The story so far ... Jay Pfahl's Acriopsis was awarded a CBR/AOS. The inflorescence was very undersized.
Andy Easton commented:
<The AOS judges, in their wisdom, gave the plant a CBR for
<the very reason that it was a first sighting, not that they
<considered it a mature specimen!
That statement is rather patronising ... there is no way that this occasion was a "first sighting" because the plant has been around for ages and is well-documented in the literature. What you probably mean is "the first time AOS judges have seen it", which is not the same thing. The unavoidable conclusion is that none of the AOS judges on the team did their homework before awarding the plant. Do all AOS judges work in an information vacuum ?
Jay never commented on the plant's maturity. Mature or immature is irrelevant; I'd expect anyone who is supposed to be something of an expert (such as a judge) to have sufficient knowledge about the species to be able to make an informed assessment; that clearly didn't happen on this occasion. Where individual judges don't have the knowledge to make an informed judgement, they should refrain from passing judgement and withdraw from the team; that clearly didn't happen, either.
OSSEA judges would never have awarded such a plant. They would have returned the plant to the owner with an encouraging comment and the suggestion that it should be bought back for re-judging in a couple of years when it is doing a bit better.
Andy, this story (and your comment) just reinforces the widespread belief that AOS judges are "soft" when compared to their Asian counterparts. In light of your earlier boast to this forum about how the judging standards at the next WOC are going to be high and consistent (you dissed Vanda judging at Dijon, remember ?), perhaps you would share with us all an outline of your masterplan to bring Florida Award-Judging up to Asian standards before the next WOC.
Cheers,
Peter O'Byrne
in Singapore
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