National Show Guide, Templates, and Forms

The annual American Daffodil Society National Convention and Show is an opportunity for members to gather once a year and enjoy an incredible show filled with newly released daffodils. One of the days usually features garden tours of local members or botanical gardens.  On another day,  you will learn more about our favorite flower in educational seminars.  The National Convention is hosted in various regions of the United States and is frequently co-hosted by a local daffodil society.

Below are convention and show guidelines, national show templates, show recording and reporting forms, as well as a collection of handouts to give to the general public.

National Show and Convention Guidelines

  • ADS Guidelines for the National Convention and Show –  This document provides guidance in detail on how a local group can decide whether or not to host an ADS Convention and, if the decision is made to host a Convention, provides guidance on how to plan, organize, and manage the Convention. This guide is also useful for planning Fall Symposiums and Board Meetings.
  • The Innovation Gold Medal Guidelines – This document outlines the merit and process to award the most innovative new daffodil exhibited at the ADS National Show.  This link provides judging criteria along with a list of the previous honorees.  The Innovation Gold Medal is awarded at the discretion and unanimous vote of the ADS President’s selected panel of expert judges.

National Show Schedule Template
These are the templates for developing a National Show Schedule. Submit your completed schedule to the ADS Awards Chairman for approval.

National Show Exhibitor Sign-in Sheet
This is a template for developing a National Show Exhibitor Sign-in sheet. Use the information on this form to complete the National Show Results form.

National Show Judges Instructions
This document is a suggested set of instructions for National Show Judges to be given prior to commencing  the judging process.  Customized versions of these instructions have been used in previous National Shows.  Below are the instructions in two formats, MS Word and PDF.

National Show Clerk Instructions
This document is a suggested set of instructions for National Show Clerks to be given prior to commencing the judging process.  The forms referred to in these instructions, such as “show results cards” and “tube and table labels”, are located below under the section Show Forms.  These instructions have been used in previous National Shows. Below are the instructions in two formats, MS Word and PDF.

Show Forms
Below are forms for photography entry cards, show results cards, and the popular tube and table labels.

Photography:
There are no official ADS Photography Show forms. Below are sample Photography Show Template for Rules and Classes, Entry Cards, and Results Cards that have been used in National and local shows. The National Photography Show Chair has the prerogative to use these cards or provide an entry card and show results form of their choosing.

Horticulture:
Many shows now use the show results cards in place of the letter size results form.  One of the primary advantages to the cards is that only the class winner is recorded. The second advantage is that it is easy to determine the winner of the ADS Silver Medal by sorting these cards by exhibitor names.

  • Show Results Record Cards, to be used by stewards and clerks to record the winners only of single, 3-stem and 5-stem classes.  There are six record cards per sheet.

“Tube and Table” labels facilitate returned flowers taken to the head table from collections for Gold, Rose and White (in the case of Tuggles) ADS Awards consideration are returned to their original placement within that collection.

  • Tube and Table Labels There are ten sets per sheet.  Place one label on the exhibit’s tube/vase to take up to head table and the matching label on the exact location on the show property where stem was removed. We highly recommend you print these on Post-it 2100-J Removable labels.  If you use a permanent label, it will not easily come off of your show properties.

National Show Report Forms to return to the ADS
A National Show Report Form must be completed and either mailed or emailed to the ADS Recorder. This form was last updated in January 2024.

  • National Show Report, “Fillable” PDF – Download this form and either enter the information in the blue boxes on the form, save the form, and then return email attachment to the ADS Recorder or print a copy to write out your show report and mail to the ADS Recorder.

An ADS Show Judges Credential Report must be completed and either mailed or emailed to the Judges’ Credentials and Refreshers Chair. This form was last updated in January 2019.

Trophy and Show Medal Award Certificates at Daffodil Shows
The Awards Chairman used to be the custodian of the ADS trophies, and the ADS would ship the trophies to every national show winner and then they would bring the trophy to the next national daffodil show. But this policy became unenforceable and costly. The ADS changed this procedure to include giving the winner a photo of the trophy or show medal, with a certificate that describes the history of the trophy or show medal and a list of the previous winners. These certificates need to be updated for each National Show. A PDF of the Trophy and Show Medal Award Certificates resides on DaffLibrary.org. The Awards Chair will provide an editable Word document to the National Show Chairman to update each year.

Judges Refresher  Form to return to the ADS
Normally, one or more of the education seminars held at a National Convention is designated as a Judges Refresher Course.  Below is the judges refresher roster, in two types of files, to gather attendance and money at the designated seminar at the convention.

Handouts for the General Public Show Attendees
A National Daffodil Society normally receives a considerable amount of local publicity and the general public is invited to attend the show.  This is the time when the local society can shine.

Normally, a hospitality table, with various handouts, is located right outside or right inside the showroom. This table needs to be manned with two or more people in order to quickly answer questions and provide helpful handouts. It would be best if the local society developed a handout or membership form about their society that will invite local attendees to join their group.  ADS brochures and rack cards can be provided by the ADS Executive Director.

Below are materials that are available to provide National Show visitors:

  • ADS brochures, rack cards, and copies of older issues ADS Journals – contact the ADS Executive Director using this Contact Form.
  • Handouts about classifications, culture, forcing bulbs, faqs and more are located in DaffLibrary.org on the ADS Handouts page.
  • Youth projects and coloring sheets are available under the Youth Program section of this website. Many shows set up “create your own daffodil coloring tables” complete with copies of these sheets and crayons or color markers for the children to enjoy creating their own new daffodil variety!

Educational Daffodil Displays
It is highly recommended that a set of  the ADS Educational Daffodil Displays be present at the National Show. These displays help the public better understand daffodils and tend to answer many of their questions.  Each of the eight regions in the ADS have a set of these displays available for their shows and events. It is preferable that Regional and Local shows have a set of these educational banners to display at their shows.

Here is a link to the webpage with a set of these displays in smaller dimensions, that can be taken to a professional printer. (Educational Daffodil Displays)

Contact your Regional Vice President to find out how to have a set of educational displays at your Local, Regional, or National Show and Convention.