AKC Secretary Notes

Before an Event

Premium

• Useful if event chairperson (or someone else) proofreads.

• Recommend entries be postmarked and received within the entries-open period.

• Recommend electronic entries to avoid difficulty reading handwriting.

• Recommend sending entry confirmation when entries are received. Have people confirm their dog's info and the classes/courses entered.

• Include: AKC certification statement, address of event, date of event, name of club, list of eligible breeds.

• Include: names, addresses, and telephone numbers of secretary, chairperson, and vet on duty/on call.

• Include: names and addresses of all committee members, all club officers, judges and which things they are judging.

• Include: list of tests/courses/classes, dates entries will be accepted, date/time/location of closing and drawing of run order, times the grounds will be available, map or directions to the site, and entry form.

• Include: list of awards/ribbons/rosettes/trophies, type of livestock, number of head per run, entry limits, B-course outrun length, replacement value of livestock, and any food/lodging info the club wishes to mention.

• Recommend chairperson handles the judge contract.

• Send premium to entrants, judges, and AKC (performanceevents@akc.org).

Program / Judging Schedule

• This is a one-pager to send to entrants, judges, and AKC. Send it at least a week in advance of the event, if possible.

• Ask the chairperson for the order in which classes run.

• Include: event name, date, site address, map or directions to the site, order of classes, run order of dogs, time of handlers meeting, and any change in the judge assignment.

• Note: Contestants may receive refunds if they scratch due to a judge change, so long as they scratch in a timely manner after being informed of the judge change.

Run Order

• When possible, people with more than one dog in the same class should be separated by at least one dog. People recommend two dog separation if possible. I do a random draw for every course/class and then spot-check to ensure handlers are separated by two dogs, if possible. I also consider people running dogs in back-to-back classes (ex: advanced and intermediate). While the procedural manual allows for one draw order and rotating the run order, I do a random drawing every time. People get new run numbers for each course in my system.

• People are not supposed to know who are the other entrants until the day of the event. I generally send out the run order a day or so in advance. It gives people a chance to check my work and, if they don't want to come after seeing the other entrants, it's not like they get a refund after close of entries anyway.

• I print out many copies of the run order. It serves as my check-in sheet, a list for scribes, a list for gate stewards, a one-pager that people can pick-up and use during the event, and a place to write scores. Catalogs are supposed to be available. I email them to entrants a day or so in advance and I am willing to print a copy if requested -- it has only been requested once. Most people are satisfied with the run order.

Scoresheets

• Recommend printing one page per run, plus some blanks for any re-runs/mistakes/move-ups/etc. Take a picture or scan or the page and make sure to save. Then give the original paper to the competitor with the ribbons.

• Save electronic copies for the club and send electronic copies to the judges for their records.

• Recommend putting dog names on the back of each scoresheet. Technically, the judge is not supposed to know the dog name when the dog is running. But, its less noticeable on the back of the scoresheet, the scribe is usually handling all the paperwork anyway and has a run order, putting the name helps the scribe confirm they have the correct scoresheet, and the judge can read the dog name during the award ceremony instead of making people remember all their random run numbers.

Ribbon Labels

• Recommend printing labels with event name, and every date, every stock, every course, and every class/test. Put a label on the back of every ribbon and circle the date/stock/course/class/test as applicable for the ribbon.

Catalog

• Per the procedural manual, "A Judge's Certification may be included on the last page of the Catalog. Signature lines will be needed for each Judge. If this is used, you may eliminate the use of the Sheet for Judge's Books." https://www.akc.org/rules/herding-test-and-trial-procedural-manual/page-3/

• The Secretary’s certification: I hereby certify to the correctness of the within marked awards and absentees, as taken from the Judge’s Books. {Sign, Date}

• The Judge’s Certification: I certify that the above awards are in accord with the judging standard of Tests and Trial and that all awards for placements and special awards are correct. {Sign, Test/Class Judged, Date}

• Include: name of club, dates and address of the events, starting time for the first class, a list of all officers and members of the herding committee, names and addresses of all judges, name and address of the secretary, and secretary and judge certification.

• Include: dog catalog number, name, registration number, breed, date of birth, sec, breeder, sire, dam, and name and address of owner. I also like to include name of handler. I use name of handler on the run order as my check to ensure people have dogs between their runs.

• Catalog Order: Herding Test , Pre-Trial Test, Course A, Course B, Course C, Started then Intermediate then Advanced, Sheep then Cattle then Birds. The name of the Judge should appear for each course/class/livestock.

• Move-Ups: Instead of the awkward move-up marking, I just update my program to put the dog in the new class with a new run number.

• NQ Options: Absent, Retired, Removed, Disqualified (this is for dog biting a person and requires a letter of explanation with the Secretary's report), Excused (this is for dog aggressively/viciously attacking livestock and requires a letter of explanation with the Secretary's report). Some people are sensitive to retired/removed so I generally just put absent or NQ since the difference matters for things like championship point forms (to identify how many dogs actually stepped to the post and started a run). D for disqualification and E for Excused should also be marked in the Catalog,  but hopefully you never have these results.

• Instead of the unique marking for placements and HIT/RHIT, I mark placements below the class and put HIT/RHIT at the end of the event.

• I like to include score, tiebreaker obstacle %, and time if easily available so, when I send out a marked catalog after the event, people can reproduce the placements for themselves.

• Send judge a copy of all scoresheets, a copy of the marked catalog, a copy of the judge's book cover pages they signed, and a copy of any instinct test / farm dog certification results pages they signed.

After an Event

Send the following items within seven days of the end of the event. One per event. I email AKC (performanceevents@akc.org) a PDF package named with each event number. Only include the Catalog pages for the event number you are sending in the given PDF. Example: Eleven event numbers for ACDCGLA get eleven PDFs sent to AKC.

• Judge's Book Cover Page

• Instinct Test / Farm Dog Certification Results (if applicable)

• Junior Handler Certification (if applicable)

• Catalog (in lieu of Judge's Book Pages)

• Championship Points Report

• Secretary Report

• Recording Fees (I usually collect the money from the club and let AKC charge my credit card.)