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Membership Handbook

Exhibit and Judging Rules

Table of Contents

*Introduction
*Articles of Incorporation
*Bylaws
*Code of Ethics
*General Show Floor Rules
*Show Facilities Standards
*Administrative Show Rules
*Exhibit and Judging Rules
*Sample Show Forms
*Grading Standards
*Membership

One of the primary reasons for exhibiting is to promote the insulator "story" to the general public, by stressing education, history and information. One of the NIA’s primary goals is to increase interest in insulator collecting thus attracting new collectors, which can be accomplished through quality displays. The following Exhibit and Judging Rules have been adopted by the NIA Board of Directors as a general guide for show hosts. They are meant to encourage more collectors to display, improve the quality of exhibits, and to provide some measure of uniformity and fairness in judging. These rules are in full effect for the NIA National and Regional shows. For NIA sanctioned local shows, adjustments may be made at the host's discretion to fit certain circumstances.

  1. There are ten competitive categories, and one non-competitive category, that have been established for displays:

    1. Threadless
    2. Threaded Glass
    3. Threaded Porcelain
    4. Specialty (i.e. one company, one style, patents, errors, etc.)
    5. Junior (exhibitor must be under 18 years of age at time of show, and not receive excessive adult assistance.)
    6. General (exhibits of mixed insulators, the total theme of which does not accurately fit any other single category listing.
    7. Color (glass, porcelain or any combination).
    8. Foreign (glass, porcelain or any combination).
    9. Lightning Rod Equipment (insulators, balls, vanes, etc.)
    10. Go-withs (must include some use of insulators and/or related items, but may include any other items that complete the theme of the exhibit.
    11. Non-Competitive (open to insulators and/or related items).

  2. At the NIA National Show only, exhibitors must be NIA members.

  3. Exhibit space at all shows shall be free, and available on a first-come basis. Exhibitors may be expected to bring their own fixtures, extension cords, etc.

  4. At the NIA National and Regional shows, if exhibit space reserved for insulators and/or related items should still be available 60 days or less from the date of the show, the host may permit other noncompetitive exhibits of suitable antique/collectible items, subject to the approval of the NIA Board of Directors.

  5. The exhibitor must determine the competitive category at the time of reserving exhibit space.

  6. Imitation or altered insulators and/or related items may be used on exhibits, but must be clearly identified as such in the exhibit. Restored items are acceptable in exhibits, and need not be identified as such.

  7. All items in the exhibit must be owned by the exhibitor. Club or group exhibits, or exhibits in which the items are owned by two or more persons, are acceptable but must be entered as noncompetitive.

  8. Exhibits or portions thereof may not be marked "for sale," or their value indicated in any way.

  9. Exhibits should not be dismantled until end of the show unless prior arrangements are made with the show hosts.

  10. Exhibitors are requested to display their award(s) on their exhibit until it is taken down, and should wear any special name cards or badges provided by the show host.

  11. A tally sheet will be furnished to exhibitors after the judging, showing how the judges rated each exhibit as compared with other entrants in the same category. This will show exhibitors where improvement is needed. The judges will not be identified on these tally sheets.

  12. Judges and exhibitors should remember that displays are for the general public as well as for other members of the hobby, so it is desirable to be creative and original, and avoid showing the same exhibit several times without substantial modification. Repetitive showings of the same exhibit should result in a reduced score.

  13. There will be a minimum of three judges for each category, and a given person may judge more than one category, if qualified. All judges at a National Show should have previous judging experience. The majority of judges at a Regional Show should have previous judging experience. At a National Show the judging panel should include at least one judge from each of the three NIA regions.

  14. The Awards & Recognition Chairperson (or in his/her absence an Awards & Recognition Committee Member), will act as the Judging Chairperson at the NIA National Convention.  The Judging Chairperson, with the cooperation of the Show Host, will determine who will be in attendance at the show, select the judges, supervise them, and tally the votes.

  15. Judging decisions will be final. Ties will be re-judged.

  16. A person may not judge any category in which that person or a family member has an entry.

  17. Prior to judging, judging chairperson shall meet with the judging panel to review and discuss the NIA’s Exhibit and Judging Rules.

  18. Judging will be accomplished using the NIA’s standard 100-point system. The average of all judges for any given category will be the final score. The standard NIA 100-point system is as follows:

    1. 30 points - Showmanship (eye-catching, public appeal, good use of go-withs, display props, lighting, etc.);
    2. 30 points - Education (information, history, explanation, good use of titles, labels, hand-outs, etc.);
    3. 30 points - Rarity (this must be considered in context with the items on display);
    4. 5 points - Variety (a wide range of styles, colors, shapes, etc.); and
    5. 5 points - Originality (independent and creative thought, freshness of idea, new or unusual arrangement, etc.).

    In addition to these factors, judges are allowed to deduct from one to five points for each of the following exhibit deficiencies:

    1. Condition (exhibit is dirty or not presentable, or if the items exhibited are unclean, damaged excessively, have unsightly repairs, etc.); and
    2. Category non-adherence (items that are foreign to the category entered, such as a threadless insulator in a threaded exhibit, a domestic insulator in a foreign exhibit, etc.).

  19. Judges will be furnished standardized printed scoring sheets by the show host, and:

    1. Should consider each grading factor separately without regard to other factors, thus making a conscious effort to avoid a "halo" effect, or a tendency to give an exhibit high scores in "Showmanship" and/or "Education" because it is outstanding in "Rarity;" and
    2. In an effort to make scoring meaningful, judges should consider starting their scoring with a presumptive number of points. For example, start in the middle of the point range (such as a 15 points for Showmanship), and then mentally adjust their ratings downward or upward as appropriate.

  20. The NIA will provide trophies, plaques or awards to 1st place winners of the various categories, and the show host will provide ribbons or some type of award for all exhibitors as recognition for exhibiting.

  21. The NIA Board of Directors has the authority to honor esteemed contributors to the hobby and the NIA, by naming awards after such individuals. As such, the "Dr. Fredrick L. Griffin Memorial Award" (recipient selected by the show judging panel), is in recognition of the first NIA President, and will be given for the most outstanding threadless exhibit, in lieu of a standard first place trophy.

  22. The NIA, at the National Show, may present three special awards:

    1. The "Milholland Educational Award" (recipient selected by the show judging panel). This award is in recognition of Mrs. Evelyn Milholland and her late husband, Marion Milholland, for their tireless work over many years to research and publish information on glass insulators, all of which contributed immeasurably to the growth and enjoyment of the hobby. The award is given for the one exhibit that most effectively achieves an educational theme. Insulators, props and historical explanations must be combined with good showmanship to capture the attention of all collectors and the viewing public. This award may be won by any exhibit regardless of the category entered;
    2. The "Outstanding Service Award" (recipient nominated and selected by the NIA Awards and Recognition Committee). Given to an NIA member who has performed outstanding service for the NIA and contributed substantially to the insulator hobby. The NIA President prepares, distributes and tabulates ballots for this award; and
    3. An "NIA Lifetime Membership," may be presented to any NIA member for cumulative meritorious service to the NIA or the insulator-collecting hobby.

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Last updated Saturday February 12, 2000

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