Judging, Shows

Rewarding unnamed blooms

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Daffnetters,

Brian and others have a made most sensible argument for allowing any bloom – named or un-named – to compete for best-in-show. After all, if it is the best bloom, how can that title be given to another?

The ADS seems to be alone in excluding un-named blooms (aka, blooms that have lost their name) from consideration for show awards. Surely the existing ADS regulation had a constructive purpose during the early years of the ADS. It emphasized the value of knowing the names of the blooms one grew and exhibited, so persons visiting the show could identify, buy and grow their favorites. It ingrained the important habit of keeping records of cultivars’ names with new exhibitors (including myself).

Perhaps the regulation has outlived its usefulness. Brian and others strongly suggest that it may be more of a barrier to new exhibitors than we have realized.

We, as show organizers, always try our best to associate a name with a un-named flower a new exhibitor brings to the show. But sometimes, we can’t. This whole hoopla we make over the name just might be scary to a new person – and maybe enough to keep her/him from coming again.

I’d support removing the ADS rule preventing un-named blooms from competing – other ADS members, what’s your feeling?

 Bob

At 12:59 AM 9/11/2008, Brian S. Duncan wrote:

 

2 comments for “Rewarding unnamed blooms”

  1. Robert,
    All the members of the NE NC Daffodil Society are new to daffodils, except me and I’ve only been around for 10 or 12 years.
    That’s why we have a blue ribbon given to the best “Unknown” daffodil at the NE North Carolina Daffodil Society.  The newby’s come in with a bucket of daffodils that has been growing in that area of NC for a hundred years and they have no idea as to names.  I always ask the judges to help name them and then we put them into the correct categories.  Last year there were about a dozen that we could NOT identify and we awarded the best of those a blue ribbon – however it had no chance to qualify under ADS for the best in show.
    Technicalities I still have problems with because I am both an Engineer and a former military officer.  If a daffodil is not named properly, and not labeled properly, I would have problems with that. However, if the rules apply to everyone, I can adjust to them.  In the military I learned to adjust to bad rules as well as good ones.  As an Engineer, options are fairly well restricked to a process that goes back thousands of years.  Note:  That’s why the IT industry hates us; Engineers want to do it right the first time, and IT people want to put it in operation and correct it down stream – that’s why IT operations are usually only about 78% inplemented correctly according to government

    statistics .

    If the daffodil was named “Unknown” I could live with that.  If a division 6 was labeled a division 1 and that daffodil was the best daffodil in the show, I’m not sure that I would be a “happy camper” and as a judge I would not want my name associated with it.
    Now that I’ve had my say, I’m going to hide under a rock and let the stones be thrown.
    LOL
    clay
    —
    Clay Higgins
    title=

    ———

  2. The ADS rule pertaining to entering unnamed blooms in a show is a very necessary rule for some shows. Most of the opinions expressed seem to refer to one or several very good unnamed blooms competing for awards in various classes entered by one or two individuals in small shows.
    One of the largest daffodil shows in the USA and probably the world is the Garden Club of Virginia show which is an ADS show.. This show is much older than the ADS and usually has over 100 exhibitors. These ladies get credit and recognition at their local garden clubs for exhibiting and for winning a ribbon. Twenty or so of the leading growers in America exhibit here.
    There are always ten or twelve ladies that show up about an hour before the judging, each with several buckets of daffodils with no names which they want to enter. We help them identify a few of the better ones. If they were allowed to enter their blooms without names the staging would take hours and the judging would take days.
    Many of the commercial growers, after making their selections, mix all of the unselected seedlings together and sell them as mixed seedlings. Murray Evans sold his and mine through dime stores in Oregon. I am sure that people that bought these occasionally grew a “Show Stopper” which could, if judged, win a major award, but with no rules the other fifty or so rejects would have to be judged.
    Respectfully submitted, Bill Pannill=

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