Grading, Awards and Points (from 2027)
Competition Grades
The club has four grades in each regular monthly and annual competition in both Digital and Print.
- Masters
- A grade
- AB grade
- B grade
Grading promotion
At the end of each year members can be promoted between grades. Awards in Monochrome and Drone Photography competitions do not count towards promotion from one grade to the next.
Promotion from B grade to AB grade:
- minimum of six (6) awards of honour and/or merit during the competition year,
- and at least three (3) of which must have been awarded in a set subject competition in either print or digital.
- and a minimum of five (5) other acceptances, three (3) of which MUST be from a set subject competition.
Promotion from AB grade to A grade:
- minimum of eight (8) awards of honour and/or merit during the competition year,
- and at least four (4) of which must have been awarded in a set subject competition in either print or digital.
- and a minimum of eight (8) other acceptances, four (4) of which MUST be from a set subject competition.
Promotion from A grade to Masters:
- There are only ever 9 members in Masters.
- The three lowest scoring members each year in Masters will drop back to A grade.
- The three top scoring members each year in A grade will be promoted to Masters.
- Aggregate points for Digital and Print in both Open and Set competitions are added together for this calculation.
Trophies will be presented for the following special awards at the Annual Awards Dinner:
- Annual Open Competition Print - 1st, 2nd & 3rd place in each grade
- Annual Open Competition Digital Image - 1st, 2nd & 3rd place in each grade
- Aggregate Points Competition Print - 1st, 2nd & 3rd place in each grade
- Aggregate Points Competition Digital Image – 1st, 2nd & 3rd place in each grade
- 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in each of Monochrome and Drone Photography competitions
- Champion Image of the Year - selected from the nine images awarded "Champion Image of the Month" throughout the year
- Greg Foley Trophy - for Club Person of the Year
- Bob Britcher Award - Champion "Most Apt Title" selected from the nine monthly "Most Apt Title" winners
- Howard & Sue Annual Best Bird Photographic Award (Selected by Howard Baker and Sue Wilson from all bird images submitted in any of the standard monthly competitions)
- Encouragement award - B grade only (may or may not be awarded)
- Certificate awarded for promotion from B to AB Grade
- Certificate awarded for promotion from AB to A Grade
- Certificate awarded for promotion from A Grade to Masters
Aggregate Points
All images entered in any of the nine regular monthly competitions are awarded club points towards the "Aggregate Points Competition" awards. The club points are based on the judge's score (1 - 5) and the resulting points as shown below. Points obtained in both Set and Open monthly competitions are added together when determining the End of Year Aggregate Points awards.
Judge's Score and Award Names
Images are judged by being awarded a score on a scale of "1" to "4". Prior to each awards night, the Competition Co-ordinator allocates "Merit" or "Honour" to those images given the relevant judging score, as follows:
- Score 5 = Honour
- Score 4 = Merit
- Score 3 = Commended
- Score 2 = Acceptance
- Score 1 =Out-of-Category
- No score = Disqualified
Set competition points (Print and Digital)
- Honour - 18
- Merit - 14
- Commended - 10
- Acceptance - 6
- Out-of-category - 1
- Disqualified - 0
Open competition points (Print and Digital)
- Honour - 14
- Merit - 10
- Commended - 6
- Acceptance - 3
- Out-of-category - 1
- Disqualified - 0
Individual Competition Points
Awards in both "Monochrome" and "Drone Photography" competitions do not contribute towards the aggregate points trophies. Instead, they have their own trophies based on points as follows:
Monochrome Points
- 1st Place - 3
- 2nd Place - 2
- 3rd Place - 1
Drone Photography Points
- 1st Place - 3
- 2nd Place - 2
- 3rd Place - 1