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National Honey
  1. Royal Agricultural Society of NSW
  2. Sydney Royal Competitions
  3. Competitions
  4. National Honey

National Honey

Competition Schedule

Competitions for Apiculture began in 1888, appearing in a variety of sections before being given their own in 1901 and again in 1995. Classes for honey (comb, creamed, chunk, liquid & granulated), beeswax, small producers and collections remained consistent and in 2000 classes were introduced for candles, wax moulds, mead and pollen.

Competitions for Apiculture began in 1888, appearing in a variety of sections before being given their own in 1901 and again in 1995. Classes for honey (comb, creamed, chunk, liquid & granulated), beeswax, small producers and collections remained consistent and in 2000 classes were introduced for candles, wax moulds, mead and pollen. Honey and other bee products account for about $80 million a year, but the value in agricultural production is far greater, with a Federal Government report saying honey bees contribute between $4 billion and $6 billion. This is the only National Honey Show awarding Gold, Silver & Bronze medals in the Southern Hemisphere.

Championship Judging

Championship Judging

Championship judging at the Sydney Royal National Honey Show is conducted using the Borda Count method. Where a Champion Award is listed for a category of classes, the first placed gold medal winners of the relevant classes (if any) are retained and put forward for judging at the end of a category or at the end of class judging for the day. If there are no first place or gold medals, a Champion will not be awarded. The three judges from the National Honey Show sections (Candles/Beeswax, Open and Small Producers) make up the panel of judges who will participate in the Championship judging. Each judge will be presented with a single ballot card and instructed to complete according to the traditional Borda Count method. The Borda Count method is a consensus-based single-winner election method in which voters rank eligible exhibits in order of preference. The Borda count determines the winner of an election by giving each exhibit a number of points corresponding to the position in which it is ranked by each voting judge. The number of points given to exhibits for each ranking is determined by the number of exhibits up for judging. Where there are n exhibits, votes are counted by giving each exhibit a number of points equal to the number of exhibits ranked lower than them, so that an exhibit receives n – 1 points for a first preference, n – 2 for a second, and so on, with zero points for being ranked last. For example, if there are five exhibits being judged, then an exhibit will receive four (4) points each time they are ranked first, three (3) for being ranked second, two (2) points for being ranked third, one (1) point for being ranked fourth and zero (0) points for the exhibit ranked last. The points assigned for the preferences expressed by a voting judge on a ballot paper would look like this: 1st Ranking 1 Exhibit Forumla: (N-1) Points: 4 5th Ranking 5 Exhibit Forumla: (N-5) Points: 0 2nd Ranking 2 Exhibit Forumla: (N-2) Points: 3 4th Ranking 4 Exhibit Forumla: (N-4) Points: 1 3rd Ranking 3 Exhibit Forumla: (N-3) Points: 2 Once all votes have been counted, the exhibit with the most points is awarded the Champion exhibit. This result is not released to the judges and is held until the agreed press release date.

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