How the League “Classes” Work
The Club runs a two league “Classes”; “Club” for the less-experienced, and “Advanced” for the more experienced.
All new members will be placed in the “Club” class in both Print and PDI categories.
The exception to this is if a new member is a classified as a professional photographer, i.e. their primary income is produced from photography, or already is at least a Licentiate of the RPS or the PAGB, in which case they will placed in the “Advanced” class.
Should a new, non-qualified member consider that their work is beyond the standard of the “Club” class, they can apply to have their work juried.
This will entail the submission of five prints or five DPI images, or of both if they wish to compete in both categories, which are of recent work and cover multiple subjects. This work will be examined by a Judging Panel of at least three members from the “Advanced” class. Ideally at least one of the Panel will have judging experience, at least one will have at minimum the Licentiate qualification of the RPS or PAGB. Both requirements may be embodied in the same person. Note this is the ideal, but changes in membership, availability at the required time, etc, may detract from this ideal position. The Judging Panel will be convened by the Committee, ensuring that both Committee and non – Committee members are selected and sufficiently qualified.
If you wish to apply to have your work juried then please send an e-mail to chairman@midhurstcameraclub.co.uk and state the reason why you wish to be considered for the Advanced Class. You will need to produce 5 PDI’s which you can attach to the mail. If you wish to be also considered for the Print League then you will need to produce 5 prints at your next visit to the club.
The member’s application should reach the us prior to the member entering their first competition.
Once juried the result will be communicated to the member and the class lists updated if appropriate.
The Panel’s decision is final but a new application can be made at the beginning of the following season.
Progression Between Classes
Progression from “Club” to “Advanced” class is based on merit indicated by the results of the league tables at the end of the year.
Based on prior history the normal time period from a member joining to being ready for consideration for elevation to “Advanced” level is two years. Progression after just one year in Club class is possible however if a member shows a consistent ability to enter work and score high marks in all competitions.
Members meeting this requirement will be recommended for progression by the Competition Secretary of each league to the Committee.
The Committee will convene the Judging Panel to adjudicate on each proposed candidate. As there are separate leagues for Print and PDI images it is possible that candidates for promotion for each league will be different, with the result that a member could be in one class for Print and a different class for PDI competitions.
Once confirmed by the Judging Panel, the Committee will announce the promotions.
There will be no demotion from the Advanced Class to the Club class.
As the yearly points score are cumulative there will always be a scale of results from high to low points depending on the number of competitions entered, the number of images entered per competition, etc. Additionally some members will find certain subjects more or less akin to their skills. This means some members will be in the top echelon and some in the lower echelon and this will change over time. Those in the lower echelon at any time are still worthy of the Advanced status.