Australian Cattle Dog Club of America, Inc.

ACD National Specialty Show & Convention

Upcoming Shows:

• 2012 - St. Louis, Missouri

• Process for selecting specialty judges (for those events where the membership votes for the judge.
  • 1. Require two nominations from club members for a judge to go on a selection ballot. In the year 2008 six nominations will be required.
  • 2. The membership votes to develop a list from which judges for the next three specialties will be selected.
  • 3. The top ten judges in each event are placed on a list in order of votes received, and contacted in order to determine their availability. If they are not available the next judge will be contacted and so on. For events requiring two judges, the top two would be contacted.
  • 4. If the top vote getter is not available for a given year, he or she stays at the top of the list and would be selected, if available, to judge the next year.
  • 5. In the third year of the list, the club would go through the nomination and balloting process once again to establish the next threeyear list.
  • 6. All AKC judges who are ACDCA, Inc. members and who meet the AKC criteria for having the ACD as a first breed will automatically be on the nomination list.
  • 7. A judge that has judged in the past five years is not eligible to be selected. However they may be on the top ten list and may be asked to judge, consistent with their order on the list, and with the fiveyear rule.
  • 8. The club should not list the judges' fees on the ballot. Instead the club should establish a maximum they are willing to pay for each judge for each day. This committee recommends a $400 per day maximum. Judges will be asked their fees ahead of time to insure adherence to the maximum.
  • 9. Each judge will be asked to submit a brief biography which, if supplied, will be included on the ballot.
• The AKC premium list for the Specialty Show shall state a reduced fee for the second entry of the same dog, Puppy Classes, Bred By Exhibitor Classes, Parade of Honors, Sweepstakes and Junior Showmanship. There shall be no added fee for Junior Showmanship as a second entry.
• The Property Classes at the National Specialty shall be coordinated and conducted by the International Committee. (Enacted 1991 AM)
• The National Specialty Parade of Titleholders shall recognize all ACDCA recognized titles.
• The hosting committee of each year's Specialty shall be responsible for the development, design and financing of Specialtyrelated sale items. The National Club may also sell regular club items at the Specialty.
• Each year's Convention Coordinator will include some sort of health clinic at the Specialty. (Enacted 1987 AB)
• Any special events proposed by the hosting Specialty Coordinators must have prior approval by the National Show Committee Chair and the Board.
• A Versatility competition shall be offered at each National Specialty (Enacted 2006AM).
• The Board shall have discretion to advance National Specialty Convention expenses as required and requested by the hosts. All incoming checks shall be payable to the ACDCA.
• The specialty Premium List shall carry a notice that permission for any professional* video taping activities at any Specialty event must have the permission of the Convention Coordinator and that a copy of any such tape will be donated to the ACDCA and sent to the Historian for archiving. *For purposes of this rule, "professional" refers to the intention to sell or the act of selling originals or copies of the tapes. (Enacted 1991/2 RB)
• The National Convention sites shall be rotated around the country with respect to three regions (East, Central and West). If a region does not extend an invitation for its designated year, the site would pass to the next region. lf more than one invitation is submitted, the members in good standing present at the annual meeting shall vote with the invitation having a majority being the site two years hence. For the purposes of the National Specialties, the three regions shall be divided by the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River.
• To require that any person/local club meet the following criteria prior to submitting an invitation to host a future ACDCA Annual Convention:
  • 1. Must have obtained Guidelines from the National Show Committee.
  • 2. Convention Coordinator must have attended at least one National Convention.
  • 3. Must have an area resource person who has served as a Show Chairman of a licensed AKC show.
  • 4. Must contact Herding Committee Chairperson for Guidelines on conducting Herding Trails, etc.
  • 5. Must submit a written proposal listing detailed information on the time, place, show site, herding, trial site, convention facilities, etc. at the annual meeting.
  • 6. Booth rental policy is to be established individually for each Convention by the Convention hosts. However, hosts should encourage vendors with products of interest to the membership to attend and should ensure adequate facilities at the show grounds and at the hotel whenever possible. Vendors must pay a fee or provide merchandise as described in material announcing the specialty.
  • 7. During the National Specialty, the ACDCA must hold 2 AKC Herding Trials which will include cattle (Enacted 1997 AM)
• At the discretion of the presiding judge, up to seven Awards of Merit will be given to dogs and/or bitches by the ACDCA at the National Specialty Convention. Best of Breed, Best of Opposite Sex, and Best of Winners are not eligible for Awards of Merit. (Amended 1999 AM to exclude BOB, BOS and BOW)