Cleveland Ohio, April 30, 2000 - The millennial goldfish show has been judged and the winners selected. Teams of judges applied the new GFSA judging guidelines to select winners in each class and group. This process was carried out between 8 and 10 in the morning. Then the results were collected and tallied. The selection of the final overall winners was performed by the international author-judges Dr. Joe Smartt and Hanson Man (also know as Man Shek-hay) at around noon.
This show was notable from a number of perspectives. One was the judging approach. Another is this Internet coverage. But perhaps the most significant aspect was emphasis on breeder entries. While there were only a few of these entries, they were of excellent quality. And some of the exhibited fish were US bred by amateurs, but were not exhibited by the breeder and so couldn't be entered as "breeder class" fish. This was the case with the best-in-show Ranchu: a US bred fish entering its 3rd year (oya). And a number of US breeders chose to auction their fish rather than exhibit, so the auction had US amateur-bred Ranchu, Demekins, midnight Bristol Shubunkins and other varieties.
The reason this is important is that rare goldfish varieties, like the Egg Phoenix or labor intensive varieties, like the Tosakin, will vanish without dedicated amateur enthusiasts. So it is critical to encourage amateur breeding efforts internationally. While the GFSA is not a rare-breeds club, it nonetheless has proven effective in promoting Egg Fish, Veiltails, and other goldfish that were rare or nonexistent in the US a few years ago.
Now, the envelope please. And the winners are...
Top Awards
Grand Champion
Black Oranda: a very lively, responsive fish with good coloration and excellent conformation
Reserve Grand Champion
Jikin: a rare fish in US shows, this large fish is active, in peak health and displays the characteristic "peacock" tail.
Judges' Choice
Black Crown Pearlscale (Hamanishiki): a nicely colored fish with excellent varietal conformation and superb pearling.
Best Ranchu
Red and White Ranchu: excellent coloring, tail, peduncle ... a great specimen.
Breeders Choice
Matched Pair of Black Demekins: a beautiful pair of matched fish, bred by a US hobbyist.
Most Unusual
Yellow and Black Ranchu: this fish is really a lemon yellow, which contrasts remarkably with the black hood and tail ... no one passed this fish without stopping to look.