Australian Facetors' Guild Limited

The 2024 AFG Annual Faceting Competition Schedule is available on this website under the EVENTS tab.

Events > Annual Competition > AFG Annual Competition 2024 > 2024 Competition Schedule Release 2 Copy pdf.

Hi Peter

Check out page 3 of the schedule under item E where it defines the aggregate score for the Novice Division as being for sections 1, 2, 3 & 4 only

Hans (for the Competition Committee)

Hi All Competitors,

Following Peter Ford's query above the Competition Committee reviewed the Prize descriptions for the Novice Champion and Open Champion on Page 3 of the Rules and Note 3 to the Show Schedule. 

Note 3) states "Novice and Open Competitors  -- The best score in 4 sections count towards the relevant Prize".

We inserted this rule when the we included the Concave section in the Open Competition so that we would not disadvantage Open Competitors wishing to enter a concave stone or Open Competitors who have no access to a concave machine.  It also catered for a 5th section in the Novice competition.

The Committee unanimously ruled that Note 3 is to be preferred to the two prize descriptions on page 3.   

This means that the Prize Description for:

(a) the Open Champion should be interpreted as "The Entrant in the Open Division with the highest aggregate score in 4 different sections for this Division"; and

(b) the Novice Champion should be interpreted as "The Entrant in the Novice Division with the highest aggregate score in 4 different sections for this Division". 

Here are a couple of examples to hopefully make this clearer.

Example 1.

Flash has previously wants to enter Open Division Sections 1,3, 4 and 5.  All of these count towards his score for the Prize. 

If he enters 4 different sections, e.g. 2,3,4,5 or 1,3,4,5 or 1,2,3,4, etc. it does not matter, any  combination of 4 entries in 4 different Open Division sections will count towards the prize. 

It also doesn't matter if he enters fewer than 4 sections in the Open Division.  If he does only his highest scoring entry in each of those sections entered will count towards the Championship. 

Instead Flash watched a video and learned to cut faster.  He finishes and submits an entry for all 5 sections.  This is great, but his highest scoring entry in 4 of those 5 sections is chosen towards his aggregate score for the Open Champion.

Example 2.

Sarah hasn't competed before.  She wants to enter sections 1, 3, and 5 of the Novice Division and a Concave stone (Section 5 in Open Division).

She can do this, nothing stops her adding an entry in a higher Division. BUT only her entries for Novice Sections 1, 3, and 5 will count towards her score for the Novice Champion. 

She could still win if her aggregate score is more than the next highest aggregate score.  Suppose she gets 3 x 100% scores, her aggregate score will be 300 out of a possible 400.  If the next highest scoring Novice competitor scores a 65, 70, 80, and 83 (298 out of a possible 400), Sarah is the Novice Champion and wins a great prize! (Pardon my plug, but the prize is great.)

BUT she attends the faceting course at Gemboree and also learns to cut faster so in May she also places an entry in either Novice Section 2 or 4 (for this example it doesn't matter which one). 

Now she has 4 eligible entries in the Novice Division that count towards her aggregate score for the Championship, improving her chance of being Champion. 

BUT if instead she enters a second entry in any of Sections 1, 3 or 5, only 3 of her 4 Novice entries will count towards her score for the Novice Champion because she can only have one best score per section and she entered 3 sections.

A couple of extra takeaways

If you are a Novice or Intermediate level entrant, you can enter a higher Division if you wish.  Sarah's entry in of a Concave cut in the Open Division is quite acceptable.   The section was designed to promote diversity and awareness of this style of cut. 

If she wins that section then she will become an Open Competitor in Group 10, Modified Standard Cuts and a Novice Competitor in relation to Groups 8, 9 and 11, Standard Brilliant cuts, Standard Oblong or Square Cuts, and Fancy Cuts. 

If she also wins as a Novice in one or more of Groups 8, 9 and 11 she will progress to Intermediate Division for relevant Group(s) for future competitions.

May the best competitor win.

PS. Flash is an example only, members of the Competition Committee are ineligible to compete in this competition.