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USA - SHOWING/JUDGING SYSTEMS OVERVIEW
Well, lets at least start with an authoratative statement - to quote the AKC - "Dog shows are evaluations of a dog's conformation. Judges compare the dogs in competition with their interpretation of the perfect dog described in the written breed standard. The dogs are also compaed against one another and place from first to fourth. At dog shows, most of the dogs are competing for points toward their championships. It takes fifteen points including two majors (wins of three, four or five points at a single show), under two different judges and a point under some third judge, to become a Champion of Record, indicated as Ch before a dog's name. Points are awarded from one to five depending on the breed, the region in which the event takes place, and the number of dogs or bitches actually in competition at a show. Judging is a process of elimination".I believe the American system produces around 100-150 new Afghan Champions each year (compares to 15-20 New Ch's in the UK each year).
Actually its a bit more complex than that. I am not the worlds expert on the USA dog scene, so if anybody out there cares to write up a better summary, I will glady replace this attempt. For an authoratative read, connect to the AKC's web site and print of the "Rules Applying to Dog Shows" which provide full detail on rules and regulations. For now - here goes with my understanding.
TYPES OF SHOWS, COMPETITION AND POINTS AWARDED
Member Show - championship points may be awarded at this type of show which is organised by a club or association, which is a member of the AKC.
Licenced Show - championship points may be awarded at this type of show which is organised by a club or association which is not a member of the AKC. Usually a special licence to hold ths show is given by the AKC.
Restricted (Section3) - championship points may be awarded at this type of show which is restricted to puppies eligible for puppy class and exhibits thaat have been placed 1st - 3rd place in normal shows where championship points were on offer. Some other technical restrictions also apply.
Restricted (Section4) - championship points may be awarded at this type of show which is restricted to dogs registered with the AKC as Champions, or dogs that have won championship points. Further restrictions such as exclusion of puppies may also be approved.
Limited (Section5) - championship points may be awarded at this type of show which is limits the total entry due to limitations of space.
Group - championship points may be awarded at this type of show which is restricted to the breeds and varieties of a group (eg Sporting, Hounds etc).
Speciality - championship points may be awarded at this type of show which is restricted to a single breed (eg Afghan).
American Bred - championship points may be awarded at this type of show which is restricted to American bred dogs only.
Sanctioned Match - championship points are NOT awarded at this type of show which is intended to be a match or informal meeting
Generally - I understand there are somewhere around 1000 all breed championshipshows a year that Afghans exhibitors in the USA attend, typical entries 20-30 Afghans. There are around 30 - 40 Speciality shows, typical entry around 100 Afghans (but can be higher/lower). There is a National Speciality which attracts 200-300 Afghans.
Groups - Dogs are classified by the AKC into one of 7 groups - Sporting, Hounds, Working , Terriers, Toys, Non-Sporting, and finally Herding group.
Classes - The regular classes are Puppy, 12-18 Month, Novice, Bred By Exhibitor, American Bred, Open, Winners. The classes are split into seperate sex's.
Winners - Basically, class winners (undefeated dogs/bitches) go forward to the Winners Class from which the eventual (per sex) "Winner" is chosen. This produces a winners dog and a winners bitch which will then compete to produce Best Of Breed. Dogs that are already Champions do not enter the regular classes but do challenge for Best Of Breed as do any dogs that are undefeated in and have competed only in non-reghular classes.
Championship Points - Points are awarded to the winners dog and winners bitch of each breed. The actual number of points awarded depends on the number of dogs competing in that breed, and the location ("Divison" in AKC speak) There are currently some 12 divisions. (California is division 9, Alaska is division 10, East coast Connecticut, New York etc is Division 1). The best of the winners dog/bitch (Best of Breed) shall be credited with the number of points for winners dog/bitch, whichever is higher. ie it is possible there were more dogs than bitches, so winners dog gets more points, but then gets beaten by the winners bitch - so bitch gets more points (ie winners dog) as she beat the dog, and vice versa. Once a dog has won 15 points it gains the title of Ch, subject to six of thes points having been won at two shows with a rating of three or more championship points (known as a "major"), and under two different judges. Some or one or more of the points must be won under some other judge than the two referred to above. As an example of points on offer - lets look at the points allocated in San Diego AHCA 1995 -
Number of Points followed by minimum dog/bitch entrires 1point - 2, 2 2points - 7, 8 3points - 13, 16 4points - 24, 26 5points - 43, 45So in the case of California/San Diego in 1995, bitch entries need to be slightly higher than dogs for equivalent points, and this varies from division to division.JUDGES AND JUDGING
To quote the AKC - "Any reputable person who is in good standing with the AKC may apply for leave to judge any breed or breeds of pure-bred dogs which in his or her opinion he or she is qualified by training and experience to pass upon" (with the exception of ((basically commercial, sales, kennel interests in the canine business environment)) employment and business interests).
The AKC Board of Directors will determine in each case whether a Judges licence will be issued
Only those people who's names are on the AKC's list of judges can judge AKC approved shows
The maximum number of exhibits a judge may judge in one day is 175, except for speciality shows where the maximum number is 200, assuming the judge is not judging any other breeds that day. If entries exceed these figures, additional judges must be used to share the entry and ensure the entries are below these figures for a single judge.
Well, thats how I understand it, please do not hesitate to correct me if I am in error. Thanks Steve.
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