MY wife and I were not initially going to attend the Miami Conference; however after the Conference in Dijon, our son convinced us that we should attend and at the same time visit him. How could we resist the offer!

The flight across the Pacific is a long one and this was no exception - the baggage handlers ran a container of luggage into the electrical wiring that controls the cargo hold door, so this required what was at first to be a short delay. Four hours later we were once again allowed to board the plane - having already been on board awaiting clearance to taxi to the runway.

Los Angeles - four hours late. You can imagine the confusion with so many passengers having missed their connecting flights to other ports in the USA. Not Happy!! Customs clearance took all of two hours from entry to the terminal to us having our luggage transferred to our flight to Miami. Fortunately we had our baggage checked through otherwise it would have been at least another hour - there were so many transfers awaiting rescheduled flights. We have travelled a lot and learnt from past experience to not schedule connecting flights too close together. We were right once again! We had allowed almost eight hours altogether. It turned out to be just about right.

Next announcement was that our flight to Miami was delayed - an engine needed some attention. We were beginning to think that our scheduled arrival in Miami was not going to happen that day. Our son was there in his rental car, awaiting our arrival, expecting us at the scheduled arrival time of approximately 4pm. Relieved, we arrived at approximately lOpm on the scheduled day. Check in at the Spring Hill Suites, about a ten minute walk from the Conference venue, was uneventful and we welcomed the opportunity to have a shower and to 'hit the hay'.

We had a day spare to get ourselves orientated - we went to the hotel reception to find out where the conference was - no idea was the reply from the concierge. Even the information on the foyer display board did not present any clues. We noticed a few people with conference name tags around their necks so decided to follow the trail. Registration was completed and I was able to meet with the Chairperson of the Judging Panel at the same time.

I had been invited to lead a group of teams, as Section Chair, at the judging of this Conference Show: there were nine of us with this role. A meeting was held on the day prior to the Show Judging to ensure that we each knew our role and it was at the Judges' Breakfast, held at 8am the following morning prior to judging, that we met with the judges and Team Captains.

A total of approximately 300 judges were divided into forty six teams, each under the leadership of a Team Captain - The Section Chairs were responsible for from three to seven of these teams. The three tier system seemed to work quite well. The three-person third tier, the Executive Judging Committee, managed the final judging of champions, assisted by the Section Chairs.

The teams I was responsible for judged the Pleurothallidinae sections. We finished our tasks about four hours into the exercise, judging the allocated sections and allocating trophies and medals as appropriate. After a luncheon the trophy and medal selections were finalized, followed by the championship judging. All judging was completed by approximately 5pm - a long day but I think one which was well conducted and the results seemed to befit the plants nominated and judged by the panels.

When there are so many plants on display there will always be minor and sometimes major problems. I do not think that on this occasion there were too many incidents to report.

That evening, prior to the Opening Cocktail Party, we were entertained by a group of US youth in a flag presentation outside the entrance to the show. A tropical paradise display was set up in the driveway area outside the entrance, with flamingoes and macaws being presented in the display area. They were there for the duration of the show and attracted a lot of attention and were possibly more photographed than the flowers.

Entry to the show for the Opening was by ticket, included in our registration pack. Guess where mine was - yes back at the hotel! Fortunately our accommodation was nearby and it was still light. I made the quick dash back, arriving back at the show with about ten minutes to spare.

The show was arranged in a huge pavilion, with the plant sales area surrounding the exhibits and spilling over into another section of the pavilion.

Upstairs there was a good selection of paraphernalia relating to orchids, together with the floral art, paintings and photography.

Cameras were to the fore on the opening night, and on several occasions prior to the close I managed to photograph a wide range of plants and displays. We visited most of sales booths and the were interested in the range of material on offer: clothing, books, gardening support items, jewelry, paintings, glassware etc.

Attracting a great deal of attention was the Grand Champion of the Show, Paph. Michael Koopowitz 'Krull-Smith' AM/AOS. This magnificent plant carried five inflorescences, with each one carrying a beautifully arching display of flowers.

The Champion Specimen Orchid was a huge plant, standing out in front of the display in which it was exhibited. I doubt that anyone managed to count the number of inflorescences, let alone the total number of flowers.

There was great variety in the displays: some were very simply constructed whilst others showed evidence of a large amount of preparatory work. The variety of genera and species on display was enormous - it is often that at these conference shows one sees orchids which are seen very rarely and unfortunately often not in Australia.

I have never before seen so many plants of Phragmipedium besseae in the one location. In Krull-Smiths' display they were presented in a 'natural' setting beneath a bridge which spanned their presentation.

The schedule of speakers was as good as we have experienced at previous conferences. Three sessions, running concurrently from the 23rd to the 26th, catered for the interests of registrants. Dr Phillip Cribb presented the Keynote Lecture titled 'Orchids in a Changing Climate'. This was a very thought provoking presentation and one which will no doubt be available postconference in some form.

It is important to remember that a World Orchid Conference is not just an Orchid Show, important as that may be to the growers. There are two major elements to any World Orchid Conference, the Conference Show and The Lecture Programme. The lectures are divided into three broad classifications, science, conservation and horticulture. Although not on the programme, other than the scheduled Opening Party and the Banquet, the social aspect of a WOC is enormous. The interaction between registrants from around the world is most rewarding.

I was also invited to join the WOC Site Selection Committee; the group which was to assesses the proposals for the 21st WOC conference location and recommends to the WOC Trustees their selection of the preferred site for that event. On this occasion there were five nominations - I believe that this was the largest number of applicants ever received. Applications were received from Taiwan, Peru, Guatemala, Brazil and South Africa.

The selection process was quite lengthy. Each applicant was able to show its wares and provide the committee members with information relating to the venue, costs etc. promoting its own venue as the one to be chosen. This first phase was conducted on Friday afternoon. On the following morning we all met once again, this time each applicant group was given approximately 20 minutes to present its case to the committee. This was then followed by questions asked of it by committee members. Following the five presentations, taking in all about three and a half hours, we were invited to make our decisions and these were handed to the WOC Trustees for the final determination.

At the closing ceremony on Saturday afternoon the announcement was made that Pretoria, South Africa had been given the nod to hold the 21st WOC in 2014. This will be confirmed at a later date after site inspection and an assessment by the Trustees that they can in deed conduct the WOC as they proposed they could. South Africa missed out in its bid for the 19th WOC when the decision was taken in Dijon.

We did not stay for the Banquet, but I understand that it was a glittering affair and a very enjoyable evening. We left for Los Angeles mid-evening on our return home via San Francisco where we stayed for three days and then a thirteen day tour of New Zealand's two islands.

Attendance at World Orchid Conferences is a great experience which gives one the opportunity to meet with people from around the world; many of whom one does not see other than at conferences. I believe that the same can be said of National Conferences and also the regional ones conducted from time to time in our home states.

The 20th WOC is to be held in Singapore in 2011. The actual dates for this have not yet been decided, but should be announced before the end of the current year. This venue is within easy reach of Australians so it would be a great opportunity for a large contingent to travel to Singapore and to register for the Conference. From what the members of OSSEA presented at their Orchid Show in December 2006, and I am sure will present at their next Orchid Show in July 2008, we can be guaranteed that the 20th WOC will be a conference and show to look forward to and to remember.

Colin Jennings
AOC Registrar General of Judging