General Regulations of the FIP for the Evaluation of Competitive Exhibits at FIP Exhibitions
[GREV]

(Last revised October 2000)

Article 1 Competitive Exhibitions

1.1 FIP considers international stamp exhibitions as a key element in the promotion and development of philately. These are promoted in accordance with its Statutes and the General Regulations of the FIP for Exhibitions (GREX). The FIP may extend its patronage to world exhibitions, its auspices to international exhibitions and its recognition to other exhibitions.
1.2 The principles defined in the following General Regulations of FIP for the Evaluation of Exhibits at FIP Exhibitions (GREV) are applicable to all competitive exhibitions. They are intended to serve the Jury as regulations and as a guide to the collector for the development of the exhibits.
1.3 The GREV apply to all competitive classes at FIP exhibitions.
1.4 The Special Regulations of the FIP for the Evaluation of Competitive Exhibits at FIP Exhibitions (SREVs) for each competitive class are based upon the GREV.
1.5 The Commissions and Sections of FIP provide Guidelines on the interpretation of the SREVs.

Article 2 Competitive Exhibits

2.1 The limit of the frame space allocated at exhibitions as per Article 6 of the GREX does not normally allow the collector to display the entire collection. Therefore, the collector must select suitable material, which will ensure continuity and understanding of the subject and explain relevant aspects of knowledge and condition.
2.2 The evaluation of exhibits will only take into consideration the material and information displayed.
2.3 The scope of an exhibit in the respective classes is defined in the SREV.

Article 3 Principles of Exhibit Composition

3.1 The exhibit shall consist solely of relevant philatelic material, supporting documentation and text, other than in an Open class.
3.2 Relevant philatelic material is defined for each class in the SREV for that class.
3.3 The exhibit shall show a clear concept of the subject treated, developed according to the characteristics of the respective competitive class, as defined by the SREV for that class. The title must describe the contents of the exhibit. The concept shall be laid out in an introductory statement, which must be written in one of the FIP official languages. The text of the exhibit should also be written in one of the FIP official languages.
3.4 The material displayed should be fully consistent with the subject chosen. The selection should show the appreciation of the exhibitor as to what is available in the context of his chosen subject. It should also include the fullest range of relevant philatelic material of the highest available quality.
3.5 The presentation and the accompanying text of the exhibit should be simple, tasteful and well balanced. It should add information to that provided by the material and show the level of understanding of the subject and the personal research of the exhibitor.

Article 4 Criteria for Evaluation

4.1 The evaluation of the exhibits is made by a jury, which will be constituted and shall perform its duties in accordance with the provisions of Section V of the GREX.
4.2 Criteria for the evaluation of competitive exhibits at FIP exhibitions are as follows:

  • Treatment and Philatelic Importance,
  • Philatelic and related Knowledge, Personal Study and Research,
  • Condition and Rarity of material exhibited,
  • Presentation.
4.3 Special criteria apply to exhibits in the Thematic, Youth and Literature classes see Article 5.3 below.
4.4 The criteria for exhibits in an Open class shall be laid down in the IREX of the Exhibition.
4.5 The criterion of “Treatment” requires an evaluation of the completeness and correctness of the selected material made by the exhibitor to illustrate his chosen subject.
4.6 The criterion of “Philatelic Importance” requires an evaluation of philatelic significance of the subject chosen by the exhibitor, in terms of its scope, degree of difficulty of the subject, and the philatelic interest of the exhibit.
4.7 The criteria of “Philatelic and Related Knowledge, Personal Study and Research” require the following evaluations:

  • Knowledge is the degree of knowledge of the exhibitor as expressed by the items chosen for display and their related description;
  • Personal Study is the proper analysis of the items chosen for display;
  • Research is the presentation of new facts related to the chosen subject.
4.8 The criteria of “Condition and Rarity” require an evaluation of the quality of the displayed material considering the standard of the material that exists for the chosen subject, the rarity and the relative difficulty of acquisition of the selected material.
4.9 The criterion of “Presentation” requires an evaluation of the overall aesthetic appearance of the exhibit.

Article 5 Judging of Exhibits

5.1 Judging of an exhibit will be carried out in general in accordance with Section V of the GREX.
5.2 Judging is based on the criteria explained in Article 4 above.

1. Treatment and Philatelic Importance 30
2. Philatelic and Related Knowledge, Personal Study and Research 35
3. Condition and Rarity 30
4. Presentation 5
Total 100

Exhibits will be evaluated by allocating points for each of the above criteria. These will be entered on score sheets of an approved format.

5.3 The criteria for evaluating Literature, Thematic and Youth exhibits are shown in the SREV of the concerned classes.
5.4 Prizes will be awarded according to Article 8 of the GREX.
5.5 Medals will be awarded as per the following table, based on the total of the assessments under the headings in 5.2 above:

Large Gold 95
Gold 90
Large Vermeil 85
Vermeil 80
Large Silver 75
Silver 70
Silver Bronze 65
Bronze 60
5.6 The Grand Prizes are awarded to the exhibits receiving the most votes of the jury in secret ballot from among those exhibits achieving at least 96 points (refer Article 44 of GREX).
5.7 The Jury may express Felicitations for exhibits distinguishing themselves by philatelic research or originality (refer Article 8.5 of the GREX).
5.8 Special prizes may be awarded by the Jury in accordance with Article 8.6 of the GREX.

Article 6 Concluding Provisions

6.1 In the event of any discrepancies in the text arising from translation, the English text shall prevail.
6.2 The General Regulations of the FIP for the Evaluation of Competitive Exhibits at FIP Exhibitions (GREV) were approved at the 66th FIP Congress on October 14, 2000 in Madrid. They take effect immediately following closure of Congress.