[GSAS-Member] Home Show introduction

["Matt Staroscik" <matt@wrongcrowd.com>]

Members,

Here is more information on our upcoming Home Show. Remember that we'll be
photographing your tanks in May, and the awards will be given at our June
meeting. We need your participation to make the show a success!

   - We need *judges*, which you could potentially do sitting at home,
   looking at pictures.
   - We need *photographers*, who will go to homes and take photos. The
   more photogs, the less work for all of us! If you are good with a camera,
   please help out by shooting a couple of entrants, at least.
   - And of course we need *entrants*, so show off your tank.
   - *Don't send me tank details yet. There will be a form soon. :)
   *

Thanks,
Matt Staroscik
Home Show Dude

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

*Show Classes*

We aren't going to have a million participants so there won't be tons of
categories.

*Small Tank*
37 gal or less

* Large Tank*
More than 37 gal

If  we have more participants we can add more classes to match the tanks
they are showing, for example:

- nano tanks (2 gal or less)
- kids' tanks.
- Fish only, AKA the *you keep what kind of fish now? * category

So, if you want to enter a tank, tell us about it, and it we have enough
similar tanks we will make a class for them.
*
Types of Tanks

*All tanks are expected to be fresh or brackish water, planted or not, but
aquascaped in some way. I don't think plants are a requirement, but plastic
plants and pirate ships are not allowed except in kids' tanks. :)

*Entry*

You can enter in every class, but only one tank in each. Tanks do not have
to be registered now, but must be revealed to the judges about 30 days
before photos begin so we can plan photo trips. (Registering now is
preferable though.) We will remind you at the meetings and online.

*Judges

*We will need 3-4 judges. We start by asking for volunteers, and if we get a
lot of volunteers we'll have the board decide. The judge panel nominates one
to the the "chief justice," who will have the final say on on anything that
needs discussing. (Eg, tie breaking)

*Judging*

Judges award points in these categories.

*Appearance (20 pts max)*
Rate general appeal. Is it a good looking tank?

*Difficulty (10 pts)*
Rate the challenge presented by the tank's stock.

*Originality (10 pts)*
Does the tank stand out from the pack in some aspect of its design? Judges
can consider stocking, aquascaping, or even the gear that runs the tank.

Each judge's score for a tank will be summed for that tank's final score.

Some judges will be photographers. Some won't and will only see photos. No
one will see every tank in person, I bet. A tank in person will always look
better, but I think in the end it will even out. Judges should be free to
discuss their ratings before putting down a final value. (Bribes have a
minimum cash equivalent value of $87.)

*Awards*

Each class gets a single *Blue Ribbon* award, for the tank with the most
points. In the event of a tie, the chief justice decides the winner.

If there are enough classes, we can add a *Best In Show*.

The judges will also nominate 1-3 tanks for Honorable Mention at their
discretion. HM can be for anything--even a tank that was very ambitious but
crashed would be eligible, for example.

* Prizes*

Whatever the board can scare up! We plan to have something for every
participant.

*Questions*

Please reply to this thread if your question is likely to be of general
interest, otherwise contact Matt S. directly.
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