Judges' Section - Working Trials
Judges at Kennel Club licensed Working Trials are expected to maintain and abide by the highest standards, adhering to Kennel Club regulations and the judges’ Code of Best Practice. All judges should be appropriately experienced and have suitable temperament, physical fitness and stamina. They must act honestly and impartially and judge in a customary fashion acceptable to competitors. The overall aim of a judge is to provide value for the time, training, effort and money which the competitors put into their rounds at the trial.
Who can judge?
Judges are invited by the society which is staging a Working Trial (it is not acceptable for judges to solicit for appointments). Before inviting a judge, the society must be satisfied that the judge is suitably qualified, and before accepting an appointment judges should ensure they meet the minimum criteria, which are described below.
Judging at an Open Working Trial
Before you are appointed to judge at an Open Working Trial:-
- You must have qualified a dog “Excellent” in the Stake you are going to judge, or in a higher Stake.
- For a TD (Tracking Dog) or PD (Patrol Dog) appointment you must have previously judged the nosework section of a lower stake (excluding CD which does not include tracking).
- Prior to judging for the first time you must have attended a Kennel Club Working Trial Regulations and Judging Procedure Seminar and passed the Regulations and Judging Procedure examination (see below).
Judging at a Championship Working Trial for CD (Companion Dog), UD (Utility Dog) or WD (Working Dog) Stakes
Before you can judge at a Championship trial you must have judged the relevant stake at an Open Working Trial and you need to meet the additional criteria below:
- For CD Stake – You must have judged at least two Open Working Trials and have qualified a dog “Excellent” as a handler, in at least a Championship CD stake.
- For UD Stake – You must have judged all groups in UD, WD, PD or TD Stakes at two Open Working Trials, have judged CD Stake at a Championship Working Trial and have qualified a dog ”Excellent” as a handler, in a Championship UD Stake.
- For WD Stake – You must have judged UD Stake at a Championship Working Trial and have qualified a dog “Excellent” as a handler, in a Championship WD Stake.
Championship Working Trial Judge for TD or PD Stakes
Once you have been judging for a number of years you may be asked to judge a Championship TD or PD Stake and award Working Trial Certificates (“tickets”). If you are able to accept the invitation, your nomination must be approved by the General Committee of the Kennel Club before it is confirmed. If this is the first time you have awarded Working Trial Certificates, you must:-
- have five years experience of judging at Kennel Club licensed Working Trials;
- have judged WD Stake at a Championship Trial;
- have judged two or more Open Working Trials, including TD Open for TD judges or PD Open for PD judges;
- have qualified a dog “Excellent” in the nominated stake;
- have attended a Kennel Club Working Trial Regulations and Judging Procedure Seminar and passed the Regulations and Judging Procedure examination.
A person approved to judge a Championship Working Trial Certificate stake may not judge the same stake within a period of six calendar months (the relevant date being the last day of each trial).
Judging contracts
All judging appointments at Kennel Club licensed Working Trials must be underpinned by a contract between the society and the judge. Forming a contract requires three stages:
- The society must invite the judge in writing, including the wording required in the Working Trials regulations, and request a written acceptance
- The judge should return a written acceptance of the judging appointment
- The society should then confirm the judging appointment, again in writing (but for Championship TD and PD appointments the appointment must first be approved by the Kennel Club General Committee)
Three-part contracts should always be in place, even for emergency replacement judges. In the event of a judge or society being in breach of their contract, and unable to provide a satisfactory explanation of the breach, the General Committee of the Kennel Club may investigate the reasons.
Approval of Championship TD and PD judges
Societies are required to obtain Kennel Club approval for all Championship Working Trial Judges for TD and PD stakes.
Societies must submit their nominations to the Kennel Club at least 9 months before the appointment (but at least 12 months ahead in the case of ‘first-time’ Championship judges) using the official nomination form. Nominations of ‘first time’ judges (who have not previously been approved to judge that stake at a Championship trial) must be accompanied by a completed Working Trial Judge’s questionnaire (using the current version of the form, see below). First-time Working Trials judges will be assessed at a judging appointment before being considered for approval by the General Committee.
NOTE: Although the deadline for nominations of first-time judges is 12 months, it is in the interests of the society and the judge to submit nominations, with the judge’s completed questionnaire, as far ahead as possible to allow time for the assessment to take place and the nomination to be considered and approved well before the date of the trial.
Judges Seminars
All judges must be fully conversant with the Kennel Club Working Trial (I) Regulations. A very effective way to achieve this is by attending a Kennel Club Working Trial Regulations and Judging Procedure seminar. The seminar and accompanying examination provide participants with a comprehensive introduction to the Regulations and also discuss judging procedure and etiquette. Seminars may be organised by any group or individual, who must invite a Working Trials Accredited Trainer to present the seminar.
Working Trials Judges' Seminars
List of Accredited Judges Trainers for Working Trials (PDF)
List of successful candidates - Working Trials Regulations and Judging Procedure seminars (PDF)
List of successful candidates - Working Trials Practical Judging seminars (PDF)
Guide for Working Trials Judges
available to download in PDF format free of charge (below) or you may wish to purchase the printed booklet from our Online Shop.
Guide for Working Trial Judges and Stewards
Judges Record Book
It is important to keep a record of your judging appointments, so that if one day you are invited to award Working Trial Certificates, you will be able to complete the judge’s questionnaire form and provide evidence that you have the required experience. An official Judges Record Book can be purchased from our Online Shop.
Further Information and forms
- Working Trials and Bloodhound Trials Regulations
- Working Trials Judges' Guide (PDF)
- Championship Working Trial Judges nomination form (PDF)
- Championship Working Trial – first-time Championship Judge's Questionnaire (PDF)
- Code of Practice for Objections and Appeals
- Kennel Club Online Publications Shop - Regulations Booklets, Guide for Judges and more
Other Working Trials Pages
- Getting Started in Working Trials
- What are Working Trials
- Working Trials - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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Article Information
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- The Kennel Club
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- Judging, Working Trials
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