Once again, I'm going to cause some trouble.
After watching the gymnastics competitions for a couple of days in the
Olympics I thought about the orchids that are judged at a competition. So
how does an orchid get judged (ie. by what criteria can one orchid of one
species win over others in the same species)? Can anyone share some first
person experiences?

Horace

Hi Horace,

And good evening all. Long time no see.

Jerry got it right, but I will offer a bit more detail in case you are
interested.

AOS Judging at a show is conducted just as it is at Judging Centers in terms of
the basics. A judge must nominate a plant, and then all nominated plants are
split among the judging teams. There is an effort most of the time to ensure
that a plant of genus X will go to a team where at least one judge knows a lot
about that particular genus or breeding line.

However, no judge may ever evaluate their own plant. This is where those
blessed creatures who handle registration come in. They not only have to figure
out where the plants are to be sent, but they also have to make sure that no
judge is asked to evaluate his or her own plant. Given how many judges grow and
show, it can be a real juggling act to make sure no plant goes to the wrong
table for evaluation (but when it happens, the plant is just sent back with no
fuss, so no worries.)

Once a plant is in front of an AOS judging team, there is usually discussion of
the plant after which the team votes whether to score the plant. Majority
rules, and if the plant is scored there is a series of strict rules for how to
average and tabulate scores, and what to do in the event that the point spread
between judges is too large. This is all pretty well figured out and you will
usually not see a lot of drama unless a plant is a borderline FCC/AM. That is
when things can get interesting- especially since an FCC requires further
evaluation beyond the vote of one team!

(In case you do not know, an FCC is 90-100 points on the judging scale. There
are usually 10-20 of these each year out of thousands of plants judged.)

The criteria go into what you might expect- color, shape, size, substance,
plant and flower condition etc. But the overriding factor, and one reason why
judges have strict requirements on their frequency of judging, is that the
plant must be outstanding relative to its parentage and type as well as in
general.

That last point is important. It is very difficult to get a high award on a
white Phalaenopsis any more because that breeding has reached a peak where
improvements are incremental at best. However, in a new breeding line a flower
can achieve a very high award and still not be of the same overall quality and
form as a top white Phal that gets nothing.

Time is vital. Best case of this is the highest FCC score ever granted- several
decades ago to a Vanda Rothschildiana. The plant got a 98 point FCC. I am not
aware of this score having ever been exceeded since.

Well I have seen a picture of the flower, and that same Vanda Rothschildiana
today would not even get nominated. In 50 years of Vanda breeding, what used to
be an FCC grade flower in the 1950s pales in comparison to the top plants of
today.


As for ribbon judging, this is where life can get very interesting. I am not an
AOS Judge by the way, but I have clerked many a time for shows (the guy with
the clipboard who shows the judges to the plants to be evaluated.)

For ribbon judging you have teams of judges once again. Usually also a clerk
who has a list of the plants to be evaluated.

Unlike with AOS Judging, ribbon judging does not usually involve the plants
being moved from their exhibits- at least in the US. So instead of having all
the pink Cattleyas in one place to compare and give out ribbons for the "pink
Cattleya section" (ficticional category by the way, more on that in a moment),
the judges have to walk around to all the exhibits and see which plants in
which exhibits are up for the ribbons in the category being judged.

There is no scoring system for ribbon judging- it is pretty much to the
discretion of the judges with the check and balance being that the work is done
in teams of judges (and teams are intentionally mixed with judges from
different cities/regions) and any suspicious or bad "calls" will usually be met
with direct opinions

Once the plants are all seen, there is a vote and that is it.

As for categories, it varies by show. Really large shows may break out
Cattleyas into general color schemes and flower size ranges. Small shows may
just have a Cattleya category. AOS ribbon judging does however require
adherement to a complex set of categories based on genus, breeding line and
flower size- with some discretion to blend categories if the show is too small
to have enough plants for there to be a good selection for each category.

Typically there are also show trophies- AOS Show Trophy, Best Commercial
Exhibit, Best Novice Exhibit etc. Aside from the AOS Trophy which has specific
criteria, the other show awards are pretty much designed at the discretion of
the local society.

And of course there is often best in show as well- Best Species, Best Hybrid,
Best Grown and for large shows best of each genus- Best Cattleya, Best Phal
etc. These are usually selected from ribbon winners in all categories for the
genus.

Ribbon and AOS judging often happen on Friday evenings. Many judges have flown
or driven in from out of town, many have spent all day setting up their own
exhibits and/or vendor booths. Judging can go until 1-2 AM at times (AOS
Judging that is, ribbons are usually disposed of first and with great speed.)

Most people are reasonable and there to have fun. But every show will have at
least one colorful tale when you take that many educated and opinionated
people, ship half of them out of town and keep them up until 2 in the morning


Tom.