DISQUALIFICATION
AND
PENALIZATION
Bruce Monroe – January, 2016
DISQUALIFICATION
• Disqualifications are the only actual “rules”
of judging. All other aspects of judging are
subjective.
DISQUALIFICATION
• Disqualifications are the only actual “rules”
of judging. All other aspects of judging are
subjective.
• When a rose is disqualified, it is removed
from all competition and is not eligible to
receive any award.
DISQUALIFICATION
• Disqualifications are the only actual “rules”
of judging. All other aspects of judging are
subjective.
• When a rose is disqualified, it is removed
from all competition and is not eligible to
receive any award.
• Judges must never disqualify an entry
unless they are very sure of the
disqualification. If there is any question
about the certainty of an offense, a judge
must never disqualify a specimen.
DISQUALIFICATIONS
Misnamed
Improperly Named
Misclassed
Misplaced (when placed by exhibitor)
Unlabeled or Mislabeled
Exhibitor’s Name Visible
Stem-on-Stem (where not allowed)
Foreign Substance
Not Disbudded (when required)
Violation Of Show Rules
MISNAMED
If a judge suspects that a specimen is not the
variety named on the entry tag, and after consultation
with fellow judges confirms this to be true, the
specimen must be disqualified. (When in doubt,
ASK! When not in doubt, ASK ANYWAY!)
If all agree the variety is not correctly named on
the tag, but the judges cannot correctly name it,
disqualification is still in order.
However, if the judges are uncertain about the
identity and there is a remote possibility that the
name is accurate, the exhibit can be penalized
severely as it is not typical of the variety.
IMPROPERLY NAMED
Rose entered with a name that is not
recognized by the American Rose Society. Approved
sources for names are:
A. Modern Roses.
B. Official List of Approved Exhibition Names for
Exhibitors & Judges.
C. Handbook for Selecting Roses (“Buyer’s Guide”).
D. Recent Registrations on the ARS website.
E. The online Modern Roses database. This is the
most up to date reverence and should be used
whenever possible.
IMPROPERLY NAMED
Due to publication delays, a listing in the
American Rose magazine is no longer an acceptable
reference.
If a variety is not listed in any of the official
ARS publications, the Combined Rose List (CRL)
may be used as a reference. If there is a conflict
regarding name, class, color or other pertinent
information between the CRL and the official ARS
publications, the ARS publication will prevail.
“Found roses”, even if listed in the CRL, are not
eligible for registration and must be disqualified.
UNLABELED OR MISLABLED
• No entry tag.
• Variety name or class number
missing.
• Exhibitor’s name missing.
• Exhibitor’s name visible.
• Misspellings and use of standard
abbreviations is not grounds for
disqualification or penalization.
ENTRY TAGS
• ARS Guidelines require entry tags include:
the exhibitor’s name, which must be
hidden during judging,
the variety name, and
the class number. [That’s All!]
• Although show schedules may require a
section number and/or an address, they are
not required by the Guidelines.
• Although show schedules may require that
both the top and bottom of the entry tag be
filled out, it is not required by the Guidelines.
MISPLACED
• If exhibitors place their own entries, a
misplaced entry must be disqualified.
• If a placement committee places the
entries and the entry tag is correct,
the entry must be moved to the
proper class. If the class has already
been judged, the class must be
rejudged.
STEM-ON-STEM
A specimen with a portion of the previous
stem attached.
Species, Old Garden Roses, and shrubs
may be shown stem-on-stem.
To verify stem-on-stem, a judge may
carefully lift the specimen from its vase by
the stem.
Challenge classes calling for multiple
blooms may not be moved. The specimen
must be checked after the class has been
judged.
STEM-ON-STEM
FOREIGN SUBSTANCE
In general, the exhibitor may remove
anything from a specimen to improve its
appearance but may not add anything.
Anything added to the stem, foliage,
or bloom of the specimen to improve its
appearance is a “foreign substance” and
cause for disqualification.
FOREIGN SUBSTANCE
• Anything applied to the foliage, stem, or bloom to
improve its appearance. For example: oil, butter,
leaf polish, green ink, Scotch® tape, glue,
“replacement petals”, etc.
• Exhibition aids left on the specimen. For example:
cotton balls, Q-Tips®, splints, wire, etc.
• Spray residue, bird lime, and dirt are nor foreign
substances (unless you know the exhibitor applied
them to improve the appearance of the specimen).
They are a cause for penalization, but not a
disqualification.
• Temporary name tags (which don’t fit the definition)
are a disqualification (according to the exam).
PRESENCE OF SIDE BUDS
• A side bud is defined as a growth
emanating from a leaf axil having sufficient
maturity to display the formation of a stem,
with or without a flower bud.
• An immature leaf with no stem is subject
to penalization. It is not subject to
disqualification.
• Climbers, shrubs and OGRs do not have
to be disbudded.
Disqualification
Immature side growth - not a disqualification
VIOLATION OF SHOW RULES
If the show rules do not mention wedging
material, or say that wedging material is
permitted without specifying the permitted
material or materials, any wedging material
may be used. However, if the rules specify
which wedging materials are permitted, use
of any other wedging material is a cause for
disqualification. If the rules say that wedging
material is not permitted, use of any wedging
material is a cause for disqualification.
- Guidelines (2012 Edition), p. 4-3.
WEDGING MATERIAL
• If the schedule is silent about wedging
material, any wedging material is
permitted.
• If the schedule specifies permissible
wedging materials, no others may be used
(even though other wedging materials are
not expressly prohibited).
• Wedging material protruding above the lip
of the vase is a cause for penalization if it
is a distraction, not disqualification.
VIOLATION OF SHOW RULES
• Collection and challenge class entries that do
not conform to the requirements of the class
must be disqualified.
J. B. Williams Trophy Entry – requires 10 roses
2
1
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
2
1
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
In challenge classes and collections, DON’T GIVE 110%.%.
DISQUALIFICATIONS
If a specimen is disqualified, the
judge owes it to the exhibitor to write
the reason for disqualification on the
front or back of the upper portion of
the entry tag.
If the rose was disqualified for
being misnamed, the judge should
write the correct name, if known, on
the front or back of the upper portion
of the entry tag so the exhibitor will
not make the same mistake again.
DISQUALIFICATIONS
Misnamed
Improperly Named
Misclassed
Misplaced (when placed by exhibitor)
Unlabeled or Mislabeled
Exhibitor’s Name Visible
Stem-on-Stem (where not allowed)
Foreign Substance
Not Disbudded (when required)
Violation Of Show Rules
DISQUALIFICATION AND PENALIZATION
It is important to distinguish between
disqualification and penalization.
An exhibit is disqualified when it does not
conform to ARS rules or the local show rules. A
disqualified exhibit is removed from competition
and is ineligible for any award.
An exhibit is penalized when it has a fault in
any of the six prime elements of judging. Points
are deduced according to the degree of
impairment. An exhibit that has been penalized
remains in competition and may receive any
award for which it is eligible.
TYPICAL PENALIZATIONS
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Unsymmetrical bloom
Split center
Bloom not typical of variety
Bloom either too tight or past exhibition stage
Faded color
Insect, disease, or weather damage to bloom and/or
foliage
Inappropriate stem length
Crooked stem
Immature side growth
Loss of substance (wilting)
Torn, dirty, or missing foliage
Streaked or missing petalss
Disbudding scar (if it is a distraction, minor penalization)
THE FORMER PREFERENCE FOR TWO
FIVE-LEAFLET LEAVES
The absence of two five leaflet leaves on a
specimen is neither a disqualification nor a
penalization.
The requirement originated with The Judging of
Roses by C. H. Lewis.
The scorecard in Lewis’s book did not have any
points for “Balance and Proportion”. Specimens with
five-leaflet leaves were preferred because the stem
was sufficiently long to be in proportion to the bloom.
Penalizing specimens that did not have five-leaflet
leaves was a way of penalizing specimens whose
stems were too short, not because the absence of
five-leaflet leaves distracted from the beauty of the
bloom.
THE FORMER PREFERENCE FOR TWO
FIVE-LEAFLET LEAVES
The Judging of Roses served as the judges’
manual of the ARS from 1960 until it was superseded
by The Guidelines and Rules Judging Roses in 1971.
“Balance and Proportion” was added as a prime
element of judging in 1971. The requirement for two
five-leaflet leaves was removed.
The rationale behind the five-leaflet rule was
sometimes forgotten. Some judges continued to teach
and apply the rule even though there is nothing in the
Guidelines to justify it.
AGAIN: The absence of two five leaflet leaves
neither a disqualification nor a penalization, and
hasn’t been since 1971.
Questions
Thank You
APPLAUSE!