Offered in Cooperation with the American Dahlia Society
ENTRIES AND JUDGING
- A separate section, identified as the A.D.S. Seedling Bench Evaluation Section shall be provided by the show officials. The new variety becomes eligible for evaluation in its third year. Three blooms of a given variety must be entered.
- No charge for entry in the A.D.S. Seedling Bench Evaluation nor requirement of membership in a local society may be imposed on an exhibitor for entering this section.
- No variety is eligible for entry in the A.D.S. Seedling Bench Section for more than 2 consecutive years and if entered contrary to this provision, its most recent scores shall be discarded. A variety may be entered the second year in a show held by the same society in which it entered the year before, and if so entered, the higher score will be certified.
- All entries entered in the Seedling Bench Evaluation must be named and that name must be placed on the entry tag. If an entry does not achieve a final score of 85 and that variety is no longer entered for Seedling Bench Evaluation, the name may be reused.
- Name and address of originator, exhibitor and introducer shall be recorded on a form to be filed with show officials and the entry tag on the exhibit shall be marked with an identifying number only keyed to such form.
- Not more than one entry of a variety may be made but there is no limit on the number of varieties that may be entered. Varieties entered may be grown and exhibited by either the originator or his representative.
- All entries must be judged by at least 2 Senior Judges and not more than 2 Accredited Judges, providing that at least 3 judges participate in scoring each variety and that the number of Senior Judges outnumber the Accredited Judges.
- If a variety shows evidence of disease or if in the opinion of the judges, an entry is not deemed worthy, it should be eliminated from scoring. A notation should be made on the entry tag why the entry was not scored.
- Only Senior and Accredited Judge scores will be used to determine the official reported score of each entry. The final score will be the average of all scores.
- No exhibitor or other person may judge any seedling in which that person has an interest.
- Each entry scoring 85 or more shall receive an A.D.S. Seedling Award ribbon.
- The entry with the highest average of any variety over 85 points shall receive an A.D.S. Achievement Award ribbon. In case of a tie, judges must decide which variety possesses the greatest and most outstanding distinction over similar standard varieties.
- The originator of each seedling which scores 85 or more in the Seedling Bench Evaluation shall receive a Certificate for Seedling Bench Evaluation with a seal of the society affixed and signed by the President and Secretary.
- A Lynn Dudley medal will be awarded to the cultivar which has the highest average Seedling Bench Evaluation score as:
- AA (0001-0515) or A (1001-1515)
- B (2001-2515)
- BB (3001-3515)
- M or MC (4001-5515)
- BA, MB, or P (6001-6215)
- ST, MST (7001-7115), NX or MNX (7601-7715)
- WL or MWL (7301-7415)
- The highest 3 scores shall be used to determine the highest average. In the case of ties, duplicate awards will be made.
- An Evie Gullikson medal will be awarded to the cultivar which has the highest average Seedling Bench Evaluation score as an open center or disc center (8001-9715). All other rules apply to this award.
- The receipt of a Lynn B. Dudley medal or an Evie Gullikson Medal shall be construed as a pledge by the originator to introduce the variety in the year following. No medal will be awarded unless the variety is introduced accordingly. If the variety is not introduced, the medal shall be awarded to the next highest scoring cultivar that will be introduced into commerce. Any dahlia having scored 85 points or more at any one show shall be considered a disseminated variety in the second year following its initial bench evaluation.