Rules & Regulation

Rules And Regulations

All exhibits must be the bone fide produce of the exhibitor.

1. ▲ Entries must be made on the form provided or online and reach the Entries Secretary by the 1st October 2009. Late entries (except classes 54-62, inclusive i.e. essays, videos, transparencies and photographs) may be made until 24th October, but will incur an additional single late entry fee of £5.00. For online entries please pay at Show.
2. Entry Fees: Class entry fee is 50p per class. Exemptions from fees are allowed to members of the National Honey Show, entrants in classes 1 and 4, Junior classes and any person staging a gift class entry. The entry fee for all County classes is 50p each class. County gift classes are free.

3. Delivery, Staging and Collection of Exhibits:
▲ Delivery: Exhibits for classes 54-62 (Videos, transparencies, photographs and essays), will be required for judging prior to the Show. These must be received by the convenor not later than 9th October 2009 in accordance with instructions as received from the entry secretary. Exhibits may be sent by courier/post to “Facilities”, St George’s College, Addlestone, WEYBRIDGE KT15 2QS to arrive after Wednesday 21st October and before noon on Wednesday 28th October. Exhibitors delivering exhibits personally must unpack them and submit them for staging between 2.30pm and 6.00pm on Wednesday 28th October 2009. Exhibits except classes 1, 10, 18, 44 to 50 inclusive and 95 may be delivered on Thursday 29th October between 8.00am and 9.00am provided you have indicated on the entry form your intention to do so. Cardboard containers must not be left on the premises as they are contrary to the fire regulations.
Staging of exhibits will be by the appointed stewards, except Classes 10, 18, 44 to 50 inclusive and 95, which may be staged by the exhibitor between 5.30pm and 6.30pm on Wednesday, 28th October by arrangement with the Show Supervisors. All staging on Wednesday 28th October to be completed by 7.00 pm when the premises must be vacated.

▲ Collection on the Saturday after the Show. The Show closes at 4.30pm. At the close of the show everyone will be asked to vacate the hall. Those collecting exhibits should queue outside the hall, having already brought or collected their boxes and entry forms (these will be available for collection after 2pm on Saturday 31st October). Accompanied by a steward, you will proceed to collect your exhibits and any prize cards from the staging. Make sure you check both the class and exhibit numbers on each entry and that they correspond with those on the entry form. When all have been collected and ticked off on the entry form by the steward, you will be asked to sign the form, the steward will countersign it, indicating that you have received all your entries. Gift entries are not returned unless ‘bought in’ at the time of entry. If bought in, they will not be on the staging, but the steward will take you to reclaim them. When you have collected and signed for your exhibits please leave the hall as quickly as possible.
4. ▲ Labels: Exhibitors must label every jar, section, or other exhibit with the labels as supplied by the Entries Secretary before delivery to the show. As the labels are computer generated a minimum charge of £1 will be made for any duplicates. No labels will be available on Thursday morning. The labels, which must not be altered, shall be affixed on jars and bottles to allow between 10 and 15 mm between the edge of the label and the bottom of the vessel. On square sections and shallow frames place labels at the right top corner of the vertical transparent face of the case and the duplicate on the top of the horizontal bar of the frame or section. On round sections place one label on rings and duplicate on face 12 – 15 mm from bottom edge of each section.

Labels for Cut Comb shall be affixed one on the lid and the duplicate on the long side of the container. If a show case is used for wax, one label must be affixed on the glass and the duplicate on the surface of the wax to be shown uppermost. Small blocks of wax shall have a label affixed to one side of each item in the class. On candles the label is to be affixed near the base. For Display Classes only one label will be provided which shall be affixed to the base or table. Except where otherwise specified no Exhibitors card, trade mark, label, name or writing may be placed on or attached to any part of an exhibit. Cakes and Small Honey Cakes, displayed on a white paper plate, shall be placed together with the Card and Label supplied in the clear plastic bag provided by the Entries Secretary.

5. All honey and wax exhibited except in Candle Classes and Classes 35 and 36, must be the bona fide produce of the exhibitor’s bees.
6. Uniformity: When a Class requires the staging of more than one exhibit of the same type, the containers (when used) and the exhibits shall be matching in all respects. Mould marks are not relevant.
7. Comb Honey
a) ▲ Sections approximately 454g (1lb) must be enclosed in cardboard commercial sale section cases.. Round sections must have clear covers on both sides.
b) Cut comb honey must be shown in standard white 227 g (8 oz) containers with transparent snap-on tops and must have a gross weight of between 200g and 255g (7-9oz).
c) Frames must be shown in protective cases and the comb must be visible from both sides.
8. Extracted Honey must be exhibited in plain, clear 454g (1lb) squat jars (glass or plastic) with standard gold lacquered commercial screw tops or twist-offs, and matching, except where otherwise stated.
9. Wax: may be exhibited polished or unpolished at the discretion of the Exhibitor. If a show case is used it must not exceed 12 inches (300 mm)
10. Honey Colour: Standard Grading Glasses will be used. (Grading glasses should be viewed against the side of a standard 1lb honey jar with a matt white background. Do not use grading glasses against a direct light source)
11. Mead must be shown in clear colourless glass, PUNTED, bottles of round section of approximately 26 fluid ounces capacity with rounded, not sloping, shoulders and without lettering of any kind. Bottles with shallow punts are acceptable. Only cork stoppers with white plastic flanges are be used.
No alcohol may be added to Metheglin or Melomel nor may Alcohol or Flavouring be added to Mead, but additions such as acids, nutrients and tannin may be used.
12. Awards: Exhibitors may make more than one entry in a Class, but no single exhibit may be shown in more than one Class and an Exhibitor shall not be entitled to more than one cash award in any one Class. A competitor may make an individual and a joint entry in the same class but these will be deemed to be duplicate entries. Multiple owners, when exhibiting, will be considered as one person.
13. Caution: No exhibit or any part thereof may be removed until after the close of the Show, except as provided in Rule 20. No exhibit maybe tasted or in any way interfered with by the Exhibitor or any person during the Show without the authority of the Appeals Panel.
14. The Committee will take ordinary care of exhibits, but will not be responsible in any circumstances for loss or damage sustained by Exhibitors or their exhibits in any way whatsoever.
15. If any article sent for exhibition is found to be adulterated, the penalty shall be disqualification.
16. Disqualification: The Committee reserves the right to refuse any entry or exhibi.

17. Objections: Any protest by an Exhibitor must be made in writing to the General Secretary by 3pm on the Friday of the Show, for consideration by an Appeals Panel, consisting of the Judges Referee and two other Judges who are not otherwise involved with the objection. The objection must be accompanied by a deposit of £10. Should the protest be sustained by the Appeals Panel or be considered reasonable, the deposit will be returned.

18. Powers of Appeals Panel: The appeals panel is empowered to:

a) Increase the number and value of prizes and/or awards in any Class should the number and high standard warrant their so doing.
b) Withhold prizes in cases of insufficient merit or entries.
c) Submit any exhibit for analysis
d) Sell, or otherwise dispose, of any honey damaged in transit (or reduced in value by any other means), or return the same to the Exhibitor.
e) Retain all or any part of any exhibit concerning which a protest has been made until a decision upon such protest has been taken.
f) Decide any question as to the interpretation of the foregoing rules and regulations.
g) The decisions of the Executive Committee and Appeals Panel on any matter whatsoever, under or in relation to the foregoing rules and regulations, or on any protest or objection in relation thereto or to any exhibit, shall be final and conclusive.

19. All Gift Class Exhibits shall become the property of the National Honey Show Ltd., and will be sold for the benefit of show funds.

BUYING IN CHARGES FOR GIFT CLASSES:

454 g (1lb) jar	227g (½lb) jar
Honey £5.00	£3.00
Heather honey £7.00	£4.50
Section - square £8.00	Section – round £7.50
Heather section £9.50	Cut comb £4.50
Confectionery £6.50	Cakes £5.00
Candles for set of 3 £6.00	Six Wax Blocks £4.50

EXHIBITORS MAY BUY IN EXHIBITS ONLY IF THEY HAVE SIGNIFIED THEIR INTENTIONS ON THEIR ENTRY FORM.

20. Challenge Cups and Trophies won last year should be delivered by hand to the organisers of the Show on the Wednesday of the show week

21. Exhibitors must complete the declaration on the reverse of the entry form and pay all relevant fees for their entries to be valid.

22. A small supply of business cards may be placed alongside exhibits in classes 45 and 47 after judging has taken place.

23. Labelling Regulations
The new regulations have been interpreted slightly differently by Trading Standards depts. in many areas. If you are selling honey it is best to have your labels checked by your local office. For the purpose of the National Honey Show all classes requiring the exhibitors own labels must comply with the following requirements which must all appear on the same label:-

The word HONEY which may be prefixed with the type of honey and/or area of origin. e.g. New Forest Heather Honey
The metric weight must appear – figures to be at least 4mm high for 454 & 227 g weights. If the imperial weight is shown it must be in close proximity to the metric and be less prominent. The ‘e’symbol if used will be ignored.
Your name and address must appear on the label.
The country of origin must be shown on the label. e.g. ‘Produce of the U.K’ The country name alone at the end of your address is not sufficient.
A ‘best before’ date must appear on the label (suggest 2-5 years) or an indication of where it can be found. i.e. for 'best before’ see base of jar. If the date is given in full i.e. date, month and year there is no need for a lot number.