4th International Shrimp Championship 2012
The 4th International Shrimp Championship will take place from 27 to 29 January 2012 as part of the Heimtiermesse Hannover. The event was conceived with the idea of presenting the hobby of keeping freshwater invertebrates to those interested in this sphere, and also to organise an international competition for shrimp breeders.
Like last year’s competition, the Shrimp Championship is being organised by the Caridina magazine (Dähne Verlag GmbH, Ettlingen) and the Arbeitskreis Wirbellose in Binnengewässern of the VDA (Freshwater Invertebrates Working Group of the German Union of Aquarium Clubs, AKWB).
Competition host (Organizing committee)
Friedrich Bitter, Geeste, Germany, Initiator and competition chairman
Dähne Verlag GmbH, Ettlingen, Germany, represented by Thomas Heinen
Arbeitskreis Wirbellose in Binnengewässern (AKWB), represented by Lars Dwinger, Bargteheide, Germany
Categories
Category 1
Neocaridina cf. heteropoda (red variants like Red Fire/Red Cherry and Sakura)
Category 2
Neocaridina cf. heteropoda (other colours such as Yellow Fire, orange, black)
Category 3
Tiger shrimp (red and blue tiger shrimp)
Category 4
Tiger shrimp (black including Black Orange Eyes)
Category 5
Red & Black Bee, Shadow Bee Family “Mixed breed” (Grade A to S)
Category 6
Red & Black Bee, Shadow Bee Family “Mixed breed” (Grade SS and above)
Category 7
Blue Bolt and snow white shrimp
Category 8
Taiwan bees, shadow bee family red and black (from Wine Red via Red Ruby and Panda to King Kong)
Category 9
Crossbreeds and new colour mutations of bee shrimp, tiger shrimp and neocaridina cf. heteropoda
Acceptance and safe-keeping of the registrations
Your registration as a competitor can only take place at www.garnelenchampionat.de with the according application form. The generated registration is automatically sent to admin@garnelenchampionat.de . The recipient is Thomas Heinen from the Dähne Verlag. Mr Heinen keeps a list with all competitors and the corresponding category. The list is only accessible for Mr Heinen.
The participation fee is deposited into the account of the AKWB. The AKWB will inform Mr Heinen about the deposits. There is a possibility that, due to the deposit, competitor names will be known to the AKWB. Further competition relevant information will not be able to be seen with the transfer of the deposit.
Allocation of the competition tanks
After the application deadline Mr Heinen will allocate the number of tanks for each category, based on the received registrations. Every show group must be keeping in a seperate transport bag. The transport bags must be inscribed with the following details: category, genus and, if applicable, the variant or grade. Please ensure these details are clearly legible and applied with a waterproof marker. The participant’s full name should NOT be on the transport bag.
Shrimp deliveries may only be opened by the organizing committee, which consists of Friedrich Bitter, Lars Dwinger and Thomas Heinen. Should you wish to bring your show group personally, please make sure that the transport bag is only handed to a member of the organizing committee. The organizing committee will then inform the helpers of the AKWB in which tank the respective competition show group is to be placed. This guarantees that no helper knows to whom the competition show group belongs to.
Mr Bitter, as a specialist and competition chairman, will check that the handed in shrimps are corresponding to the relevant group. Should obscurities such as missing or wrong labelling arise and the correct allocation is not possible, the shrimps will be displayed in separate tanks outside the competition floor with no means of being judged.
Appointment of the Jurors
The jurors will be appointed by the competition chairman Friedrich Bitter.
The allocation of the jurors to the competition group is ensued by the organizing committee (Friedrich Bitter, Lars Dwinger, Thomas Heinen). To hereby ensure that no juror will judge a group in which he has a family member or own animals competing in the competition.
The names of the appointed jurors will not be published beforehand, to ensure the neutrality of the jurors and to avoid manipulation or bribing. The organizing committee will endeavour an even mixture of national and international jurors. If possible, each juror team will be composed of a German and an international juror.
Judging procedure
To be able to assess breeding performance, a show group consists of three to five shrimp. The three best specimens in a group will always be compared with one another by the jury (two judges in each category) with the aid of a points system. A maximum of 10 points will be awarded for:
1. Colour
2. Pattern
3. Size and body shape
4. Size relationship to one another
5. Health and vitality
Each group will be assessed by two jurors, who do not have family members exhibiting or are exhibiting themselves in the respective group. Each show group will be assessed by the above point scheme. The tanks will be anonymous. It is not designated that jurors determine a ranking when giving points.
Once the points have been awarded, three further points judges, who must not have exhibited in the respective category themselves, will determine the ranking of the first three places by simple majority vote in a category where the three best-rated show groups score the same number of points.
When the first-placed winners in each category have been determined, every juror who is not a category winner receives a list with the tank numbers and chooses his three favourites from these (1st place = 3 points, 2nd place = 2 points, 3rd place = 1 point). The show group with the highest overall points total from this judging is the overall winner.
During the judging on Friday, the access to the tanks will be prohibited for about two hours. This is to avoid the distracting of the jurors.
On the Friday, Saturday and Sunday, visitors can vote on the public’s favourite. All votes cast that carry the name and full address of the voter will be entered in a draw for a prize, which will be handed over directly. Should a winner not be present or able to collect his prize, a new winner will be drawn.
The evaluation of the public’s favourite and the jurors points will be ensued by the organizing committee.
After the evaluation, the winners of the respective groups will be announced on the exhibition area and on the website. The names of the jurors of the single groups will also be announced.
Entry conditions
Every shrimpkeeper may enter his/her own dwarf shrimp that fall into one of the 9 designated categories.
Category entry
A participant may enter a total of three show groups per category.
Number of shrimp per category
A show group consists of three to five shrimp. If there are more than three shrimp per group, the best three will be graded.
Collection of show specimens
When registering for the competition, it must be stated (by putting a cross in the appropriate box on the form) that the specimens are NOT to be donated to the auction to support the AKWB. In this case, specimens must be collected in person on the Sunday between 17.00 and 17.30. An authorized representative may also collect the specimens on presentation of a written authorization and a copy of the identity document of the registered participant. Any specimens not collected by 17.30 will go automatically into the auction. For organizational reasons it is not possible to return specimens by post to participants.
Entry fee
There is an entry fee of € 10 per show group entered.
Auction
All shrimp entered in the competition who will be donated will be auctioned on the Sunday. The proceeds from this auction will be used by the AKWB to cover the cost of the exhibition, with any surplus also going to the AKWB.
Premature end of registration period
A maximum of 250 show tanks is available for the Shrimp Championship 2012. Entries for the competition are accepted in their order of arrival. The registration period ends on 15 January 2012, but may be terminated ahead of this date if the maximum number of show groups is reached earlier.
Delivery
Shrimp deliveries by airfreight must arrive at the exhibition venue no later than Thursday 26 January 2012. The destination airport for airfreight deliveries is Hannover. All airfreight shipments should be addressed to:
Internationales Garnelenchampionat
Heimtiermesse Hannover
Dähne Verlag / AKWB
Thomas Heinen
Halle 2, Messebüro
Messegelände, Einfahrt Süd 2
30521 Hannover
Phone contact: +49/152/24044476
Shrimp shipments via freight carriers, parcel services, DHL: delivery no later than Thursday 26 January 2012 to:
Internationales Garnelenchampionat
Heimtiermesse Hannover
Dähne Verlag / AKWB
Thomas Heinen
Halle 2, Messebüro
Messegelände, Einfahrt Süd 2
30521 Hannover
Phone contact: +49/152/24044476
When sending by freight carrier or airfreight, you must give this telephone number!
Participants from outside Germany must note on the box that it does not contain protected species and that it contains gift parcels and not merchandise.
Shrimp entered for the competition can also be handed over at the exhibition site up to 4 p.m. on Thursday 26 January 2012 at the latest. It cannot be guaranteed that any shrimp arriving after this time will be judged.
Packaging
Please pack your shrimp well. Although we endeavour to place all shrimp in the show tanks as soon as possible, this can take time when dealing with large numbers of shrimp. The transport bags must be inscribed with the following details: category, genus and, if applicable, the variant or grade. Please ensure these details are clearly legible and applied with a waterproof marker. Your name should NOT be written on the transport bags. Write your name and address only on the package or include a letter with your name and address in your package.
Show tank specification
250 aquariums with a gross volume of approx. 10 or 16 l are being made available for the competition. The show groups will be presented in these, ordered according to categories. The water parameters will be maintained within acceptable limits for the different categories.
Substrate
Tested neutral substrate suitable for shrimp.
Lighting
Individual lamp (daylight bulb) integrated into the cover or mounted above the cover panel.
Filter
Air-driven sponge filter, motor filter.
Water quality
Soft or medium hard water with a pH approaching neutral.
Tagging
The tanks will be numbered consecutively. Following judging, each tank will be labelled with the category, the breeder’s name and the number of points awarded or the placement.
Photos
The show groups will be officially photographed. The organiser owns the copyright to these pictures and the photos can also be made available to magazines etc. At least the exhibition winners will be presented in the relevant print media and on these web pages.
Auction
The auction will take place on 29 January 2012. Exhibitors will receive a free exhibition catalogue for this; visitors can obtain the catalogue in return for a small contribution. The shrimp auctioned must be paid for in cash immediately. Once the auction is over, shrimp purchased in the auction will be packaged by our helpers in a watertight bag and in an additional thermo-bag if required. In view of the cool seasonal temperatures, purchasers should also make their own arrangements for thermal protection when transporting the shrimp.
If you have any questions, please e-mail admin[at]garnelenchampionat.de.
Formulate on 15 January 2012.
