International Online Discus ɪ-Discus 2017

[brewmaster15]

Hello all,

Dear Discus Lovers World Wide,

The North American Discus Association (NADA) (http://www.discusnada.org/) and SimplyDiscus have teamed up for the very first time to bring you an awesome Discus Photo Competition with a single Grand Prize of $500.00 to be provided by NADA. The Photo Contest will take place in the Month of April coinciding with SimplyDiscus's 15 year anniversary. Leadership from both SimplyDiscus and NADA have been working tirelessly on this now and we are very pleased to formally announce it.




ɪ-Discus 2017
Proudly brought to you by SimplyDiscus and NADA ( North American Discus Association.)



This International Discus Competition is open to everyone. You must be a member of SimplyDiscus to participate though so please register as soon as possible if you are not yet a member of this great forum;). Registration is Free !!! There is no entry fee!!! You just must be able meet to the Rules and Criteria we lay out for the contest. You must also be able to receive the funds in your country from the USA should you win the $500 award.



Rules:
1) Fish pictures will be emailed to a specified email address and posted anonymously by SimplyDiscus Forum Staff in a no-comment thread. We will announce the email address for this Submissions in this thread at contest start (April 2). Images may be cropped and have routine Post Processing carried out, for example white balance adjustment, exposure adjustments, lens corrections and general tone adjustments. Unless otherwise specified images may not be significantly modified by excessive cloning or compositing. No watermarks or names can be shown on the picture. Images that are submitted can not have been posted here on Simply or anywhere else publically. You must not indicate which pictures are yours publically. You will be Disqualified if you do.


2) There will be 5 classes
............striated class
.............Solid class
.............Spotted class
.............open class
.............wild
We may add more classes or subtract classes if there looks to be enough entries or not enough entries . The Class your fish are entered in will be determined by us based on accepted standards.


3) Importers and commercial sellers of Fish are not allowed to participate. We want to encourage all hobbyist to enter and this levels the field. In order to enter you must be member of SimplyDiscus in good standing. Registration to the forum is free.

4) Images must be less than 2 Mb. Larger images will be resized by us where possible. Images/entries may be rejected if they do not meet our guidelines. Please Note ***Digital images have EXIF data built in and this will be used to verify the date..EXIF Data must not be stripped from images.*** You MUST be the owner of the Fish. You can not submit pictures of other peoples fish. Images must be taken in the Month of March, and April 2017


5) Submissions can be emailed in April 2 to April 30. The email address is idiscuscontest@gmail.com Entries must be in no latter than April 30, winners will be announced by May 16, 2017.

6) Submissions must contain your full name, a valid telephone number,and your Forum User Name. Submissions must contain 4 images as follows,
....... front facing head shot
...... .right side profile
........left side profile
........Netted with ruler shot for size.

7) Judging will be performed by qualified NADA judges, SimplyDiscus Staff, and others to be announced . Judges will not be allowed to participate in the contest.
Criteria will use a standard "NADA"show card optimized for an online show..

8) Entry in this contest gives NADA and SimplyDiscus explicit permission to use submitted photos in Promotional Material, Fund Raisers, and Marketing. You agree to this by entering. You retain rights to the images, but allow us full use as well. Acknowledgement of this will accompany any use of these images.

9) The small print... Failure to adhere to contest rules will lead to being disqualified. We have tried to anticipate all issues and make the rules clear and concise, but should an issue or problem arise we maintain all rights to resolve it as we see fit. You agree to this by your submission. Rules may be amended and if so any changes will be posted here. We may cancel this contest at any point with no compensation to the participants.


If you have questions , this is the thread to ask them and SimplyDiscus Staff and NADA leadership will try and Answer them. We hope to see lots of participation in this contest so SimplyDiscus and NADA can work on more cool stuff together!:) Good luck everyone!! The contest does not begin officially as far submissions goes until April 2 and then goes on the whole month of April , so you have lots of time to practice!



-SimplyDiscus & NADA

ps....

As NADA is providing the funds for this Award and is so heavily involved in the planning and Judging of the Show, I encourage all members to visit their website... http://www.discusnada.org/ They do some great work for this hobby with their shows and out reach programs.

Award designed especially for this contest.



109296

[Filip]

Congrats to NADA and Simply Discus for their cooperation and for putting together their efforts and time to organize this fun and rewarding show .
I'm looking forward to see many wonderful discus from all around the globe and can't wait for the show to beggin .

[nc0gnet0]

If anyone has any questions or thoughts, this is the time to ask. This should be a fun and rewarding undertaking, lets hope we get lots of participation!

-Rick

[Neptune]

I don't like the netted ruler photo...I don't want to put my fish and tankmates through that.
Maybe a class with no ruler requirement?

[GVB]

Nice! Can't wait to participate. Quick question... hopefully I didn't miss this in the rules: How many submission are we limited to?

[nc0gnet0]

Nice! Can't wait to participate. Quick question... hopefully I didn't miss this in the rules: How many submission are we limited to?

There is no limit.

[nc0gnet0]

I don't like the netted ruler photo...I don't want to put my fish and tankmates through that.
Maybe a class with no ruler requirement?

no

[Jack L]

just one question. Pat, Rick, Noob, etc... could you come take some photos for me? ; )

[Discus-n00b]

We understand that a lot of people may not want to net their fish out and put a ruler to them, but to get an accurate measure of size it's the best way. Get everything ready before you net to spend less time fumbling while they are out of the tank. Towel and ruler laid out, camera ready, net them out snap the pic and back in. Without having the opportunity for the judges to see them in person, they won't be able to get an accurate measurement without it.

NADA show is next year, this is a great opportunity to start honing your eye to the show fish criteria before you enter one in next year's show! If you think you have a fish that could make a run down a judge's scorecard, enter it! And hey, it's a few pictures and a measurement for a chance at a nice prize! We all love showing our fish off, why not for a chance at $500 and to claim a spot in the FIRST EVER I-Discus contest? Can't hurt right??


just one question. Pat, Rick, Noob, etc... could you come take some photos for me? ; )

Sorry Jack, I have to sit this one out LOL. I still need recovery for NADA 2018.

[Larry Bugg]

I don't like the netted ruler photo...I don't want to put my fish and tankmates through that.
Maybe a class with no ruler requirement?

As Matt said, size is one of the many criteria that we use to judge discus. A discus that has been raised properly should reach a minimum of 6" and this is the size we use as a standard. Any discus under 6" will receive a deduction. We can't tell from a picture what size a discus really is. Netting a discus properly should bring no harm to them.

[Neptune]

no

How do you honestly feel about that! LOL..:p

Ya I get the ruler rule and thanks for the ruling.

I just took some pictures of my fish and it is hard to tell the size. I just don't want to chase my fish around the tank to net them.

Best of luck to all the entrants!

[nc0gnet0]

How do you honestly feel about that! LOL..:p

Ya I get the ruler rule and thanks for the ruling.

I just took some pictures of my fish and it is hard to tell the size. I just don't want to chase my fish around the tank to net them.

Best of luck to all the entrants!

How would you get a fish to a show without netting it? How does anybody get any fish to a show without netting it?

As others have mentioned, the ruler photo is used for one thing and one thing only, to verify size. It can be a quick cell phone pic. All you need to do is have a ruler laid out on the floor on top of a moist towel. During a water change (this is the time that is the easiest) net the fish and lay down on towel, snap a quick pic and return. The whole process should take 30 seconds or less.

[Neptune]

How would you get a fish to a show without netting it? How does anybody get any fish to a show without netting it?


Now there is a point I can't argue! LOL..

[Second Hand Pat]

just one question. Pat, Rick, Noob, etc... could you come take some photos for me? ; )

Nice try Jack :)
Pat

[BinaMarie516]

wheeeeeee im stoked for this !!!!!! :) :) :)

[Debow]

Now there is a point I can't argue! LOL..

I use a glass bowl and they never see it coming lol Works like a charm.

[Discus-n00b]

Don't delay in taking your pictures! April 2nd, the opening date for submissions is less than 2 weeks away!

[Neptune]

Don't delay in taking your pictures! April 2nd, the opening date for submissions is less than 2 weeks away!

Going to be neat to see everyone's fish!

[RogueDiscus]

I'm looking forward to seeing some great fish! The contest runs through April, but I think now's the time to start grooming your entries. I'm thinking of entering a fish, and I'm thinking about the best way to show it off from several perspectives, including the fish being in the best health, getting it to present itself well, and getting the best pics I can.

[nc0gnet0]

In addition to the grand prize of $500.00, thanks to a generous donation, we are going to be, at a minimum, handing out first place trophies for each class. Should we receive more donations, we will also add 2nd and third place trophies as we,,, as funds permit. Start grooming your entries!!


-Rick

[brewmaster15]

There is now also a Cash Prize for the 5 first place winners....


Details Here...

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?128318-Attention-Major-Sale-50-to-benefit-Online-Photo-Contest-winners-as-cash-Prize!

[nc0gnet0]

renewed mine!

[brewmaster15]

Hello all,
Starting tonight at 12 am eastern std time you may begin submitting you fish entries. They must be emailed to...

idiscuscontest@gmail.com

You will get a confirmation that its been received within 48 hours of submission. If you do not get a confirmation in that time period resubmit as it means we do not have your entry.


Please read the following carefully......


Hello all,

Dear Discus Lovers World Wide,

The North American Discus Association (NADA) (http://www.discusnada.org/) and SimplyDiscus have teamed up for the very first time to bring you an awesome Discus Photo Competition with a single Grand Prize of $500.00 to be provided by NADA. The Photo Contest will take place in the Month of April coinciding with SimplyDiscus's 15 year anniversary. Leadership from both SimplyDiscus and NADA have been working tirelessly on this now and we are very pleased to formally announce it.




ɪ-Discus 2017
Proudly brought to you by SimplyDiscus and NADA ( North American Discus Association.)



This International Discus Competition is open to everyone. You must be a member of SimplyDiscus to participate though so please register as soon as possible if you are not yet a member of this great forum;). Registration is Free !!! There is no entry fee!!! You just must be able meet to the Rules and Criteria we lay out for the contest. You must also be able to receive the funds in your country from the USA should you win the $500 award.



Rules:
1) Fish pictures will be emailed to a specified email address and posted anonymously by SimplyDiscus Forum Staff in a no-comment thread. We will announce the email address for this Submissions in this thread at contest start (April 2). Images may be cropped and have routine Post Processing carried out, for example white balance adjustment, exposure adjustments, lens corrections and general tone adjustments. Unless otherwise specified images may not be significantly modified by excessive cloning or compositing. No watermarks or names can be shown on the picture. Images that are submitted can not have been posted here on Simply or anywhere else publically. You must not indicate which pictures are yours publically. You will be Disqualified if you do.


2) There will be 5 classes
............striated class
.............Solid class
.............Spotted class
.............open class
.............wild
We may add more classes or subtract classes if there looks to be enough entries or not enough entries . The Class your fish are entered in will be determined by us based on accepted standards.


3) Importers and commercial sellers of Fish are not allowed to participate. We want to encourage all hobbyist to enter and this levels the field. In order to enter you must be member of SimplyDiscus in good standing. Registration to the forum is free.

4) Images must be less than 2 Mb. Larger images will be resized by us where possible. Images/entries may be rejected if they do not meet our guidelines. Please Note ***Digital images have EXIF data built in and this will be used to verify the date..EXIF Data must not be stripped from images.*** You MUST be the owner of the Fish. You can not submit pictures of other peoples fish. Images must be taken in the Month of March, and April 2017


5) Submissions can be emailed in April 2 to April 30. Entries must be in no latter than April 30, winners will be announced by May 16, 2017.

6) Submissions must contain your full name, a valid telephone number,and your Forum User Name. Submissions must contain 4 images as follows,
....... front facing head shot
...... .right side profile
........left side profile
........Netted with ruler shot for size.

7) Judging will be performed by qualified NADA judges, SimplyDiscus Staff, and others to be announced . Judges will not be allowed to participate in the contest.
Criteria will use a standard "NADA"show card optimized for an online show..

8) Entry in this contest gives NADA and SimplyDiscus explicit permission to use submitted photos in Promotional Material, Fund Raisers, and Marketing. You agree to this by entering. You retain rights to the images, but allow us full use as well. Acknowledgement of this will accompany any use of these images.

9) The small print... Failure to adhere to contest rules will lead to being disqualified. We have tried to anticipate all issues and make the rules clear and concise, but should an issue or problem arise we maintain all rights to resolve it as we see fit. You agree to this by your submission. Rules may be amended and if so any changes will be posted here. We may cancel this contest at any point with no compensation to the participants.


If you have questions , this is the thread to ask them and SimplyDiscus Staff and NADA leadership will try and Answer them. We hope to see lots of participation in this contest so SimplyDiscus and NADA can work on more cool stuff together!:) Good luck everyone!! The contest does not begin officially as far submissions goes until April 2 and then goes on the whole month of April , so you have lots of time to practice!



-SimplyDiscus & NADA

[brewmaster15]

Only a few hours to go until the contest starts!

Al

[LizStreithorst]

If your fish were to win the contest you could show it at NADA. Mat takes pics of all the fish at NADA.

[LizStreithorst]

Only a few hours to go until the contest starts!

Al

I don't guess that we lowly members are allowed to see the pics even if we promise not to enter. I would so love to see them. I am an excellent judge of fish flesh (in my own mind).

[nc0gnet0]

I don't guess that we lowly members are allowed to see the pics even if we promise not to enter. I would so love to see them. I am an excellent judge of fish flesh (in my own mind).

Everyone will see the pictures Liz.

[LizStreithorst]

When the judging is over or when the entry deadline comes? I hope it's the latter. I can't wait to see.

[Second Hand Pat]

I updated the submission email address in the first post. It is part of rule 5 in the first post in this thread.
Pat

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi All,

The current submissions are now available in the class thread the submission were assigned too. The class threads are in the http://forum.simplydiscus.com/forumdisplay.php?315-Current-Affairs-on-Simply and are closed to posting. Enjoy.

The class threads will be updated as submissions are accepted.

Pat

[nmh]

Very nice! Thank you!

[jmf3460]

is it true that there is only one wild post at this time?

[nc0gnet0]

Only a few Days left to try to win one of these:

109285

[Neptune]

Wow are them so gorgeous fish in there!!!
That spotted class is a stunner!

[Second Hand Pat]

is it true that there is only one wild post at this time?

Yes Jacklyn

[Keith Perkins]

is it true that there is only one wild post at this time?


Yes Jacklyn

I know someone who's not a NADA judge that's kept some nice wilds who should enter. Shoot, they take decent pictures too.

[Filip]

I know someone who's not a NADA judge that's kept some nice wilds who should enter. Shoot, they take decent pictures too.

So why wait Keith? :) . Ask your friend for participation in this one of a kind discus show.

[Discus-n00b]

Today is the last day of entry folks! Get them in!

[Filip]

8 hours left to submit your favorite discus photos and participate in the contest , folks .
Lets keep those submissions comming .

[Rapture]

I just found out about this and submitted some terrible pics right before midnight to show support for the contest. I hope it happens again in the future!

[Filip]

I just found out about this and submitted some terrible pics right before midnight to show support for the contest. I hope it happens again in the future!

In the nick of time Rapture :). Thank you for taking your time to participate in this show .

Still a couple of hours left folks. Lets get those nets and cameras going :)

[Second Hand Pat]

Ok, submissions are closed and we are preparing the last submissions and finalizing the class threads. :D Should be completed by tonight.
Pat

[Second Hand Pat]

All submissions have been added to the class threads. If you do not see your submission please pm me. Do not respond in this thread.
Thanks guys and best of luck to everyone :)
Pat

[DatDiscusDude]

Will Info about the fish be released once all is said and done ?

There are a few fish I'd like to know some classifications of.

Gorgeous fish all
Around. Good luck to all

[nc0gnet0]

...........................AND THE GRAND CHAMPION IS...........................

109809


Submission 21, two utes, Joe Zammit







...........................SPOTTED WINNER...........................

109809


Submission 21, two utes, Joe Zammit






...........................SOLID CLASS..........................

109810

Submission 38, Valcaraballo, Valerie Caraballo








...........................STRIATED CLASS..........................

109815,

Irving, Irving J Aranda Reyes,










...........................OPEN CLASS...........................


109813

……. Submission 37, Valcaraballo, Valerie Caraballo,








...........................WILD CLASS...........................


109811

Second Hand Pat, Pat Husband,









...........................PEOPLES CHOICE WINNER...........................

109812,

BinaMarie516, Cristina M. Gangi

[nc0gnet0]

Would all the winners please pm me so I can get your shipping information for your trophies.

Congratulations everyone!!

-Rick

[Loosir]

Congrats to all! These are beautiful fish!

[two utes]

Wow! I can’t believe that this just happened!


What a fantastic idea this was to let people from all over the word participate in an International on line discus show. Many people, including myself would never have had an opportunity to participate in a discus show, until now.

I would like to begin by congratulating Al and his team at Simply Discus on the 15 year milestone, in which time the forum has given thousands upon thousands of people all over the world, including myself, the opportunity to learn about Discus, and Discus keeping. It is because of this forum that l gained the confidence to raise discus from juveniles, with varied success, but learning from my mistakes and other member’s journeys and experiences, both good and bad along the way.

A very big thank you to Al and his Simply Discus Team, and also The North American Discus Association (NADA) Team for putting this show together, and for providing all the lovely trophies and prize money. Also, the very kind members that made donations towards this show, and all the participants for taking the time to put their beautiful discus on show for us to see. I can imagine how time consuming it would have been for all the judges to score all the discus entered, and deciding on the winners, so thank you very much to the judges for all your time and dedication.

Thanks also to everyone that voted for my discus in the ‘People’s Choice’ award. It was fun watching the poll over the days as votes kept rolling in.

Congratulations also to all the winners of each of the categories, I am sure that like me you feel very proud and honored to have such beautiful discus.

I would also like to thank all the members that visited, and made comments on my ‘Getting back into Discus’ thread.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?119095-Getting-back-into-Discus

It is mainly due to all the encouragement I received there that I decided to participate in this discus show, but also to Darren who provided me with top quality discus to raise, not only where they trouble free, but the amount of support and advice given when needed was invaluable.

We all know how challenging it can be to keep discus sometimes, but like me l’m sure you all know that it’s worth it!

Thanks again everybody!

P.S. Thanks also to my discus for not making the short transfer into the tank for photos stressful on me and for co operating.

[Keith Perkins]

Congratulations Joe, glad to see all your hard work paid off in such a big way.

A special congrats to Pat too for entering my favorite wild and winning that class.

And thank you judges for taking the time.

[brewmaster15]

Congratulations to all the winners here! And Special Congrats to Joe for taking the top prize! Well deserved everyone!

There were alot of really nice fish submitted. I know when Simply and NADA decided to do this we hoped it would be a fun way for hobbyists to participate in a show. We specifically ruled out commercial sellers to level the playing field. I think it was a big success for our first show like this and I do want to see more shows like this in the future if the support is there.

There was a lot of work that went into this. I KNOW I and RICK from NADA spent alot of time discussing it. It would not have happened without great collaboration between SD and NADA. It also required work on the part of the Mod staff here. PAT and Filip received and posted the submissions and entry info. That was very time consuming so special thanks there. NADA judges Larry ( Larry Bugg) and Bob (BOBTOOLS) spent their free time as judges with some assist from me. ...a very difficult and time consuming task.

Funding came from NADA for the Grand Prize and generous anonymous donations for additional Prizes. Trophies are being donated by Ardan of Ardan's Creations (http://forum.simplydiscus.com/forumdisplay.php?323-Ardan-s-Creations-(Ardan-Huck)-Racine-Wisconsin). Barb of Delightful Designs (http://forum.simplydiscus.com/forumdisplay.php?183-Delightful-Designs-Discus-Cones-(Barb-Odgers)-North-Carolina) has donated a custom clay cave and cone for the Peoples Choice award. Both Ardan and Barb have a long history of supporting Simply and NADA and should be recognized for it! Thank you both!

Really this show has been a perfect example of what happens when Great People come together to work on a project.

I hope the show inspires you all to pick up your cameras and try to take more pictures. The forum does have an excellent resource for you to learn more about photography...its there to be used. The Photo Centre team can help. I know some of these fish entered may have done better if they were represented better by their images...theres always next time!

Oh and get some practice in our mini photo contests. We hold them every month...great practice!

One last thank you, From SimplyDiscus to Rick Owen ( aka nc0gnet0 ) The current President of NADA. Theres always someone that works behind the scenes and moves things along but doesn't really get the credit they should. For NADA thats RICK. Nice Job on this Project Rick and as always ...Nice working with you!:)

Best always,
Al

[Jenene]

Congratulations to all the winners and to everyone who submitted photos of their beautiful fish! There was not one ugly one!;)

This was really fun to view from the comfort of our own homes. Great idea and thanks Al and your team who took this idea and swam with it. Nicely done!

[sayid]

I like to congratulate all the winners and thanks all the participants in this competition especially to Joe for his dedication and hard work raising these beautiful fish , Thanks to Al and all the judges fer their hard works and every one who has been involved in this competition .
Joe you should be more than proud with your achievement .

[BinaMarie516]

Wow. I entered three fish because I thought it was a neat thing to do and I wanted to participate... I never thought I'd win anything! Thanks everybody!:o

I think this was a really cool way of doing something for members as a halfway mark to the NADA show in 2018. Congrats to all the winners and a big thank you to Al, Rick, Pat, the judges and everyone who put in time/donated to make this happen for everyone. Super cool of you guys!

[Kingdom Come Discus]

Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all who entered. I enjoyed following this. Thanks to Simply and The North American Discus Association too. Great job by all!

[Filip]

Congratulations to Joe and all the other category winners .
Thanks to all of you folks who participated in this one of a kind international discus online contest.
Many thanks to Ardan for his generous contribution for this contest as well as the forum support throughout the years and NADA team too for their part in organizing this show .

I hope and wish that this contest will become a tradition here on Simply discus .

[two utes]

I was very happy, and excited to receive a package from Arden today!

Inside was these two very beautiful trophys. One labeled 'Grand Champion', and the other 'Spotted First Place'.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Arden, from Arden's Creations, for making these trophys, and sending them to me all the way to Australia.

They will be proudly displayed in my home for all to see, and l think my group of discus all agree :)

Thanks again to everyone involved, and that took part in the I-Discus 2017 show. Also, all the lovely members on here that sent me private, and public messages to congratulate me.



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