I think the real sticking point is the live class. It's just not all that available. Yes, I agree that it's necessary but maybe there could be a push by Daylily clubs in general to encourage members to take the online courses then stage live classes during the summer for GJ 11. Then there could be a lot more voters.
Another problem I found was that I hadn't seen most of the candidates that we were voting on live. I had seen about a fifth of them, a bunch in my own garden and maybe a third here, from photos. But you are asked to only vote on ones you've seen live which is why there is a requirement to visit a certain number ( five?) of gardens every summer to keep up your judgeship. It's easy if you go to the National , otherwise you have to make an effort on your own. Anyway, that's my understanding of the rules, did I get that wrong?
I think it is a good idea to go see as many Daylily gardens as you can so you can see plants in real time and not just from the absolute best photo a hybridizer can provide. One of my goals with my thread Zoia's Daily Daylilies is to show what the plants are doing on a daily basis. We don't usually get that perspective.
