The Kennel Club wishes to clarify the procedure and options available to a society if a judge is ineligible to judge the number of classes scheduled for a breed.
Regulation F(1)21.b.(1) states that 'For non Challenge Certificate breeds at Championship Shows and for General Canine Society Open Shows, Affiliated Organisations Open shows and Breed Club Open Shows scheduling more than three breed classes for a particular breed (five classes for Stud Book Band E breeds), the selected Judge must, when appointed by the Club/Society, either:
(a)Have previously been approved to award Challenge Certificates to the relevant breed and have not been declared ineligible to do so by the time of carrying out the appointment or
(b)Be included on a Breed Council/Club B judges list or above. In the latter case before accepting such an appointment, the selected Judge must ensure that their name is included on a relevant Breed Council/Club judges list.'
Exceptions to these requirements are judges resident in Northern Ireland for those shows held in the province, and overseas judges who are approved to judge the breed concerned at Championship level in the country in which they are domiciled.
A judge must be eligible to judge the breed at the time of signing the contract and, by signing, the judge confirms that they are eligible to judge the breed. However, should it subsequently become apparent that the judge is ineligible to judge the number of classes that they have been contracted for, this would result in them being unable to carry out their appointment. In this situation, the society has two options:
If the schedulehas notbeen printed, then it is acceptable for the society to amend the classification as required, to ensure the judge is eligible to judge the number of classes scheduled. The society would need to issue the judge with a new judging contract for the appropriate number of classes.
If the schedulehasbeen printed, it is suggested that the society allows the judge to withdraw from the contract so that it may find a suitably qualified judge. It is not possible to amend the schedule once it has been printed and if an ineligible judge then judges the scheduled classes, the matter may be referred to Committee for consideration and could result in sanctions being imposed on both the club and judge.
Regulation F(1)8.d. states that no modifications may be made to the schedule except by permission of the General Committee of the Kennel Club and which must be followed by advertisement in the canine press. Therefore, it is not possible for societies to remove classes once the schedule has been printed.
Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: "It is the joint responsibility of judges and show societies to ensure that judges are eligible for the number of classes scheduled.
"We are aware that some societies have removed classes in order to ensure that the judge does not have to withdraw from the contract, while in other cases societies have had to replace the judge. Neither of these scenarios is in the best interests of exhibitors, so we would strongly urge show societies and judges to ensure the details are correct at the time the judging contract is signed."