When is a competition not even a competition

["Mark L. Levinson" <nosnivel -at- netvision -dot- net -dot- il>]

Bruce writes:
> Another problem is that the more competitions there are, the less 
> winning means. (...)  winning a regional competition may be something 
> to be pleased or proud about, but the accomplishment is diminished 
> by the number of other winners.

Actually the term "competition" is a near-misnomer for this
annual STC undertaking.  What the STC judges do is weigh each
entry against the criteria and then award each entry a 
certificate of distinction, excellence, or merit (or no certificate 
at all) according to how each entry stacks up, independently of
all the others.  In a small competition, it can happen-- and 
it has, in my experience-- that all the entries get an award 
of some kind or that none of the entries at all gets an award.

The judges do have an option to give a "best of show" award to
one of the entries that they've deemed distinguished, if they 
wish, but it's only an option and certainly not what people 
(in my experience) enter for.  People are hoping for a 
certificate of some kind and they're hoping for useful
comments from the judges.  (Each entrant gets the detailed 
evaluations prepared by three different judges for the specific
entry.)

So I don't think that the number of competitions dilutes the
value of the awards, with the small exception of "best of show."
I do think that in an ideal world, the undertaking would be
called an Evaluation rather than a Competition, but it's hard
to get people excited about evaluations...

Mark L. Levinson
Herzlia, Israel
nosnivel -at- netvision -dot- net -dot- il

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