The Competition Secretary answers some of your questions
Why does work have to be handed in 2 weeks before judging?
So that I can study your work and steal your ideas for my future work. But also, so that I can decipher your entry form, work out which way up to show your images, prepare the spreadsheets, agree with the judge how many items can be judged and hold back the rest, arrange the work in the order to be judged, print labels and stick them on the prints giving the competition details, and sometimes deliver the work to the judge well in advance.
Doesn't this cause new members to miss the first competition of the season?
Well Yes! That is a cunning ploy by existing members to put new members at a disadvantage! But we've been rumbled, so we now try (however reluctantly) to ensure that new members can join rapidly at the start of a season in order to enter the first competition, and I try to allow new members to be a little late handing in work for the first competition, judge permitting.
Does the Competition Secretary handle work carefully?
Of Course! I wear gloves when handling work. Cotton gloves for my own work, gardening gloves for everyone else's work. Being serious - if you are worried about the handling of your work, enter only your second rate work. (It will give the rest of us a chance). Oh ... you already do enter only your second rate work? That explains a lot.
Why is work judged in the order that it is?
To keep you guessing, also known as "retaining your interest". A new scheme, (a variation on the previous scheme), will be tried for the second competition. (Unless, of course, the judge chooses his own order). All work of a particular priority, (for example, all 4s), will be judged before all work of higher priority, (for example, all 3s). Then, within any priority, work will be shown in a random order. This should ensure that everyone entering work, even just one print, will have to stay until the end of the competition to know how they have fared, and no one has the advantage or disadvantage of always following a given other person.
Why are prints shown before slides?
Because, if slides are shown first, prints look rather small and insignificant in comparison. ("Isn't that an argument for getting rid of prints" I hear you say. In fact, it may be an argument for replacing both prints and slides with projected digital images, but let's not be too hasty!)
Why did it take so long for the results to be published?
So that you will have forgotten what scores the judge gave, and won't rumble me if I tweak them to my advantage.
I am revising my processes and tools to speed up publication of results in future. (Quite a bit of work is needed to check and record the results, build the tables, develop the web pages, and upload them).
Why are the results displayed in the order they are?
The basic results are listed according to author's name, sorted by "surname given-name". For any author, work is in priority order, 1 then 2 then 3, etc. The Print Worker, Slide Worker, and Club Worker results are in decreasing order of total. Where there are multiple people with the same total, at the moment they are sorted by "surname given-name". (This latter is not ideal, and may change in future).
Do you have any tips for improving scores?
Composition is very important. Compose your begging letters to me with suitable flattery and grovelling. Remember "the rule of thirds". Whatever you pay me, I keep one third and the other two thirds goes to the judge.