RHS Chelsea Florist of the Year 2010

HAVE YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES?

Following the success of this year's competition, The Royal Horticultural Society  is pleased to announce the ‘The RHS Chelsea Florist of the Year’ competition for 2010, in association with the British Florist Association. This competition is to be held at the world’s most famous flower show in Chelsea, London and showcases the very best in professional retail floristry. The competition will take place within the floristry section at the 2010 RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

The two new categories are:

In order to qualify

* Any florist working in or owning a retail florist shop
* Students or tutors at an approved floristry school or recognised college
* Freelance florists that are V.A.T. registered
(Please note, the RHS entry criteria does preclude freelance florists that are NOT V.A.T. registered from entry)

To enter you will need to submit a piece of floristry, following the relevant competition schedule, into one of the regional qualifying heats to be held at the BFA Hub Meetings. The highest scoring entries from each category will qualify for a place at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The entry fee for the competition is £10 (charged for heat entry only, there is no fee to enter the final).

To register to compete in the Regional Heats:

1. Email info@britishfloristassociation.org with:
    NAME,
    CATEGORY (Young Florist, or Florist),  
    WHICH REGIONAL HEAT you are attending.
Please put "Regional Heat Registration" as the subject line.     

2. We will email you the application form to complete and BRING THIS TO THE REGIONAL HEAT

3. You must register for the heat by the deadline shown & pay the £10 entry fee.

Next Hub Heat Dates

Regional qualifying BFA Hub Heats competition schedule

Create and Design a funeral tribute for a keen gardener.

Fresh flowers/ foliage must predominate.The judges will be looking for a high standard of composition and technique.

If you have a question, click here to read the FAQ section first as it may already have been answered. All queries on heats should be submitted in writing to info@britishfloristassociation.org. Please scroll down to read the Rules and Regulations.

Judging & Awards

The judging will be to RHS judging standards.  Medals can include ‘Bronze’, ‘Silver’, ‘Silver Gilt’, and ‘Gold’. The Best in Show will be presented with the ‘RHS Chelsea Florist of the Year’ & ‘RHS Young Chelsea Florist of the Year’ trophy.

Please note all application forms will be issued to the winning competitors at the qualifying heats held at the BFA Hub meetings.  After the heat has taken place, the application form must be completed and returned to the RHS Shows Department by the date stated on the application form.  The Schedule & regulations for Chelsea Flower Show will be distributed individually to all confirmed competitors after the final hub meeting takes place in February 2010.

If you have any queries regarding the hub heats please email info@britishfloristassociation.org, any queries relating to Chelsea 2010 please contact Sarah Owen, Chelsea Flower Show Deputy Show Manager at the RHS directly on 020 7821 3336 or by e-mail: sarahowen@rhs.org.uk.

Rules and Regulations

There will be 2 categories at the regional qualifying BFA Hub Heats.

·         The RHS Young Chelsea Florist of the Year (aged between 16 - 25 years of age.)

·         The RHS Chelsea Florist of the Year (aged 26 and over.)

- Entry to the competition is open to any florist working in or owning a retail florist shop, or who is a student or tutor at an approved floristry school or recognised college, or VAT registered freelance florist.

- Entry into the competition is charged at £10.00 per person (for both BFA & NON-BFA members) which has to be paid before attending the heat. This charge is only applicable to qualifying hub heats and will not apply to the final held at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The BFA regrets the fact that competitors will NOT be eligable for a refund if they are unable to attend the heat.

- The £10.00 competition entry fee will automatically allow the competitor into the Hub Meeting without having to pay any further admission charges. If the competitor brings any guests that are not BFA members these will be charged at £10.00 per person (normal hub entry rules apply, please see hub meetings for details)

- College students and tutors will ONLY be able to enter the national qualifying College Hub Heat which will be held at Covent Garden Market later this year. Please note that due to the sheer volume of college entries received last year this will be the ONLY Hub Heat that will permit college entries.

- A competition application form must be completed before entry. You will be able to download an application form from the BFA website. www.britishfloristassociation.org

- A competitor may only submit one entry per competition and is NOT allowed to enter the same competition twice during the 2010 selection process.

- A competitor may enter the competition at any of venues where the regional qualifying BFA Hub Heats are held. (College students and tutors will need to enter the College Hub Heat held at Covent Garden)

- Competition entries must be placed at the venue no later than the start time of the meeting. Meeting start times vary per region, it is the competitors responsibilty to check the website for the correct start time details and arrive at least half an hour before this time.

- Late entries will only be accepted at the discretion of the Judge.

- All competitors must make themselves and their entries available, as required by the RHS and the BFA, for media purposes.

- The running of the qualifying BFA Hub Heats is the responsibility of the BFA and The UK Floristry Judges Guild.

- Only one entrant from each category, the one with the highest scoring marks, will qualify for a place at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show held in May 2010.

- All marks collated at the qualifying BFA Hub Heats will be retained by the UK Floristry Judges Guild. Any additional places required at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2010 (i.e. due to competitor drop outs) will be allocated from the highest scoring marks retained.

- If a competitor is not according to schedule, the competition piece will be marked but will also be disqualified from going through to The RHS Chelsea Florist of the Year and will be marked ‘out of Schedule’.

- Entries for the qualifying hub heats need to be received before the cut off date. This date varies per meeting,  it is the competitors responsibilty to check the website for the correct cut off date and apply in good time. Last minute arrivals on the night will not be accepted.

-The RHS, BFA and the UK Floristry Judges Guild reserve the right to amend the rules and regulations for both the qualifying hub heats and the Chelsea Flower Show final at any time. Rules and regulations stated above were last updated on 30th July 2009

The competition will marked using the European Professional Judging Schedules.

Idea                20 marks

Colour             20 marks

Composition     30 marks

Technique        30 marks

Total maximum marks 100.

The Judges decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.