Re: Judging the AGA aquascaping contest.

["Karen Randall" <krandall@rdrcpa.biz>]

Hi Steve,

>> I would love to help in any way I can. I am not too concerned with
entering the contest, due mainly to the fact that my tank is never ready. <<

Ahhh, I know that feeling.<g>  The open house last year was actually great
for me because it gave me a deadline I couldn't get out of to get my tanks
in some kind of order.  You can say, "I'm not ready" and just decide not to
enter a contest, but when you've invited a whole bunch of people into your
home to see your tanks, you really have no choice but to follow through.<g>

>> I am somewhat of a perfectionist with my aquascape and although I think
it looks great,..<<

My experience is that EVERYONE thinks their tanks could look better.<g>

>> As a matter of fact I pulled out a 22 stem stand of Limnophilia
sessiliflora this morning and replaced it with some Eichhornia diversifolia
that I aquired from Uncle Ned's about two weeks ago. They were sorry looking
things, and the three stems I got are now ten remarkably fast growing
beautiful plants.<<

Yeah, that came from me.  Unfortunately, it's a plant that Ned kills very
quickly if someone doesn't buy it first.  The good thing is that, as you've
found, under good conditions, it's not at all a difficult plant.

>> As a matter of fact I got some Marsilea from you in February that
completely filled in and took over my 75 gallon tank and I ended up having
to remove most of it because it was choking other plants.<<

A trick with the Marsilea is to cut it into 1-2 node sections, and plant
them each separately. This seems to stunt the growth for quite a while,
allowing it to fill in and make quaite a nice "lawn".  But, as with most
other "lawn" plants, eventually it dose get overgrown, and needs to be
ripped out and restarted.

>> Now let me get back on track here... <<

(ehem) me too.<g>

>> Helping Erik out with the contest is something I would really love to do.
I live, sleep, and breath this remarkable hobby and well I think my own
family thinks that I am somewhat of a freak because of it. <<

Awesome!  I think Erik usually needs a little down-time between contests,
but I'm sure he'll be looking you up when he gets started again.

>>I would not be limited to just the contest either, I would be willing to
contribute my time and efforts to the AGA on any level possible. My current
financial situation is regretably such that I am not able to attend this
years convention, and I will not be able to make any financial contributions
at this time. My time and "talents" are however at the AGA's disposal, which
I am assuming is acceptable. Please let me know if there is anything I can
do to help or participate actively in the AGA.<<

Even better!  I'm sure we'll be able to find a job or two for you.  Just off
the top of my head, seeing as you are here in the Boston area, Ed Pecord is
trying to drum up a core group of people to bring the AGA convention to
Boston (or at least New England) in 2004 or 2005.  I'm sure he'd LOVE to
have someone help him with that, and then youw wouldn't need to travel to
the convention!

I'm sure there are other things we could use help with too, but at the
moment, we're all trying to tie up loose ends for the convention.  Send us
another e-mail after the convention dust has settled, and we'll brainstorm
where/how we can best use your talents and enthusiasm!

Thanks for stepping forward!

Karen



----- Original Message ----- 
From: Karen Randall
To: Steve ; Erik Olson
Cc: AGA Steering Committee
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2003 10:40 AM
Subject: Re: Judging the AGA aquascaping contest.


You are entirely welcome!  As you might guess, sometimes the "management" of
a volunteer organization like this works in a bit of a vacuum.  It is great
when someone takes the time to make thoughtful criticism of a program.  It
give us some input in terms of making future decisions.

Another thought that I have is that since you seem interested in the
contest, perhaps you would like to be part of making it even better in the
future!  Erik has been the driving force behind the contest since the second
year, and did a huge amount of the work even the first year.  I am sure that
he would welcome a willing pair of hands!  (Incidentally, helping with the
contest does NOT preclude you from entering the contest... the entries all
go to the judges with no identification, so there is no conflict of
interest)

Karen
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Steve
To: Karen Randall ; Erik Olson
Cc: AGA Steering Committee
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2003 8:25 AM
Subject: Re: Judging the AGA aquascaping contest.


Thank you both for your response to my letter. Admittedly I was home with a
fever yesterday, and being that it was almost a year ago that I made my own
observations, there was no urgencey on my part to convey my point of view. I
do want you all to know that I appreciate all that the AGA does to promote
the hobby, and I understand and agree with every point the two of you made.
I do appreciate the length and detail that your response went into and it
shows that you did understand what I was trying to say. I think the contest
is a great forum for aquatic gardeners to proudly show their tanks, and
having five judges this year will definately contribute to the overall
substance of the contest. I can not wait to see this years tanks, as I am
sure I will be very impressed.
Thank you both,
Steve Wilson


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Karen Randall
To: Steve
Cc: AGA Steering Committee
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 10:37 PM
Subject: Re: Judging the AGA aquascaping contest.


Dear Steve,

First, I want to thank you for communicating your feelings about the AGA
contest.  It is always easier to remain silently discontent than it is to
speak out.  Expressing your feelings in the respectful way you have is
always welcome!

Second, I want you to be aware that the judging of the 2003 contest has
already been completed.  So while your comments will certainly be taken into
consideration, there is no way they can affect the 2003 contest.

Now, on to the "meat" of your letter.  Please remember that aquascaping
contests are a relatively new phenomenon outside of the Netherlands, and the
criteria used there are far more rigid than ours, as well as being based on
"live" judging rather than photographs of entries.  The AGA 2000 contest
was, as far as I know, the first of its kind.  The first Amano contest
followed closely on its heels.  Now, if you count all the ADA and AGA
contests together, we have a track record of 7 contests over a period of 3
years... not very many still!  There have also been a few smaller, private
contests during that period of time, but I don't know a whole lot about
them.

Of those 7 contests, I have had the privilege of judging 5 of them.
Therefore, I probably have more experience with the process than anyone
else.  First, I must tell you that you are correct in your supposition that
judging these contests takes a great deal of time and effort, and there is
no remuneration.  Even "recognition" is minimal.<g>  Unlike other
established types of competition, there is, at least so far, no "training"
for judges of aquascaping contests.  Even the judging guidelines are
somewhat fluid from year to year... being adjusted as we learn what works
best, and what point systems hopefully put the best tanks on top.

In terms of choosing judges, a lot of time and effort went into deciding
what types of people should be approached to judge.  The first year, at
least one person suggested using people outside of the aquarium hobby;
people with a specific art and design background, but no knowledge of
aquaristics.  While this might sound like a good idea from a strict design
perspective, our aquariums, first and foremost, must be healthy, sustainable
habitats for our plants and animals.  It was finally decided that while
artistry was important, it could not be at the expense of sound husbandry
practices.  Therefore, the choices were narrowed to those involved with
aquariums, either professionally or as hobbyists.  Ideally we would have
experienced aquarists who also had a good feel for the artistry of aquatic
gardening, even if they had no formal training in that area.  With those
thoughts in mind, the organizers of these contests need to use the people
they can get.  Overall, I think we've been fortunate with the caliber of
judges we've had for AGA contests.  As I said before, it is a LOT of work to
judge these contests, and many people just don't have the time to do it more
than once.  Last year's judges were probably the least experienced team of
judges, and I think their comments reflect that.  Still, I'm sure you will
agree that everyone is entitled to their own opinions when it comes to art.
I think that we owe it to these people to accept their hard work in the
spirit in which it was offered.  They worked very hard to not only judge the
tanks but also write their comments, whether we agree with them or not.

I did not judge the AGA contest last year.  I have to agree with you that I
would not have placed some of the tanks in the order that they ended up last
year, but I also show horses, and I know there are many times I don't agree
with the judges decisions there either!<g>  It is a fact of life that there
will be differences of opinion.  What is nice about the AGA contest is that
_you_ as a member can go into the site, look at all the same materials the
judges saw, and make your own personal decision about which tanks you liked
best. The MAIN point of the AGA aquascaping contest (and the ADA contest as
well, for that matter) is NOT to establish winners and losers, but to share
our love of beautiful aquariums with one another.  There will always be
disagreements about the specific merits of individual tanks.

I'm sorry you decided not to enter the contest this year.  We have an
excellent, experienced group of judges. (if I do say so myself ;-)  As you
said yourself, the quality of tanks in the contest has increased every year,
and you will see yet another increase in quality this year.  We are now
reaching a point where MOST of the tanks entered are truly exceptional... to
the point that we are considering the need to add some sort of division
specifically for those who want to share their "just pretty planted fish
tanks" in the future.  We certainly don't want to discourage participation
among those who are not, first and foremost, artists!

Even among those who consistently, year after year, have entered very high
quality tanks to the contests there are certainly no guarantees.  One of the
top tanks in the ADA contest, among over 500 entries last year, was
submitted by not only a novice aquatic gardener, but a complete novice
aquarist!  And as an aside, you may be interested in the mechanics of
judging for the ADA contest.  Because of the large number of entries, ADA
makes the "first cut" before the entries are even sent to the judges.  We
only get to see the tanks that the ADA staff has decided to include in the
"top 10%" or so.  I have seen MANY tanks in the close to 500 tanks that are
cut from competition that I felt were far better than some that were
included.  At least in the AGA contest, you know that ALL the judges were
involved in scoring every single tank.

While I am glad you voiced your concerns, and I recognize them as valid, I
also urge you to join into the spirit of friendly competition which the AGA
Aquascaping Contest is meant to be... Much more a vehicle for sharing our
love of this hobby than a path toward individual recognition.  Who knows?
Whether you win or not, if you enter, you have the opportunity to share your
work and ideas with hundreds of other aquarists, perhaps inspiring them to
greater creativity.  If you don't, you will never know how much of an impact
you might have had!

I am cc'ing this letter to our AGA board.  This is a small, concerned group
who I am sure will read your comments in the spirit in which they were
intended.  I think it is important for them to hear your feelings too!

Thank you for writing.  I hope you decide to enter next year... I'd love to
see your tanks!

Sincerely,

Karen Randall

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Steve
To: krandall@rdrcpa.biz
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 4:19 PM
Subject: Judging the AGA aquascaping contest.



Karen,
For a while now I have wanted to send a message like this one to the AGA
member list @ thekrib.com, but I thought that some may find it offensive,
when it should be insightful. I would really like to convey the overall
point of this message to anyone who cares while not offending anyone, which
is why I am sending this to you, a great writer and editor. I became a
member of the AGA at your open house last February which is something I had
wanted to be apart of for quite some time. I have formal training in the
fine arts including but not limited to painting, sculpture, and composition
design. These are a few thoughts I had about the aquascaping contest of
years past.

I have only been a member of the AGA since February 2003 and I have yet to
post on this forum. I have taken much of my aquascaping inspiration from the
aquascaping contest pictures posted on the AGA website. Now I did not enter
the contest this year only because I was less then impressed with the
judging of the 2002 contest. In the 2001 contest the judge's comments that
are posted at the bottom of each of the entry page seems to me to be
insightful, and express a critique that basically follows the basic overall
rules of design whether it be painting,sculpture, or aquascape. I really
wanted to submit  a tank for the 2002 contest. Well the 2002 contest came
and went and I still had not signed up to be an AGA member.
For me the 2002 AGA aquascaping contest entries were far superior to 2001,
but I was really thrown off by the judging technique used. It seems to me as
though personal preference of arrangement and species used played a much
greater role in judging then the rules of design. I saw many tanks that were
striving for the "Amano look" with American flare and I think a few had
great success. The use of negative space in the aquascape is difficult to
achieve while keeping the aquascape balanced, but when that is achieved it
should be rewarded. Also when the judge's comments are suggesting the
addition, subtraction, or relocation of items in the aquarium (aside from
equipment) one might try to visualize the tank after those changes and come
to see a tank that looks like every other tank out there. Is there a judging
criteria for originality? I know that judging a contest of this size may not
be easy and the rewards may not be more then recognition, but there are many
different set styles of aquascaping including the eclectic style and all of
these styles are only visually pleasing when they follow the set rules of
design not tradition.
I am aware that a judges job is to impart a criticism to find the best
overall composition and I am sure that is what the judges for the 2002
contest were going for. When I look at each picture posted to the contest, I
have an immediate overall feeling about the aquascape. Then when I further
inspect the aquascape, with the help of additional photos, I am either more
or less fond of the overall composition. This is how I view the entries
after the judging for both 2001 and 2002. It is not until after I figure out
what makes the aquascape a success or not that I read the judges notes. For
2002 I had disagreements with a majority of the comments and especially with
some of the outcomes. Now I know that the judges have more aquatic gardening
experience and know how then I do and I respect them for it. I mean if it
was not for each one of their own personal experiences in aquatic
horticulture, we may not be as advanced as we are with growing aquatic
plants. At the same time we really need to encourage new styles of
aquascaping and not suggest that the eclectic aquascape be changed to be
either Dutch or Amano styles, but rather it's own entity. I would really
like to see the judging get back to the basics of judging the aquascape as
it appears in the picture and accepting it for what it is and not what we
hope it becomes. I say this because this years contest is surely going to be
more difficult to judge the anything in the past and next years contest will
be even more so.
Sincerely,
Steve Wilson


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