Dogging and used condoms aside (never, ever, ever thought I would start a comment on here like that 😂)...
Where is the divide between folks who will demonstrate the aptitude and attitude that determines the altitude that’s required to enter the IAPLC/EAPLC and those that can’t? Trick question; there are no prior requirements to enter.
But it does demand a broad set of skills which most people don’t currently have on their own for whatever reason. With a bias toward a community spirit, reckon you could upskill a lot of folk with a more friendly attitude and organised communication regarding the required skill sets. This argument sits aside from whether you value aquascaping as a ‘thing’ or not, by having a following ‘it’ is.
Personally, I like Josh Sim’s attitude towards his first and second scape. According to Josh, that improvement happened being part of a small self selecting group with the sole purpose of improving through a healthy amount of competition. Get that certain folks are against the idea of competition in something like aquascaping. However, those that see how rivalry generally up’s your game, your motivation and time investment... it’s a largely positive experience. It drives results that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. It also introduces a deadline for the procrastinators amongst us which is not to be overlooked. There’s the ‘best’ aquascape you can produce and there’s the one that is ready on time. Don’t let the best become the enemy of the good, there’s always another chance next time around. This is a process.
The entirety of the ‘categories’ and ‘rules’ argument can be put to bed simply by adopting EAPLC rules if that is possible without legal repercussions, if you discount biotope’s. It at least sorts the annual comp side of this discussion with minimum effort unless someone fancies a rather long and arduous period of argumentation, an argument that will ultimately only end up in a disorganised jumble of people’s biases and preferences. The existing rules of the EAPLC allow for creativity whilst coercing a general sense of order that doesn’t stifle creativity... if it ain’t broke there’s nothing to fix. The only side of the hobby that would require a category with its own unique judgements would be biotope, the judges would require detailed knowledge of what they represent for comparison.
@glasscanvasart ’s suggestion of Tank of The Month is brilliant in that it’s decided by community opinion, easy and cheap to implement, facilitates further discussion about why people find it justified and is inclusive to as broad amount of people as possible. It isn’t mutually exclusive to the idea of a well thought out UK based competition though.
Time for a reality check based on the current status of the poll:
35 yes
1 no
3 maybe
Playing devils advocate... You ain’t got a competition so far folks. It’s a house party at best. There’s still plenty of ground left in order to figure out what people want. Also waiting to hear back on how this whole endeavour would benefit UKAPS funding? Something we all share a vested interest in for the future and ultimately incentivises the forum to even consider hosting such an event. Incentive works both ways and feel this point needs underlining for it to be a realistic prospect.
On the plus side, the human catapult idea can now be disbanded 😂