The DAME Jury does not treat standards with contempt and it doesn't give 'approval' to anything (a word, which in the context of standards might be greatly misunderstood).

It is impossible for the DAME Jury to validate, in the time that it has, whether a product specifically meets a detailed standard. I won't discuss the specific whys and wherefores of the judgement on the Splashguard, nor the merits of the product with regard to ISO. In general terms, members of the Jury are likely to highlight designs that appear to address, particularly in a simple way, known issues that they are aware of, perhaps through experience. If such experience has arisen because a lot of marine equipment in parts of the globe predates a relevant ISO, or ignores it, that is unfortunate but it doesn't diminish the Jury's desire to recognise design as a driving force for creating better user experiences.

With regard to the GME product there is no stipulation regarding availability to consumers at time of judgement; the relevant rule states that a product must not be on the market before a certain date and that it must not have been submitted to a previous DAME competition. Given the timing of METS in relation to the winter show circuit, it would be nonsensical to exclude exhibited products that have yet to reach consumers.

Kim Hollamby, chairman of the DAME Awards Jury