Kennel Club Accredited Instructor of the Year Award 2023

Terms and Conditions

The nominators and nominees agree to be bound by these terms and conditions:

1. Nominators/nominations

a. Nominators must be 18 years of age or over and be a UK resident. (Exceptions to being a UK resident may be accepted, which will be considered on a nomination by nomination basis and at the sole discretion of the judges)

b. Only one nomination per person will be accepted

c. Multiple nominations from one person for either one, or a number of nominees will not be accepted and will be disregarded

d. Nominations will be disregarded if the judges have grounds to believe any information received, concerning the nomination and/or nominee is false or is incomplete

e. Nominations will close Wednesday 31st January 2024. Nominations received after this time and date will not be accepted

f. The organisers do not accept responsibility for nominations not received

g. The Kennel Club Accredited Instructors Scheme may use the responses from nominators in the promotion of the schemes activity – the nominator’s name will not be published

2. Nominees

a. Nominees must reside in the UK

b. Nominees must have gained accreditation through the Kennel Club Accredited Instructors Scheme

c. Nominations received for Kennel Club Accredited Instructor Scheme members who are non-UK residents may be considered for an international commendation nomination. Consideration to this will be given at the sole discretion of the judges and all other terms and conditions will apply

d. The organisers reserve the right to verify the eligibility of all nominees

e. The judges reserve the right to disregard any nomination if they have grounds to believe that any nominee’s training methods and/or activities are in breach of the KCAI Scheme Code of Practice

f. Persons and their families employed or contracted by, and/or associated directly with, the Kennel Club Accredited Instructor Scheme, such as Kennel Club Accredited Instructor Board members, the Kennel Club staff and/or external service providers will not be eligible. Any such nominations will be disregarded

g. The organisers will not forward any nomination information to nominees

3. Judging Panel

a. The judging panel will consist of representatives from the Kennel Club Accredited Instructor Scheme and the Kennel Club and/or other external guest(s) by invitation only

b. The decision of the judges will be final and no correspondence or discussion on decisions will be entered into with nominees, nominators and/or any other third party

c. The organisers will not be able to inform all other nominees and/or nominators of the outcome of the nominations

4. Winner

a. The winner will be chosen by the judging panel, and the successful candidate will be determined by the instructor who most closely matches the selection criteria

b. The winner must agree to attend the 2024 Kennel Club Accredited Instructor of the Year award ceremony at Crufts 2024 on Saturday 9 March, where the winner will be announced. If the winner is unable to attend they may be withdrawn unless there are exceptional circumstances notified to the organizers which prohibits their attendance

c. The Kennel Club regrets that it cannot cover the cost of travel or accommodation before, during or after the ceremony at Crufts. The winner will receive two free tickets for Crufts by the organisers for the day of the 2023 Kennel Club Accredited Instructor of the Year awards ceremony. The organisers regret that it cannot cover any other costs related to finalists’ attendance

5. Prizes

a. The prizes awarded to the winner will be:

  • KCAI Instructor of the Year certificate
  • KCAI Instructor of the Year trophy
  • £200 donated from The Kennel Club Educational Trust to further the
    members involvement with dogs

b. Prizes are non–transferable and there is no cash alternative

c. The organizers reserve the right to substitute prizes of equal or greater value at any time up to the date of the Awards Ceremony

d. No other prize alternative is available

e. To claim the prizes, the winner must attend the Awards Ceremony at Crufts 2024

6. Publicity and promotion

a. The nominees, and winner agree to their names and nomination details being used in any related publicity, both in print and online

b. The winner may be requested to take part in promotional activity

c. The winner consents to the organisers using their name and likeness for the purpose of organising and/or managing the award, for announcing the winner and/or related promotional purposes

7. Miscellaneous terms and condition

a. The organizers of the 2023 Kennel Club Accredited Instructor of the Year are The Kennel Club Accredited Instructor Scheme and The Kennel Club

b. The organisers reserve the right to withdraw or change any part of this awards process at any time, without notice to nominators and/or nominees if circumstances make this unavoidable

c. Nominators and nominees agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions


The Kennel Club Accredited Instructors Scheme recognises and promotes dog training instructors, who are committed to and abide by, industry standards and codes of practice which have the welfare, care and needs of the dog at heart.