Thailand has a long history in IAPLC, they are one of the first country from South-East-Asia to break into the top27 individual IAPLC ranking. However, even with such long history and numerous time in the top27, in addition to having a group of very talented scapers, Thailand has not achieved the "breakthrough" that they deserved.
If we look at the Thai's performance in IAPLC from the last 10 years, it is not hard to notice that this is a country full of potential. Apart from the top27 ranking that they achieved many times, there are also many scapers capable of getting into the top100 and even top50 ranking. This has translated into a rather stable average ranking for Thailand in the past 10 years. The fluctuation of Thailand in terms of Average Ranking are within 70 (highest 120, lowest 53), that is a very small fluctuation in a 10 years span, apart from Vietnam, China and Japan, Thailand ranked #4 for having the lowest fluctuation in average ranking.
So what does this tell us?
We believe this situation shows us that aquascaping in Thailand is rather matured. They are not lacking of players who can contribute in this team challenge. Unlike most of the countries introduced earlier, Thailand does not depends on 1 or 2 scapers, they already have a good team with enough players ready to fight for their country.
Thai aquascaping style is elegant and refined, very natural and with good details. One can feel the artistic sense and the attention to details in the Thai layout. Scapers from Thailand are also blessed with fantastic planting skills, this may not be so obvious in a photo contest but if you ever experience the live tank contest in Thailand, you will be amazed by the healthy and vibrant aquatic plants in their tanks.
Strength and Weakness
In addition to having a group of good scapers, it is worth mentioning that the Thai scapers work as a team, all the scapers have close relationship with each other and that is one of the recipe for success in a team sport.
Another "strength" in Thai aquascaping is that they are really good in making small tanks - 60cm and below, this is easy to notice if you take a look at contest with tank size categorization, you will see Thai scapers often achieve good results in this smaller tank category. However, in a contest like IAPLC, unfortunately, smaller tanks are often in an disadvantageous position. This does not mean that smaller tank cannot achieve good ranking but the difficulty increases and opportunity reduces.
Another point we observe in Thai aquascaping is that....their layouts are looking rather similar (refers to the attached tank photos). We believe they need some kind of breakthrough in their style, be more bold and come out from their comfort zone!!
Author: IAPLC Nations Challenge
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