Welcome to the AGA International Aquascaping Showcase & Contest. The moment we have been waiting for has finally arrived - the judging of the Contest entries has been completed, the images are on-line and we proudly present the results to you.
Hobbyists from North and South America, Europe and Asia have submitted an incredible array of aquascapes for consideration in this, the first ever AGA International Aquascaping Showcase & Contest. This geographic diversity of our entrants truly underscores the international aspect of our hobby. Aquascapes entered range from 19 liter tanks all the way up to a mind staggering 6,000 liters and in a wide variety of styles. From lush aquatic jungles to austere Zen rockscapes, and on through to incredible paludariums, the variety of aquascapes submitted is truly amazing.
Our four Judges, Karen Randall and Neil Frank from the United States, Claus Christensen from Denmark and Kaspar Horst from Germany faced a daunting task in evaluating the submitted aquascapes. I'm sure that it was very difficult to choose any specific winners because in truth every entry is a winner and we congratulate each hobbyist who made the effort to submit their aquascapes.
You are invited to browse the various Categories and study the images and set-up details provided by the entrants as well as read the comments made by the judges on the various tanks. Hopefully, everyone can learn something which can be applied to their own aquascapes. This is the true value of this collection, and one of the motivating aspects of the event.
As lead organizer for this event over the past year and a half, I would like to thank those on the planning committee who helped work out the details of how we could make this dream a reality. Over the course of the long planning period, many people came and went but a number of people stuck it out and consistently offered help, advice and constructive criticism. My thanks to you all: Erik Olson (Seattle, WA), David A. Youngker (East Ridge, TN), Dave VanderWall (Minneapolis, MN), Dave Engle (Jacksonville, NC), Ken Guin (Arlington, VA), Karen Randall (Boston, MA), Jason Lubeke (Minneapolis, MN), Jose Correa Lohmann (Lima, Peru), Justin Collins (USA), Jim Capelle (Tampa Bay, FL) Ron Dubbs (Southwest TN).
Thanks must go to the many corporate donors who provided the Prizes which we have been able to award in the Contest. Without their support and faith in our efforts the event would not have been as successful as it has been.
Our Judges, Karen Randall (Past Chair of the AGA), Neil Frank (Editor Emeritus of TAG), Claus Christensen (Managing Director of Tropica Aquarium Plants, Denmark) and Kaspar Horst (Co-founder of Dupla, Germany and Editor or Aquarium Heute, Germany) deserve our thanks for a job well done. We thank you for your hard work and sound judgement.
The web site would not have been possible without many hours of work by Erik Olson - he makes HTML seem easy. Thanks Erik.
Finally, and probably most important, a resounding "Thank you" to each and every person from around the world who took the time and made the effort to share their love of the hobby with us through their entries. You have made all the work a worthwhile endeavour. We salute you all.
James Purchase
Toronto
November 30, 2000
Comments
Please remember when looking at raw scores for each entry that we are using thses scores only as a way for each of us individually to put the tanks in an order. The fact that one judge gives a tank a higher or lower score than another has no particular significance. It is only the places given by each judge that contribute to the final placing of each tank in the contest.