2009 National Specialty
Thank you to all members who recently nominated judges for the 2009 BCSA National Specialty. Nominations were submitted by 62 members. Some members nominated only a few judges, others nominated an entire slate.

The judge selection process is new and a work in progress. The policy states that any candidate receiving five nominations or more will be placed on the ballot. The policy also states the following: "In the event that less than 10 judges in each venue receive a minimum of five nominations, the 10 nominees with the most votes from the General Membership will be considered." Each of the venues had less than 10 judges who received the minimum of five nominations. However, the policy did not address the situation we encountered this year - many judges with single nominations. A quick decision was required to determine how many nominees to place on the ballot. Our decision honors member's choices and the spirit of the policy, gives members a selection, yet keeps the process manageable. Additional details regarding the decision are provided below. Based on the results of the first nomination process, and the low number of members who submitted nominations, the Judge Selection Policy will be revised to account for this case in the future.

The following candidates have received the most nominations by the General Membership. Each of these candidates has been asked to advise whether they are willing and able to judge and submit a brief biography describing their experience. Biographies will be published on the BCSA website and in the next issue of Borderlines. Votes for the final selection of candidates will be due by August 15, 2008.

Six candidates for Conformation had five or more nominations, three candidates for Sweepstakes had five or more nominations, six candidates for Herding had five or more nominations, three candidates for Obedience had five or more nominations, and three candidates for Agility had five or more nominations. If BCSA followed the policy and included the 10 candidates in each venue with the most nominations, we would have to consider candidates who received only one vote, and in some cases that would include far more than 10 nominees. For example, three obedience judges received more than 5 nominations; one obedience judge received three nominations, two obedience judges received two nominations, and 21 obedience judges received one nomination. If we applied the policy, a total of 27 obedience judges would be eligible for the ballot, most of them having received only one nomination. Including that many candidates on the ballot would be problematic, and contrary to the spirit of the nomination process.

Consequently, the Judge Selection Committee, in conference with the BCSA President & Vice President, considered the number of judges required for each venue: two for Conformation, one for Sweepstakes, four for Herding, two for Obedience, and one for Agility. Based on those requirements and the desire to give members a choice, we decided to limit the nominees placed on the ballot to those candidates who received five votes or more - except for Obedience judges. Obedience requires two judges, and only three judges received five nominations or more. Not knowing the availability or willingness of the obedience candidates to judge, we felt that more than three Obedience judges should be included on the ballot. Consequently, we placed nominees who received two votes or more on the ballot - a total of six nominees.

2008 National Specialty
Members voted for the 2008 National Specialty judges! The new Judges Selection process was still being worked on when planning for the 2008 Specialty began, members voted for conformation and sweepstakes judges. RESULTS (POSTED 11/9/07)

Here are the results for the 2008 specialty judges vote. 46 members voted for a Conformation judge, 43 for a Sweeps judge and 16 members wrote-in votes at the National. The results are: