"I like it", "I don't like it", I don't understand it." These are typical reactions to the method of judging that we in the United States call the Individual Merit System of Judging. This method is also referred to as the Grading System of Judging as well as the European Method of Judging. This terminology is interchangeable, but for the sake of uniformity in this presentation the term Individual Merit System (or IMS) will be used. This manner of judging is currently being used by The Southern California Color Pigeon Club, the United Swallow Club, the Rare Breeds Pigeon Club, the North American Capuchin Club and the Syrian Breeds Club of America. Although this subject has been addressed by a number of writers at various times in the past, it is felt that many "new fanciers", especially those fanciers who've recently become involved with the rarer breeds are in need of an introduction to the Individual Merit System of Judging. We also hope that this introduction will serve to refresh the memories of those fanciers who might have read about it in the past. Although we aren't certain who introduced this method of judging into the United States, or when, we are fairly sure that the late Doctor L. E. Hummel of Bonne Terre, Missouri played a major role. On the national level fanciers read about his description in the November 1972 issue of the American Pigeon Journal. The Individual Merit System grades that accompany our article were presented by Dr. Hummel and these are based on three related judging methods that are used in Europe. While each of these methods vary ever so slightly from each other, their major features were incorporated. Because one of our goals in this article is to stress uniformity, it might be valuable if we reproduce a couple of Doc Hummel's thoughts on the subject. "If clubs are interested in using this system, work out a plan for judging that would be acceptable to all clubs and then stick to this plan. By using various versions of this plan one only adds to misunderstandings and confusion and if this plan is used it is imperative that the same plan be used by all or it becomes unmeaningful...we repeat - to have a workable system it must be uniform." In our country, the vast majority of pigeons that are entered into a show are judged by what can be called the Comparison or Placing System. We're all familiar with this method and it's very easy to understand, but we'll take a second to assign it a workable definition. The judge that uses this system assigns a "numerical place" to entries that are exhibited in a breed class.30 Under this method, each entry is compared to its peers in the sub class31 and the
best pigeon is assigned 1st place, the second best pigeon is assigned 2nd place, and so forth. Each of these sub class winners are then compared to one another in order for the judge to determine the top pigeon in the entire breed class.32 These top birds are awarded the title Champion of Breed. Those of us who are familiar with the Individual Merit System see one disadvantage to the Placing Method. This process gives an exhibitor no indication of the overall quality of his or her pigeons, it only allows them to learn how their pigeons compare to those shown by the other exhibitors on that day and at that location. That first placed pigeon might be a truly great representative of its breed or it could be a very poor specimen. It's simply the best bird that was shown at the time. Depending on the competition on another day and at another show, this very same entry could find itself coming in last. The term "last place" can easily give the impression that the entry awarded this number is, for lack of better words, "a loser." That last placed pigeon could be a very nice bird and on another day at another show it might go away with all the honors. However, unless the judge makes a verbal comment about the quality of that "last place" entry and the quality of the birds that were above it in the class, no similar recognition is bestowed when the placing method is used. Their future placing depends on the quality of the pigeons that it will compete against at impending events. While the judge who uses the "placing method" has the task of comparing the pigeons in a class to one another, the judge that uses the IMS has the task of comparing every entry to the breed standard. When the placing method is used, the classes are placed together in a judging cage in order for the judge to make his or her determination, but under IMS guidelines the opposite holds true. Each bird is confined to an individual show hole in order for the judge to evaluate the entry without being distracted by other pigeons. In other words, the judge's entire concentration is focused on one bird at a time. The letter grade that each pigeon is awarded reflects, in the opinion of the judge, the pigeon's overall quality in comparison to its' standard of perfection As already stated, an important benefit of the Individual Merit System is that it recognizes the individual quality of every pigeon being shown, be it good or bad! This is the great advantage to the IMS. The pigeon that "comes out on top" might either be great or it might be found to be deficient in many features. This also holds true with the entry that is awarded the lowest entry in the class. Yet it might be only a matter of a few points that separates the bird that is of the best quality and the bird that finishes in the bottom of the class. That "bottom of the rung bird" could be a very exceptional pigeon and under the IMS it is recognized as such. Prior to the judging of the entries, each coop card is reversed so that the judge will not inadvertently learn who the entry is being exhibited by. Upon the judging of each entry, either the judge or the steward will, on the coop card and on the judging sheet, record the merit grade that the judge has awarded. In addition, the comments of the judge will also be noted on the coop card. By now we're almost sure that some of you are saying "Okay it's all well and good to get someone's opinion of the quality of my birds, but this doesn't tell me anything about where one of my birds might place in a breed class. Our answer is that the IMS grade does give you a rough idea as to where an entry stands among the others in the class. The higher the grade, the better the overall standing in the class. In a rare breed class it is possible that all the entries will be awarded an identical IMS rating. If this does happen, experienced judges will attach a number after the grade. Numerical notations can and should be added if two or more pigeons in the breed class share the same IMS grade. For example, if there were five HS birds in the class, the judge would acknowledge the better bird with the grade HS-1, the second best would be HS-2 and so on.

Individual Merit System Grades (American) : 

"E" Excellent - This grade is awarded when a pigeon meets the highest requirements of its individual standard of perfection and represents the excelling overall impression of perfection that is obtainable by breeding. "HS" Highly Superior - This grade is awarded when the grade "E" can't be given due to some features that are close to, but don't meet the qualities of an "E" bird. These features can be improved by breeding. "S" Superior - This grade is awarded when all the characteristics of the breed are distinctly present and an overall balance is expressed. Some features aren't developed in the same degree of quality as the higher grades. In most cases, this grade is given to the majority of the entries in the show. "G" Good - This grade is awarded to pigeons that either have obvious major faults or an accumulation of minor faults. A pigeon that is given this grade for these reasons might make passable breeding stock, but not show stock. In addition "G" rated birds might be out of condition. For example, birds that are missing feathers, birds that are in the moult, or have soiled feathers. Out of condition birds might under other circumstances (good condition) be awarded a higher grade. "I" Inferior - This grade is given to those birds that have many major faults. A pigeon that shows signs of out-crossing to another breed will also receive this grade. In this case, the judge will usually make the notation that the entry is "Not a representative of its breed. For the most part, Inferior rated birds have no value as breeding stock! Pigeons that the main judge recommends for the rating of Excellent must be graded by an equally qualified judge. The second judge must agree with the endorsement of the primary judge if the Excellent rating is to be awarded!! As a general rule, pigeons with more than one minor fault may not receive an Excellent rating. Pigeons with more than three minor faults should not be awarded a grade of Highly Superior. Birds that have one major fault and a few minor deficiencies shouldn't be given more than a Superior rating. Pigeons with two or more major faults should fall into the Good category and as already noted, a poorly conditioned pigeon will also be awarded a Good rating. As for the latter group of birds, they are to be graded "as found," not graded on potential.. Some of you might have either heard or read something about what could be called "grade percentages" at meets. When this plan was first described, Dr. Hummel stated that it is quite probable that out of 100 pigeons at a given show, none would receive the Excellent rating, but it might be possible that out of this number one or two birds might receive it. As for the Highly Superior rating, it's possible that no more than four pigeons out of a 100 would receive it. (In one written description of the IMS the number of HS birds grew to ten percent of 100.) As for the Superior graded birds Dr. Hummel stated that it is probable that the majority of fine show pigeons will receive this grade. Somewhere along the line, fanciers came under the impression that these percentages were hard and fast rules. Well, they were never intended to become rules, these numbers are only possibilities. The percentages of these grades will and most certainly can vary from show to show. They all depend on the quality of the pigeons that are being shown! Drawing from our background as both judges and exhibitors, we've found that numerous Inferior and Good pigeons have been shown throughout the United States. In some cases, these birds have been exhibited by either novices or fanciers that have little or no grasp of the standards of perfection. In other cases, pigeons of this quality are shown by experienced exhibitors. These exhibitors, once they have a working knowledge of the standard, should be challenged to leave potentially Good and Inferior birds at home. The name of the game, no matter what breed is shown, is competition and the secret to success in the showroom is "to put your best foot forward."

Rare Breeds Pigeon Club Method of Determining Champion Rare Breed By definition, the
Champion Rare Breed entry is that pigeon that comes closest to being a living duplicate of its own standard of perfection. This means that the entry that receives the highest merit grade takes the top honor at meets. However, in order to be recognized as a Champion, only those pigeons that are awarded an IMS grade of Highly Superior or Excellent qualify for that title. This applies to top rated breed and category winners as well. If no entry is graded HS or E, the title of Best Rare (or Best of Breed or Best of Category) is bestowed upon the winning pigeon. For the sake of simplicity we'll call all the top rated birds "Champion" in this presentation. The selection of the Champion Rare begins with the selection of the breed champions. It should be pointed out that if one bird is awarded the rate of Excellent, that pigeon is automatically the Champion rare entry. This also applies to situations when only one entry in the meet is rated Highly Superior. The breed champions are the highest rated entries in each class. Once this is accomplished, the selection of category champions takes place. Each category, by the RBPC definition, is comprised of various breeds that either share common specific characteristics or a common place of origin. Category champions are the highest rated pigeons in each of these groups. Upon the completion of this step, the Champion Rare Entry is selected from among the category champions that share the highest IMS grades.

Judges: Although no specific policy exists in the Rare Breeds Pigeon Club regarding the number of judges used at a meet, it's been this club's practice for quite awhile to utilize a single judge at meets. There are many rare breeds fanciers who favor the use of multiple judges and would like to have more specialty judges used at the larger Rare Breed Pigeon Club meets. On the other hand, it has been the established practice of the Southern California Color Pigeon Club to use more than one specialty judges at most of their meets. We concur with this practice. The major reasoning behind this practice is to insure that knowledgeable judges are available and utilized. The use of the experts in either individual breeds or breed categories provides a more beneficial and educational service to the exhibitors. In addition these "specialty judges" should be considered to be valuable tools in the training of novice judges. 

Miscellaneous In European shows, the birds are judged prior to the arrival of both exhibitors and visitors. There are two benefits to this practice. This allows the judges and their assistants to go about their chores without being distracted by onlookers. Secondly, the host organization is given time to prepare a marked catalog of the show. Because of the way shows are held in this country, this practice of "closed judging" can't be adhered to. Ideally, pigeons in the United States that are going to be judged by the Individual Merit System should be removed from their individual show holes and then placed in individual holes in an area that has been set aside for judging. We realize that this isn't always practical, but if possible it should be done in order to avoid interrupting and distracting the judge when she or he is going about their tasks. Exhibitors that are found to be either interfering or distracting a judge should be given a warning. If this fails, consideration should be given to disqualifying the entries that are exhibited by the guilty fancier. The decision to do so is left to the discretion of either the meet coordinator or the judge.

While the two of us are, as you might have guessed, staunch supporters of the Individual Merit System, the purpose our presentation shouldn't be misunderstood. By no means are we advocating any changes in the current judging methods used by any organization. We Americans have utilized the "numerical placing method" since the dawn of pigeon exhibitions in our country. And even though at one time or another you might have overheard gripes about judges, neither of us think that too many people have complained about the established system itself. Our reason for writing this article is to provide fanciers with some information about how the IMS and some of the aspects associated with rare breeds judging and competitions. If after reading what we've had to say, you're able to walk through the section of the showroom where the rarer breeds and color pigeons are on exhibit and the merit system is used and you have some idea as to what those "letters" mean, we'll have conveyed our message to someone.