is that people don't feel that their tanks are "good enough" to compete, or that they don't have "enough experience" to compete. I have pointed out that one of the finalist tanks last year was the tank of a first-time aquarist. But the impression is still there. Part of the problem is that in this country, almost all of our aquarists first start out as "fish tank" owners, then slowly grow into aquatic gardeners. When I speak to many local clubs, there are still many people who are still struggling to keep many plant species alive. So these people are not worrying about Aquascaping yet! But I have also seen tanks of many very accomplished aquatic gardeners spread across our country. Hopefully they will become more confident and willing to take a chance with time.

This is really a very new hobby here in the U.S. except for a small group of us who have been doing it for many years. The interest in planted tanks as opposed to "fish tanks with some plants" has only really started to take off in the last 5 years or so. And even that is mostly among people who are already pretty involved in the aquarium hobby. Among the general public, the awareness of planted aquaria is still very low. You would be amazed how many people walk into my home and ask whether the plants in my tanks are "real"!!! Another big problem is that pet stores, with only a few exceptions, neither promote planted aquaria, nor have people on staff who can advise customers on setting up a planted tank. The proliferation of both products for the planted tank, and books on planted aquaria makes it quite obvious that interest is growing quickly, and the greater ease in getting the supplies and equipment they need will also encourage more people to try their hand at aquascaping. But we still have a long way to go in this country!

We had a similar problem with people feeling intimidated about entering our local aquarium society's "Home Show" (which is also an aquascaping competition, but live... the judges actually travel from one home to another) After I and one other person had won the competition for a several years, other members didn't feel that they could compete, so didn't enter. We both offered to refrain from entering the competition the following year, but the organizers didn't want that, as they wanted our tanks represented. They solved this problem by creating a "Masters Class". Entries by members who had won in a previous Home Show could only enter the Masters Class. This gave prestige to the Masters Class, and at the same time, gave newer aquarists the confidence that they did not have to compete against previous winners. Maybe something like this would be in order at this point. Since the contest has been run for 3 years now, if you had people who had won any prize in a past competition enter a "Masters Class", there could still be quite a few entries in that class.

I do have one other possible suggestion. I know Mr. Amano uses very expensive, specialized equipment to take most of his outstanding photographs. But very, very few aquarists have access to specialize equipment, or the expertise to use it. Could Mr. Amano write an article on getting the best possible results with a 35mm film camera, or a good quality digital camera, on a tank in household surroundings? An article like this might help "everyday" aquarists take photos that they are more comfortable submitting to the contest! You could actually keep an article like this right on the ADA web site for people to view when they go to the sight for an entry information. (maybe he has already written an article like this, and we just haven't seen it in English!)

I think you are doing a wonderful job, and I will continue to promote your contest whenever I get the opportunity. I do hope that more Americans get brave enough to participate!

We can talk more as convention time approaches, but I think it would also be good if we had some of the Contest books at the AGA convention so that people could see the entries first-hand. If you can tell me how much it would cost AGA to buy some to sell at the convention it would be great. The convention will be in November again, so there is no hurry on this. (also, of course, if you have the entry forms for next year's contest done by that point, we would be happy to distribute them in convention packets!)

Yours truly,

Karen