2010 Nationals

[**KAZ** 0]

Kaz did you get a picture of John Kobilanski's Pied that finsihed 4th? Can you either post it or email it too me. I would like another look.

 

 

Sorry Jeff,

 

I didnt have my camera that day :hap:

[renee 0]

personally

that is where it pays to have uncoded rings for some your best birds as coded ring is basiclly same as a marked cage

in my veiw o really its kind of silly they go on about marked cages so much cause the judge can just turn the ring with his stick if he reallywants to know whos bird hes judging

I dunno GB if the ring code is such a give-away. I have stewarded on numerous occassions and not once have I seen a judge look at a bird's ring. On the contrary if there is a question about the bird's owner then the judge asks that the Show Secretary check the records via the show cage number.

[JeffL 0]

personally

that is where it pays to have uncoded rings for some your best birds as coded ring is basiclly same as a marked cage

in my veiw o really its kind of silly they go on about marked cages so much cause the judge can just turn the ring with his stick if he reallywants to know whos bird hes judging

I dunno GB if the ring code is such a give-away. I have stewarded on numerous occassions and not once have I seen a judge look at a bird's ring. On the contrary if there is a question about the bird's owner then the judge asks that the Show Secretary check the records via the show cage number.

 

I cant read the rings on my own birds without my reading glasses let alone see whose bird it is when I am judging

 

I know all the National Judges and a more decent bunch of people I have never met. To be honest amongst the National Judges Panel are the keenest budgie breeders of them all. Actually to see Jim Fletcher win with a super bird is just wonderful. :hap:

By the way Karen I love the emoticons on this Forum

[GenericBlue 0]

personally

that is where it pays to have uncoded rings for some your best birds as coded ring is basiclly same as a marked cage

in my veiw o really its kind of silly they go on about marked cages so much cause the judge can just turn the ring with his stick if he reallywants to know whos bird hes judging

I dunno GB if the ring code is such a give-away. I have stewarded on numerous occassions and not once have I seen a judge look at a bird's ring. On the contrary if there is a question about the bird's owner then the judge asks that the Show Secretary check the records via the show cage number.

 

I cant read the rings on my own birds without my reading glasses let alone see whose bird it is when I am judging

 

I know all the National Judges and a more decent bunch of people I have never met. To be honest amongst the National Judges Panel are the keenest budgie breeders of them all. Actually to see Jim Fletcher win with a super bird is just wonderful.

By the way Karen I love the emoticons on this Forum :grbud:

mabe i was taken wrong or said what i ment wrong

what i ment is if someone is worryed he or she is been miss judged mabe they should ring their bird with uncoded i didnt mean to make it sound like the judges are dodge

im sure they have no reason to be their is so many outstanding birds these days

i only mentioned it as someone told me that its ridiculous i did then tend to agree but when you say it like you do jeff yes i cant even read my birds codes so

mm i suppose it was a dumb thing to believe but then i am very gullible and believe people untill i know them to be either full of it or wrong

 

all in all it must be such a hard decision to be a judge on the day let alone one at the nats

im yet to meet one i think is descriminative to any person i know or have seen or judged a bird unfairly i quiet often ask judges what the moved a bird up or down the line for and always i have seen and understood why

[RIPbudgies 0]

Congrats to Victoria, the winning state.

 

Congrats to all those that had birds in the Nats regardless of were they finished up. There were some super exhibits. For me the stand outs were the winning Black Eye and Clearwing. But I do have a soft spot for them. I must say I really did like the winning Light Green.

 

GB it can be stated that a ring code does make a bird a marked bird. This most definenately true, but, any judge who is fair and honest will not be swayed by the ring code. He/she is there to judge the budgie regardless of who owns it. Any judge who cannot do this does not to be judging at all!

 

As for the three toes forward issue. I agree with Matt and Heathrow, the increase in perch size will not fix the three toe forward problem. In fact it may well cause it to be more noticeable espescially for birds who have this as an intermittent problem. I owned such a bird years ago. He was a good shower and did well but his toe was not always to the front.

 

JeffL, to state that the three toes forward is hereditary only is a little short sighted. The bird I referred to above did not gain his through his parents nor did he past on the trait. The foot of the budgie is quite a complex mechanisim and is easily damaged in the wrong hands, especially at ringing time.

[Daryl 0]

Got back late Sunday night and it was definitely worth the trip. Met up with CB09, so it's nice to put a face to the name at last, and reading thru his post it's almost the same as I was going to write! The winning Green was an amazing bird, so too the winning Grey Green. In fact I thought the depth in the Grey Green class was fantastic and have posted the 8th bird to show this:

 

 

 

I also noted the first 4 Lutinos were rippers and I was impressed with the second Albino which I photographed in preference to the first Albino. Here's my picture:

 

 

 

The first few Cinnamons and the first Opaline Cinnamon were also standouts.

 

Sitting in the audience viewing the Dom Pieds being judged I had the Kobilanski Pied, which eventually ran 4th, pegged as the winner as it was a beautiful bird. In his address the judge noted that it was missing flights which I later confirmed during the viewing. Here is a heavily cropped photo I took seated in the audience (hence the drop in photo quality):

 

 

 

Got a shot of Hanno's 6th placed Lacewing which also looked nice. As you can see this is taken with the camera pressed up against the bars of the cage (no flash of course as I'm not in the business of scaring the cr#p outta birds ). Understandably the stewards got a bit upset with me at this so the rest of the shots I got were the standard old "prison bar" type :grbud:

 

 

 

A final thought on the birds: when watching the judging from the audience it was obvious the birds were quality, but when viewing them up close later some were just amazing and HUGE! Here's a shot taken from where I was seated in the audience of the judges in action; Gary Gazzard and Alistair Home doing the Grey Greens on the left, whilst on the right are Stephen Mow and Macolm Loveridge judging the Greys. Also you can see the lighting stand (it's black) which was a success but got in the way of all my photos .

 

 

 

A picture of the audience viewing the judging:

 

 

 

A shot of the Saturday night Dinner:

 

 

 

And finally a shot of the Ipswich club members who attended the 2010 Nats: Garry, Heather, myself, Anita and Phil. Phil and Anita ran 4th in the Greys and 2nd in the Spangles which was a great effort.

 

 

 

 

I hope to be able to attend next years Nats in Canberra and encourage anyone who has thought about going to make the trip as it is an event to remember

[Taboo 0]

Nice pics Daryl, thanks for the report mate.

Some great looking birds there for sure.

I'm from the sunny coast so I might catchya at a show or auction one day now I know what you look like

 

Geoff

[splat 0]

Thanks Daryl , the photos are great. Glad you had a great time

[renee 0]

Thank You Daryl for the photos and update on you Nationals experience! Very Much Appreciated!

[shannon bird breeder 0]

see the bird's is a big eye opener love the size of the birds

 

i got got reserve lacewing for north Queensland for my fist year breeding i am happy with that

 

i meet Dave Ganzer he is a really nice fallow a really nice weekend

 

i was the small one there i was in a mackay budgie club shirts for the 1st day and i white shirts with blue markings on it for the 2

Edited June 1, 2010 by shannon bird breeder

[JeffL 0]

Congrats to Victoria, the winning state. Congrats to all those that had birds in the Nats regardless of were they finished up. There were some super exhibits. For me the stand outs were the winning Black Eye and Clearwing. But I do have a soft spot for them. I must say I really did like the winning Light Green. GB it can be stated that a ring code does make a bird a marked bird. This most definenately true, but, any judge who is fair and honest will not be swayed by the ring code. He/she is there to judge the budgie regardless of who owns it. Any judge who cannot do this does not to be judging at all!As for the three toes forward issue. I agree with Matt and Heathrow, the increase in perch size will not fix the three toe forward problem. In fact it may well cause it to be more noticeable espescially for birds who have this as an intermittent problem. I owned such a bird years ago. He was a good shower and did well but his toe was not always to the front. JeffL, to state that the three toes forward is hereditary only is a little short sighted. The bird I referred to above did not gain his through his parents nor did he past on the trait. The foot of the budgie is quite a complex mechanisim and is easily damaged in the wrong hands, especially at ringing time.

You are right. I am short sighted. I sure cant read those budgie rings :grbud: . On a serious note I dont believe for a second that 3 toes forward is solely hereditary. I agree with you other things do go wrong.

Thanks Daryl , the photos are great. Glad you had a great time

I saw the 4th Pied tonight when picking my birds up. He is missing flights and probably another part in his downfall was his cap was full of blood quills and there were holes everywhere where his cap was moulting out. The decision to change the Nationals to the 3rd week in June, in 2013, I think will help as the birds are generally in better condition at that time of year...................Sorry "NEWSFLASH"

[Matt Welchman 0]

The decision to change the Nationals to the 3rd week in June, in 2013, I think will help as the birds are generally in better condition at that time of year...................Sorry "NEWSFLASH"

 

Hi Jeff, when was this voted on .

[JeffL 0]

The decision to change the Nationals to the 3rd week in June, in 2013, I think will help as the birds are generally in better condition at that time of year...................Sorry "NEWSFLASH" :grbud:

 

Hi Jeff, when was this voted on .

 

I am not involved at all in any Council or voting. But what I understand is that it was on the ANBC Agenda and it was voted in on Monday at the ANBC meeting.

 

The Agenda item regarding showing the 3rd bird..................... I will let someone else do that one. I will be up all night explaining it or at least trying to understand why they come up with what they came up with.

Edited June 1, 2010 by JeffL

[Heathrow 0]

If thats the case Jeff, very interesting.

 

In the past couple years

1. We have moved the ring issue date, from Jan to Sept.

2. Changed the perch sizes to 16mm

3. 3 birds benched?????????

4. Changed the National show date by a month

 

I would say by anyone standards, this adds up to significant changes. I think some of these changes are good and some are bad, but collectively this amount of change in a short period of time cant be good for our great hobby.

[RIPbudgies 0]

If thats the case Jeff, very interesting.

 

In the past couple years

1. We have moved the ring issue date, from Jan to Sept.

2. Changed the perch sizes to 16mm

3. 3 birds benched?????????

4. Changed the National show date by a month

 

I would say by anyone standards, this adds up to significant changes. I think some of these changes are good and some are bad, but collectively this amount of change in a short period of time cant be good for our great hobby.

 

Heathrow, although I agree with you that there has been significant changes in a short time I don't really think that time period and quantity of change is really an issue. I think it really comes down to the changes themselves. Are they the right ones? Or are they what a small proportion of breeders want who are thinking about one show a year verses the furture of the hobby in general.

 

As for the 3 birds benched. I can't agree with this, two are sufficient. If you add more birds you require more cages, staging etc. You will then need a spare so 4 birds from each class go then you need bigger holding cages and transport cages. Will people down the track then start to say 'the fourth bird should be shown'. I think the show is fine as it is. Maybe there needs to be more deliberation at selection time before the birds leave to represent their respective states.

 

As for the ring issue date. I am not a fan of it. A bird will now be marked as being younger than it actually is. Example a bird bred 2009 can be rung with a 2010 ring. Seller disposes of the bird. Is this seller going to tell the buyer it was bred in 2009 and not 2010. There are enough breeders around to ensure that the D.O.B. will be declared as to what is on the ring as their memory will most likely fail them at this time.

 

JeffL, not having a go re your hereditary statement, rather pointing out other causes. I am sure you just forgot to expand on your statement. Just attempting to stop the flow of misinformation before it has a chance to gather any momentum.

[Daryl 0]

RIP,

 

Regarding the benching of 3 birds, it was THE hot topic of discussion at this years Nationals amongst the people I spoke to. All were for it, as am I, except one. To clarify a point you made, the intention is not to have 3 birds benched AND scoring points with a 4th reserve. The method as I understand it is this:

 

Each state would select 3 birds to travel to the Nats (as they do now) with all 3 being benched. The benching of all 3 birds removes any inference, implied or otherwise, that the team carers are biased in their selection of which two birds are to be benched. Then, instead of 14 birds being judged in each class, the judges are now tasked with sorting through 21 birds. However the awarding of points is EXACTLY the same as it is now. Say for example the WA birds were placed 1st, 2nd and 6th in the class of 21 birds. Then WA would gain 14 pts for 1st, 13 pts for 2nd but NO pts for 6th. In all cases the lowest placing bird from each state does not gain pts. This points system is exactly how the Vics have scored the Young Bird challenge (Frank Gardner Shield where their Nat team is selected) for years and it seems to work okay.

 

So why would we bother with benching this 3rd bird. I look at it like this.

 

1. The first reason is as stated above, there is no bias in selection of which birds to bench. The birds which were selected at State level to attend the Nats will all have a chance of gaining points. And who's to say that the team carers will get it right anyway? The judges on the day may see the birds differently on the bench to how the carers see them before the judging.

 

2. There are 22 variety classes. This means at each Nats there are 22 X 7 = 154 birds which go through the entire Nats process of selection, transport, housing and associated stress only to return home for pretty much nothing.

 

3. The owners of the unbenched 3rd bird have no way of knowing how their bird stacks up against the National competition. You could well have the 3rd best bird in the country for a given variety in that year but you'd never know if your bird remained in the back room, unbenched.

 

4. To me it seems grossly unfair to the owners of the birds that they have to undergo the disappointment of missing seeing their bird judged at Nats level even though it is in the next room primed to go. We have an exhibitor in SQ who has had at least 6 birds go to the Nats but has never had one benched. Imagine how disheartened this person must be.

 

The main negative I can see with benching 3 birds is the initial cost to have the staging modified to accommodate 21 birds. Housing and transportation costs would remain the same as the total birds attending remains the same.

 

Thoughts? I'm sure there are plenty of others with opinions on this and I can't believe it has taken this long to become an issue.

[splat 0]

I'm not big on writing and plus very crappy at the moment but here's my little bit.

 

I am all for it, BRING in the change....

It would be very disappointing for a bird to go just for the ride and not get shown. Like Chookbreeders 2 birds just went for the ride.

Yes our shield works great with the 3 birds shown but only the first 2 birds in the club score.

[RIPbudgies 0]

RIP,

 

Regarding the benching of 3 birds, it was THE hot topic of discussion at this years Nationals amongst the people I spoke to. All were for it, as am I, except one. To clarify a point you made, the intention is not to have 3 birds benched AND scoring points with a 4th reserve. The method as I understand it is this:

 

Each state would select 3 birds to travel to the Nats (as they do now) with all 3 being benched. The benching of all 3 birds removes any inference, implied or otherwise, that the team carers are biased in their selection of which two birds are to be benched. Then, instead of 14 birds being judged in each class, the judges are now tasked with sorting through 21 birds. However the awarding of points is EXACTLY the same as it is now. Say for example the WA birds were placed 1st, 2nd and 6th in the class of 21 birds. Then WA would gain 14 pts for 1st, 13 pts for 2nd but NO pts for 6th. In all cases the lowest placing bird from each state does not gain pts. This points system is exactly how the Vics have scored the Young Bird challenge (Frank Gardner Shield where their Nat team is selected) for years and it seems to work okay.

 

So why would we bother with benching this 3rd bird. I look at it like this.

 

1. The first reason is as stated above, there is no bias in selection of which birds to bench. The birds which were selected at State level to attend the Nats will all have a chance of gaining points. And who's to say that the team carers will get it right anyway? The judges on the day may see the birds differently on the bench to how the carers see them before the judging.

 

2. There are 22 variety classes. This means at each Nats there are 22 X 7 = 154 birds which go through the entire Nats process of selection, transport, housing and associated stress only to return home for pretty much nothing.

 

3. The owners of the unbenched 3rd bird have no way of knowing how their bird stacks up against the National competition. You could well have the 3rd best bird in the country for a given variety in that year but you'd never know if your bird remained in the back room, unbenched.

 

4. To me it seems grossly unfair to the owners of the birds that they have to undergo the disappointment of missing seeing their bird judged at Nats level even though it is in the next room primed to go. We have an exhibitor in SQ who has had at least 6 birds go to the Nats but has never had one benched. Imagine how disheartened this person must be.

 

The main negative I can see with benching 3 birds is the initial cost to have the staging modified to accommodate 21 birds. Housing and transportation costs would remain the same as the total birds attending remains the same.

 

Thoughts? I'm sure there are plenty of others with opinions on this and I can't believe it has taken this long to become an issue.

 

Thank you Daryl for that very information reply.

 

Now that the reasoning behind the idea has been explained to me I can most definately see with more clarity than I had before. So with this new found knowledge I must say I agree with the reasoning and find arguments in favour of this proposal sound.

[chookbreeder9 0]

Hi All,

 

Very well put Daz.

 

I have had 12 birds go to the Nationals since 2006. 1/3 of those just went for the ride - 4 out of 12.

 

Friends of mine had 2 birds selected that travelled to Rockhampton. They are Beginner breeders and also made the trip. Neither of them were benched.

 

I think 3 birds benched is a fantastic decision.

 

Cheers

 

PT

[GenericBlue 0]

RIP,

 

Regarding the benching of 3 birds, it was THE hot topic of discussion at this years Nationals amongst the people I spoke to. All were for it, as am I, except one. To clarify a point you made, the intention is not to have 3 birds benched AND scoring points with a 4th reserve. The method as I understand it is this:

 

Each state would select 3 birds to travel to the Nats (as they do now) with all 3 being benched. The benching of all 3 birds removes any inference, implied or otherwise, that the team carers are biased in their selection of which two birds are to be benched. Then, instead of 14 birds being judged in each class, the judges are now tasked with sorting through 21 birds. However the awarding of points is EXACTLY the same as it is now. Say for example the WA birds were placed 1st, 2nd and 6th in the class of 21 birds. Then WA would gain 14 pts for 1st, 13 pts for 2nd but NO pts for 6th. In all cases the lowest placing bird from each state does not gain pts. This points system is exactly how the Vics have scored the Young Bird challenge (Frank Gardner Shield where their Nat team is selected) for years and it seems to work okay.

 

So why would we bother with benching this 3rd bird. I look at it like this.

 

1. The first reason is as stated above, there is no bias in selection of which birds to bench. The birds which were selected at State level to attend the Nats will all have a chance of gaining points. And who's to say that the team carers will get it right anyway? The judges on the day may see the birds differently on the bench to how the carers see them before the judging.

 

2. There are 22 variety classes. This means at each Nats there are 22 X 7 = 154 birds which go through the entire Nats process of selection, transport, housing and associated stress only to return home for pretty much nothing.

 

3. The owners of the unbenched 3rd bird have no way of knowing how their bird stacks up against the National competition. You could well have the 3rd best bird in the country for a given variety in that year but you'd never know if your bird remained in the back room, unbenched.

 

4. To me it seems grossly unfair to the owners of the birds that they have to undergo the disappointment of missing seeing their bird judged at Nats level even though it is in the next room primed to go. We have an exhibitor in SQ who has had at least 6 birds go to the Nats but has never had one benched. Imagine how disheartened this person must be.

 

The main negative I can see with benching 3 birds is the initial cost to have the staging modified to accommodate 21 birds. Housing and transportation costs would remain the same as the total birds attending remains the same.

 

Thoughts? I'm sure there are plenty of others with opinions on this and I can't believe it has taken this long to become an issue.

 

Thank you Daryl for that very information reply.

 

Now that the reasoning behind the idea has been explained to me I can most definately see with more clarity than I had before. So with this new found knowledge I must say I agree with the reasoning and find arguments in favour of this proposal sound.

 

i say just imadgine how cool it would have been for shannon bird breeder to have his beautiful lacewing shown

it sat in the back room with the others

for a young up and comming breeder that right their would have really incoraged him to a lot more extent than to just get a bird in the team

 

not only could he have been their due to it being in his state he could have asked what the judges though to help him improve his birds

 

 

they point system does work in our sheild events and i do think its a silly thing three birds going at least if your bird goes and is put at risk (as in they all just stuck in togetter ) its may worth your while a tad

i know im not sure i want to ever put a bird into sheild selection(for chance at nats ) as the risk of the bird comming back

either so stressed it dies or just not comming back at all due to it did die

illness ,fights ,stress what ever

to me is not apelling at all just to get a sash and a tag to my name

so i will always have better birds at home when it comes to the sheilds given these risks

Edited June 2, 2010 by GenericBlue

[macka 0]

Hi All,

 

Very well put Daz.

 

I have had 12 birds go to the Nationals since 2006. 1/3 of those just went for the ride - 4 out of 12.

 

Friends of mine had 2 birds selected that travelled to Rockhampton. They are Beginner breeders and also made the trip. Neither of them were benched.

 

I think 3 birds benched is a fantastic decision.

 

Cheers

 

PT

Yes I agree,with the 3 birds, on the bench,it might not look good for the

weaker states,with there birds in 19,20 & 21st.But on the other hand.it might

help them.strive for better birds.

[Matt Welchman 0]

I am not involved at all in any Council or voting. But what I understand is that it was on the ANBC Agenda and it was voted in on Monday at the ANBC meeting.

 

The Agenda item regarding showing the 3rd bird..................... I will let someone else do that one. I will be up all night explaining it or at least trying to understand why they come up with what they came up with.

Thanks Jeff,

 

RIP,

 

Regarding the benching of 3 birds, it was THE hot topic of discussion at this years Nationals amongst the people I spoke to. All were for it, as am I, except one. To clarify a point you made, the intention is not to have 3 birds benched AND scoring points with a 4th reserve. The method as I understand it is this:

 

Each state would select 3 birds to travel to the Nats (as they do now) with all 3 being benched. The benching of all 3 birds removes any inference, implied or otherwise, that the team carers are biased in their selection of which two birds are to be benched. Then, instead of 14 birds being judged in each class, the judges are now tasked with sorting through 21 birds. However the awarding of points is EXACTLY the same as it is now. Say for example the WA birds were placed 1st, 2nd and 6th in the class of 21 birds. Then WA would gain 14 pts for 1st, 13 pts for 2nd but NO pts for 6th. In all cases the lowest placing bird from each state does not gain pts. This points system is exactly how the Vics have scored the Young Bird challenge (Frank Gardner Shield where their Nat team is selected) for years and it seems to work okay.

 

So why would we bother with benching this 3rd bird. I look at it like this.

 

1. The first reason is as stated above, there is no bias in selection of which birds to bench. The birds which were selected at State level to attend the Nats will all have a chance of gaining points. And who's to say that the team carers will get it right anyway? The judges on the day may see the birds differently on the bench to how the carers see them before the judging.

 

2. There are 22 variety classes. This means at each Nats there are 22 X 7 = 154 birds which go through the entire Nats process of selection, transport, housing and associated stress only to return home for pretty much nothing.

 

3. The owners of the unbenched 3rd bird have no way of knowing how their bird stacks up against the National competition. You could well have the 3rd best bird in the country for a given variety in that year but you'd never know if your bird remained in the back room, unbenched.

 

4. To me it seems grossly unfair to the owners of the birds that they have to undergo the disappointment of missing seeing their bird judged at Nats level even though it is in the next room primed to go. We have an exhibitor in SQ who has had at least 6 birds go to the Nats but has never had one benched. Imagine how disheartened this person must be.

 

The main negative I can see with benching 3 birds is the initial cost to have the staging modified to accommodate 21 birds. Housing and transportation costs would remain the same as the total birds attending remains the same.

 

Thoughts? I'm sure there are plenty of others with opinions on this and I can't believe it has taken this long to become an issue.

 

Good explanation Daryl, Ive been asking about this since I joined back in the hobby , Reason being , after every Nationals the same questions and fingers get pointed around, Unfortunatly the carrers cop the flack and these people are the ones putting in their time and effort .We should be assisting them, benching the third bird will help.

 

I hope this will go through.

My only other beef ( yeah I can hear you ) I think we should drop the Hens class, Hens of today are mixing it with the cocks on the top shelf so I dont see the relevance of this class . This can make way for Extra boxes and reduce costs. Or , wait for it . Introduce a new Variety as a national class , now I dont mean Suffused or dilutes ( Thats another arguement/discussion ) , But maybe the Saddleback , its a relative new variety and one that I believe should not be let disappear.

My thoughts , for what there worth.

[splat 0]

What about the violet class, when does it going to hit the Nationals. Does any other state have violet class at there shields. We do Victoria but the violet stays home NO Nationals yet.

It is only a new class for Victoria.

But as a beginner and going up to the next level soon I would be very disappointed if my bird wasn't benched.

Last year I was in the National team as a reserve but my bird didn't go.

[JeffL 0]

RIP,

 

Regarding the benching of 3 birds, it was THE hot topic of discussion at this years Nationals amongst the people I spoke to. All were for it, as am I, except one. To clarify a point you made, the intention is not to have 3 birds benched AND scoring points with a 4th reserve. The method as I understand it is this:

 

Each state would select 3 birds to travel to the Nats (as they do now) with all 3 being benched. The benching of all 3 birds removes any inference, implied or otherwise, that the team carers are biased in their selection of which two birds are to be benched. Then, instead of 14 birds being judged in each class, the judges are now tasked with sorting through 21 birds. However the awarding of points is EXACTLY the same as it is now. Say for example the WA birds were placed 1st, 2nd and 6th in the class of 21 birds. Then WA would gain 14 pts for 1st, 13 pts for 2nd but NO pts for 6th. In all cases the lowest placing bird from each state does not gain pts. This points system is exactly how the Vics have scored the Young Bird challenge (Frank Gardner Shield where their Nat team is selected) for years and it seems to work okay.

 

So why would we bother with benching this 3rd bird. I look at it like this.

 

1. The first reason is as stated above, there is no bias in selection of which birds to bench. The birds which were selected at State level to attend the Nats will all have a chance of gaining points. And who's to say that the team carers will get it right anyway? The judges on the day may see the birds differently on the bench to how the carers see them before the judging.

 

2. There are 22 variety classes. This means at each Nats there are 22 X 7 = 154 birds which go through the entire Nats process of selection, transport, housing and associated stress only to return home for pretty much nothing.

 

3. The owners of the unbenched 3rd bird have no way of knowing how their bird stacks up against the National competition. You could well have the 3rd best bird in the country for a given variety in that year but you'd never know if your bird remained in the back room, unbenched.

 

4. To me it seems grossly unfair to the owners of the birds that they have to undergo the disappointment of missing seeing their bird judged at Nats level even though it is in the next room primed to go. We have an exhibitor in SQ who has had at least 6 birds go to the Nats but has never had one benched. Imagine how disheartened this person must be.

 

The main negative I can see with benching 3 birds is the initial cost to have the staging modified to accommodate 21 birds. Housing and transportation costs would remain the same as the total birds attending remains the same.

 

Thoughts? I'm sure there are plenty of others with opinions on this and I can't believe it has taken this long to become an issue.

 

okay I have teased you a little bit......

 

I could be totally wrong on this but from what I understand is 2 years of 3 birds being benched. Followed by a further trial of only two birds going for the ride. There is a possibilty that only one will score points. This is to be worked out. Further, and this could be a good thing the powers that be have set up a sub committtee to explore whether we should add further classes when only two birds are sent. My thoughts would be Violets, Dilutes, Olive/Dark Greens and Cobalts/Mauves. That will shake you all up

 

[renee 0]

What about the violet class, when does it going to hit the Nationals. Does any other state have violet class at there shields. We do Victoria but the violet stays home NO Nationals yet.

It is only a new class for Victoria.

But as a beginner and going up to the next level soon I would be very disappointed if my bird wasn't benched.

Last year I was in the National team as a reserve but my bird didn't go.

Yeah, I was wondering about that too Splat. For some reason I thought it would have been included this year ... but no!