Many times the only qualifying requirement to become a trainee judge seems to be normal color perception, while there are many other qualifiers that should be called into consideration.
I have often seen judges who are unable to read a plant tag without spectacles, then proceed to judge a flower without spectacles. Who are they deceiving? Regular simple vision tests should be a requirement. Those who need it should only be allowed to judge plants when wearing spectacles.
On three continents I have encountered stupid judges who have no logic at all. Judging is a procedure which requires a lot of logic processing as well as adequate brain power. Trainee judges should not be admitted unless they can show their competence in some form of logic, such as some good ability in mathematics.
Judges need to have a voracious appetite for orchid literature and information so that they can keep updated. A good library, many subscriptions to orchid magazines and a link to the internet with the ability to use it, must be an absolute requirement for all trainee and qualified judges.
Judges require a lot of free time so that they can do their work competently. People who are chasing career objectives often do not have enough time to involve themselves sufficiently completely in their judging duties.
Age can become a problem. All judges should be retired off at 70. By this time, sight, hearing and general well being are starting to decline, and many old people start turning inwards, worrying too much about their disintegrating bodies and minds, so not being in a position to view flowers, or anything, objectively any more.
If I was a serious exhibitor, I would demand that all judges who handled my flowers satisfied all the above requirements, except the color blindness one -- it may be a useful thing to have a single color blind judge in any judging team among a group of non color blind judges. What is not wanted, obviously, is a team wholly made up of color blind judges.
Gabe S.
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