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JUDGE'S SELECTION POLICY - DECEMBER 2011 |
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The National Specialty Judge Selection Policy has been designed to provide members a meaningful voice while still allowing the Board to control the process. The policy recognizes the need for the Board of Directors to maintain control over the Club’s National Specialty budget. The policy also provides the Board the ability to ensure that the mission and objectives of the Club will be served by the judges it hires.
The slate for each Specialty will be composed of three nominees each for Conformation (National), Conformation (BCSA- Sponsored), Sweepstakes, Futurity, and Agility; four nominees for Obedience; and six nominees for Herding.
Rally, Junior Showmanship, and Tracking judges will be selected by the Show Chairs and National Specialty Coordinators. Top 20 Judges will be selected by the Venue Chairs and the National Specialty Coordinators. Futurity Judges will be selected by members who have nominated litters for Futurity.
QUALIFICATIONS:
CONFORMATION, OBEDIENCE,
RALLY, TRACKING HERDING AND AGILITY
Judges shall be licensed by the AKC a minimum of six
months prior to the event, in order to be eligible to judge the venue for which
they are nominated.
SWEEPSTAKES
Nominated Conformation Sweepstakes judges must be
currently competing in Conformation or competed in the past five years in
Conformation. In addition, candidates must meet at least one of the following
criteria:
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Owned a minimum of three Border Collies who have earned an AKC Championship.
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Owned a minimum of five dogs who have earned an AKC Conformation Championship.
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Owned a minimum of five dogs who have earned a Championship in another Country.
Sweepstakes judges are subject to the same code of conduct as AKC licensed judges and must avoid any appearance of bias or conflict of interest.
FUTURITY
Conformation
Nominated Conformation Futurity judges must meet at least two of the following criteria:
Currently competing in Conformation or has competed in the past three years in Conformation with Border Collies
Bred at least three litters of Border Collies
Bred at least one Border Collie who has earned an AKC Conformation Championship
Owner-handled at least three Border Collies to AKC Championships (not necessarily from their own breeding)
Bred at least four litters of any AKC herding breed, one of which must be an AKC Champion of Record.
Owner-handled at least four AKC Herding Breed Dogs to AKC Championships.
Herding
Nominated Herding Futurity judges must meet at least one of the following criteria:
Handled at least one Border Collie to an AKC Herding Intermediate Title on the B Course or be an AKC licensed Herding Judge.
Handled at least two dogs to an AKC herding Intermediate Title on the B Course or be an AKC licensed Herding Judge.
Futurity 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
Futurity judges are subject to the same code of conduct as AKC licensed judges and must avoid any appearance of bias or conflict of interest.
TOP 20
Top 20 judges will be selected by the venue chairs and
the BCSA National Specialty Committee.
Conformation
Judges with no perceived conflict of interest or affiliation to any of the Top Twenty participants will be selected, one from each of the following categories:
Breeder - An established and reputable Border Collie breeder who has been breeding for at least five years or who has produced at least five Champions of Record.
Judge - An AKC licensed Judge, an AKC Provisional Judge, or an Overseas Licensed Judge. A licensed judge approved to judge Border Collies and/or the Herding Group.
Handler (past or present) - A professional handler meeting the requirements for membership in a Professional Handler's organization (though not necessarily a member). The Handler must have handled Border Collies.
The names of those selected to judge will be kept confidential until the day of the event.
Agility
Licensed AKC Agility JudgeObedience
Licensed AKC Obedience Judge
NOMINATIONS
Nominations for judges (Conformation, Sweepstakes, Obedience, Agility and
Herding), as applicable, will be solicited from the General Membership.
Nominations for Conformation judges will be accepted separately for the National
Specialty and the BCSA-Sponsored Specialty. Each BCSA member will be allowed to
nominate three judges for Conformation (National), Conformation
(BCSA-Sponsored), Sweepstakes, Obedience, and Agility and four judges for
Herding.
Judge candidates for Futurity will be nominated by the Breeders who have nominated litters for Futurity. There shall be only one Judge nomination per breeder/co-breeder* regardless of the number of litters. (*Definition of breeder shall be the person signing and submitting the Bitch Nomination form.) If more than three different people are nominated, the Futurity Committee will evaluate each nominated candidate and pick the three who best fulfill the present requirements. These three candidates 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.
Proposed judges must be licensed (except Sweepstakes, Futurity, and Top 20) and receive a minimum of two nominations from the General Membership to be considered for judging a venue at the BCSA Specialty. After the nomination process is complete, the Judge Selection Committee will provide a list of potential nominees to the Board of Directors for approval. The Board’s selection of a draft slate shall be based primarily on the number of votes received from the General Membership, but also on qualifications of the judges, ability to work well with others, availability, and cost. The BOD may veto a proposed candidate if they believe the Club will not be well served by that candidate; however, the slate shall be established primarily based on the number of votes received by the General Membership. If the BOD vetoes a nominee, the nominee with the next highest number of votes will be added to the draft slate.
The nominated judges who compose
the draft slate in each venue will be asked by the JSC if they are willing and
able to judge, and to provide their biography, judging fees and other
anticipated expenses. Nominees who request extraordinarily high fees or unusual
expenses or requests may be vetoed by the BOD, and replaced with the nominee
with the next highest number of votes.
In the event that less than three judges for Conformation (each show), Sweeps,
and Agility, receive a minimum of two nominations and are willing to run for
election, the Show Chair(s) and the National Specialty Committee will choose
additional nominees to complete the slate. In the event that less than four
judges for Obedience receive a minimum of two nominations and are willing to run
for election, the Show Chair(s) and the National Specialty Committee will choose
additional nominees to complete the slate. In the event that less than six
judges for Herding receive a minimum of two nominations and are willing to run
for election, the Show Chair(s) and the National Specialty Committee will choose
additional nominees to complete the slate. The BOD shall approve the alternate
candidates suggested by the Show Chair(s) and the National Specialty Committee.
Once a draft slate has been established, each nominee will be asked to submit a biography summarizing their qualifications for publication on the BCSA website and in Borderlines.
ELECTION
The three finalists selected for Conformation, Sweepstakes, Agility; the four
finalists selected for Obedience; and the six finalists selected for Herding
will be published in Borderlines, along with their Biographies. Concurrently,
the names of the judge nominees in each venue with the most nomination votes
from the General Membership shall be published in Borderlines, along with the
number of votes they received. The General Membership will then vote for one
candidate in each Conformation Show, Sweepstakes, and Agility, two candidates in
Obedience, and four candidates in Herding. The candidate(s) with the most votes
in each venue will be selected to judge at the National Specialty Show. The vote
will occur online, with an option to mail a ballot for members without internet
access, and will be held by the Treasurer until the close of voting, tallied by
the BCSA President and Treasurer, and reported to the Board of Directors. In the
event of a tie vote, the President will arrange for a straw vote, the details to
be approved beforehand by the BOD.
SCHEDULE
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Action |
BL Issue Deadline |
BL Issue |
COMMENTS |
| Announce call for nominations | |||
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Nominations |
November 15 |
December |
Nominations open from January1 through February 15 |
| Process nominations, vet and acquire bios from judges | |||
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Announce nominations |
March 15 |
April |
Voting open from May 1 through June 15 |
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Announce Judges |
July 15 |
August |
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It is assumed that the National Specialty will occur in the Fall of each year. Should the Specialty take place at a different time of the year, the selection schedule shall be adjusted according to the timeline established above.
JUDGING FREQUENCY
Candidates may not judge more often than once every five years for Conformation,
Sweeps, Agility, Obedience, and Futurity. Candidates may not judge more often
than once every four years for Herding, Rally, and Tracking.
EXHIBITING
Selected judges will not be allowed to exhibit at the Specialty in the venue
they are judging, even if they are not judging on that day, with the exception
of Futurity & Sweepstakes judges who may exhibit on days they are not judging.
Conformation Judges who accept assignments to judge at the National Specialty
shall not judge Border Collies at any show for 3 months prior to or within 300
miles the National Specialty. AKC regulations for judges apply for judges in all
other venues.
REPLACING JUDGES
In general, judges who are unable to conduct their assignment shall be replaced
by the candidate with the next highest number of votes in the election. If no
other candidates nominated during the election are available, the Show Chair,
Venue Chair, and BCSA National Specialty Coordinators will select a qualified
candidate and submit this candidate to the BCSA Board of Directors for approval.
If a judge notifies BCSA that they will not be able to judge at the Specialty
within two months of the assignment date, the Show Chair, Venue Chair, and BCSA
National Specialty Coordinators may replace that judge with any qualified judge.
MISCONDUCT
All judges are subject to the rules and code of conduct established by the AKC
for licensed judges. Should a nominated or elected judge have a formal complaint
filed against them regarding an issue that occurs prior to their judging
assignment, and that claim is upheld by the AKC or the BCSA, the judge may be
disqualified and replaced by the Show Chair(s) and the BCSA National Specialty
Coordinators.
Page Updated 01.15.2012