The word 'Futurity'
implies looking into the future. It also implies a gamble on the future.
The Futurity Program has been created to give Breeders a chance to
“gamble” on the future of their breeding program as well as giving an
extra incentive for striving to ensure the future excellence of the
Border Collie.
The BCSA Futurity Program
gives Breeders and owners of nominated puppies the chance to compete in
two of the most important aspects of our breed: Herding and
Conformation. In both venues, puppies will compete against other puppies
from nominated litters in hopes of winning the coveted title of Best in
Futurity. Besides the pride of placing in or winning a class at the
Futurity, the Futurity offers the chance for Breeders to gather
together, evaluate the success of different breeding programs, learn
from other Breeders, and also have fun! AND, there is the monetary
reward for all winning and placing dogs, which is a percentage of the
nomination and entry fees being divided between the winning dogs' Owners
AND Breeders!
The Futurity works by a
series of four (4) nominations ranging between before birth and up to
about two years. Owners will be able to decide if their puppy will
compete in Herding, Conformation, or both at the Futurity. The inaugural
BCSA Futurity will be held in the spring of 2010. The following are the
rules which will govern this competition as well as the nomination
stages.
JUDGING
Judging for Herding and Conformation of the Futurity will be held at
the BCSA National until at which time the club deems it necessary to be
held as a separate event.
HERDING JUDGING
The Herding judging will be divided into two divisions – the Junior
division and the Senior division.
Each division shall
utilize the current AKC's Herding Trial Courses A and B, with a
preference to the B Course when ever possible. The Junior division will
have
a shorter outrun and drive leg and will not be required to pen the
stock. Distance of outrun and drive legs will be determined by the
current BCSA Herding committee. Course size need not meet the actual AKC
Herding Trial regulations, but must come as close as possible. The
course must still allow the length of the drive legs to equal
approximately 1/3 of the total length of the outrun.
Dogs will be scored out
of a possible 100 points, in par with the current scoring of the AKC
Herding Trials, with placements given to the top 5 dogs in each class by
the Judge. No minimum score is required for placements. Best in Herding
Futurity and Reserve Best in Herding Futurity will be awarded to the two
highest overall scoring dogs, no matter the division the dog competed
in.
At the Jude's discretion,
dogs which willfully attack the stock, become lame while competing, or
are out of control will be excused from competing without finishing
their run and will not receive a score.
HERDING CLASSES
Both the Junior and Senior divisions will be divided into 3 classes for
award purposes only. Judging and course lay-out will not differ between
classes within a division and there will not be any difference in
judging between classes. Class placements will not be awarded until
after all dogs in the division have been judged. There will be no
division of dogs and bitches within the classes.
The Junior division
classes are:
-
12 months and under 15 months
-
15 months and under 18 months
-
18 months and under 21 months
The Senior division classes are:
CONFORMATION JUDGING
The Conformation judging will be divided into three classes with dogs
and bitches being judged separately. All dog classes will be judged
first, followed by all bitch classes. The three classes in which dogs
and bitches can compete are as follows:
Each class will be
awarded First through Fourth placements by the Judge. All dogs and
bitches receiving a First placement in their designated class will then
go on to compete against each other for Best in Conformation Futurity
and Best of Opposite in Conformation Futurity.
COMBINED JUDGING
The Combined Judging will be for all dogs who compete in both Herding
and Conformation at the Futurity. Each owner who plans to compete in the
Combined will need to enter their dog in the Combined on the entry form
and pay the correct fee. The Combined will only be open to dogs and
bitches between the ages of 12 months and under 24 months at the time of
the Futurity.
The Combined will be
based on how each dog fares in the regular judging of both Herding and
Conformation. Points will be given in each venue at the Futurity and the
dog or bitch which earns the greatest amount of points (Herding plus
Conformation) will earn Best in Combined.
The point base will be as
follows:
-
Herding
-
1 point – placing 3rd through 6th in
the class (1 to 5 dogs competing in the class)
-
2 points – placing 2nd the class (1 to
5 dogs competing in the class) or placing 3rd through 5th in the
class (6 or more dogs competing)
-
3 points – winning the class (1 to 5
dogs competing) or placing 2nd in the class (6 or more dogs
competing in the class)
-
4 points – winning the class (6 or
more dogs competing)
-
5 points – Reserve Best in Herding
-
6 points – Best in Herding
-
Conformation
-
1 point – earning any class placement
(1 to 4 dogs competing in the class)
-
2 points – placing 2nd through 4th in
the class (5 or more dogs competing in the class)
-
3 points – winning class (5 or more
dogs competing) or placing 2nd through 4th in the class (10 or
more dogs competing in the class)
-
4 points – winning class (10 or more
dogs competing in the class)
-
5 points – Best of Opposite in
Conformation
-
6 points – Best in Conformation
In the event of a tie,
Herding scores will be used to determine Best in Combined. In the event
that no dog meets the minimum qualifications, no Best in Combined will
be awarded.
JUDGES
Potential Judges for both Herding and Conformation will be submitted by
the Breeders of nominated litters as part of the first Nomination stage.
There shall be only one Judge nomination for each Herding and
Conformation per breeder/co-breeder* regardless of the number of
litters. (*Definition of breeder shall be the person signing and
submitting the Litter Nomination form.) Persons whose names have been
submitted to be Judges will then be contacted by the Futurity Chair to
confirm that they want to be considered for the position. NOTE: All
nominated Judges will be required to submit a short biography explaining
why they feel they are qualified to Judge at the Futurity. If more than
six (6) different people are nominated, the Futurity Committee will
evaluate each nominated Judge and pick the six (6) who closest fulfill
the present requirements. These six (6) nominated Judges will then be
voted on by the BCSA membership after the Futurity nominations close and
the name with the most votes will be selected to judge at the Futurity.
If, for any reason, the person who is selected to judge at the Futurity
is unable to fulfill the position, then the person with the second most
votes will be contacted to judge at the Futurity.
The following is a list
of requirements in which the Futurity Committee would like to see
fulfilled by nominated CONFORMATION Judges. However, due to this being a
new competition to our club, we are willing to allow nominations for
people who fulfill at least two (2) of the following requirements:
-
Either currently competing in Conformation or has
competed in the recent past in Conformation with Border Collies.
(does not need to be a BCSA member)
-
Has bred at least THREE litters of Border Collies.
-
Has bred at least ONE dog who has earned its AKC
Championship.
-
Has owner/handled at least TWO dogs to their AKC
Championship (not necessarily from their own breeding).
-
Has handled at least ONE dog to an AKC Herding
Started title (from A or B course)
For the HERDING
Futurity, a nominated judge must meet one (1) of the following
requirements:
-
Has handled at least ONE Border Collie to an AKC
Herding Championship (from A or B course)
-
Has handled at least TWO Border Collies to an AKC
Herding Excellent title (from A or B course)
-
Has handled at least TWO dogs other than a Border
Collie to an AKC Herding Championship (from A or B course)
-
Has handled at least THREE dogs other than a Border
Collie to an AKC Herding Excellent title (from A or B course)
Judges are ineligible
if they fall into one of the following categories:
-
Breeder/Co-Breeder of a nominated litter
-
Owner/Co-Owner of a Stud Dog that sired a nominated
litter
-
Owner/Co-Owner of a puppy from a nominated litter
AWARDS AND DIVISION OF
MONIES
An official BCSA certificate will be issued to the Breeder(s) of the dog
or bitch who wins Best in Herding, Best in Conformation, and Best in
Combined Futurity along with a rosette to both the Breeder(s) and the
Owner(s) of each.
-
Rosettes will be offered to all class
placements as well as Best of Opposite in Conformation and Reserve
Best in Herding.
-
Prizes will be offered to all class
First placements
-
The money paid into the Futurity from
the nominations will be divided as such:
-
35% - Operating expenses
-
40% - Prize money shall be equally
distributed to each of the First place winners
-
10% - Prize money shall be
distributed to Best in Conformation
-
10% - Prize money shall be
distributed to Best in Herding
-
5% - Prize money shall be distributed
to Best in Combined
-
60% of each prize goes to the owner(s)
and 40% of each prize goes to the Breeder(s)
NOMINATION STAGES
Litter Nomination
The dam of the litter must be owned or leased by a BCSA member in
good standing. Both the Dam and the Sire of the litter must be at least
2 years of age prior to the breeding for the litter to be eligible. The
litter must be nominated after the breeding has taken place BUT BEFORE
the litter is born. The nomination envelope must bear a post office
cancellation stamp with a date prior to the whelping date of the litter.
The fee of $30.00 for each litter nominated must accompany the form and
all nominations must be made on the official BCSA Futurity Litter
Nomination form. All parts of the nomination form must be filled in. No
exceptions!
The BCSA strongly
recommends that both the Dam and the Sire of the nominated litter have
all health testing/clearances prior to the breeding. At this time,
health testing/clearances of the Dam and Sire are not required to be
able to nominate a litter, BUT all health testing/clearances (or lack
thereof) WILL BE listed in the Futurity Catalog. BCSA DOES reserve the
right to require health testing/clearances at future Futurities when
they deem it necessary. Health testing/clearances that the BCSA
recommends (but not limited to) are OFA for Hips/Elbows, yearly CERF
exam, and DNA testing for CEA/CH, CL, and TNS.
If, for any reason, there are no live pups at time of birth or if there
are no live pups by the time the litter turns 30 days old, a refund can
be claimed as long as proof of loss of litter is given to Futurity
Chair. Proof must be in the form of a letter from a Veterinarian or a
BCSA member in good standing who is not a co-owner of the litter OR a
owner/co-owner of the Sire of the litter.
Litter Confirmation
Breeder must send in a Litter Confirmation form after the litter has
been whelped BUT BEFORE the litter is 60 days old. A fee of $10.00 needs
to be sent in with a Litter Confirmation form issued by the BCSA and
post marked within 30 days after whelp date. Failure to submit a Litter
Confirmation form by this date will result in Breeder's loss of Litter
Nomination fee and disqualification of litter from competing in the
Futurity.
Puppy Nomination
Once the Litter Confirmation has been received by the Futurity Chair, a
Puppy Nomination form for each live pup in the litter will be sent to
the Breeder of record. These Puppy Nomination forms can either be filled
out and returned with the fee by the Breeder OR, if the puppy has been
sold, by the new owner of record. The new owner need not be a BCSA
member to be able to enter and show a puppy from a nominated litter at
the Futurity. The Puppy Nomination fee is $10.00 per puppy. Each puppy
nominated from the litter must have a Puppy Nomination form filled out
for it and returned to the Futurity Chair. Puppy Nomination forms must
be returned to the Futurity Chair before the puppy is 3 months of age.
Failure to submit a Puppy Nomination form by this date will result in
disqualification of THIS puppy from competing in the Futurity. The
person who fills out the Puppy Nomination form must also decide in which
Futurity year the puppy will compete.
Puppy Entry
At least 12 weeks prior to the selected Futurity, each owner of a
nominated puppy will receive a Futurity Entry Form. Owner will need to
fully fill out the form and return it by the deadline on the from. At
this time, the owner will decide if they want the dog to compete in
Herding only, Conformation only, or the Combined (Herding and
Conformation). NOTE: Only dogs between the ages of 12 months and 24
months during the Futurity are able to compete in the Combined. Fees are
as follows: Herding only $30.00, Conformation only $30.00, or Combined
$40.00.
