The AKC Board of Directors approved regulation changes at their July 2022 meeting.  Below is a summary of some of those changes.

Match Regulations were changed to allow fun matches to be available for all exhibitors, not just members of the club.   AKC clubs are encouraged to hold fun matches open to the public to introduce new dog owners to their club and the sports.  Fun matches may be held in conjunction with a licensed event (on the same day and location), or they may be an independent event. This change is effective immediately.

Rally Regulations were modified to allow exhibitors who have earned the Obedience Beginner Novice (BN) title to be eligible to enter the Rally “A” classes (Rally Novice A, Rally Advanced A and/or Rally Excellent A).  This change is effective for trials held on or after October 3, 2022.

The Obedience and Rally Regulation were modified to allow clubs to publish prizes in the event premium list that are being offered only to members of clubs or owners of specific breeds.  This change is effective immediately.

The Virtual Scent Work Test was launched August 1, 2021 as a pilot program. It has provided exactly what it was designed for which was to serve as an introduction to Scent Work and allow owners to take part in a fun activity they can do from home. In looking at the participation level of this program, 120 unique breeds plus Canine Partners have earned VSWT titles. The program has experienced participation from all 50 states plus Canada, the U.K and Australia. Of the dogs that have earned a VSWT title, 10% were from dogs that have not previously earned an AKC sport title (excluding a CGC title).  At the expiration of the pilot program period, August 1, 2022, the Virtual Scent Work Test will be designated a permanent program.  For comments or questions, contact scentwork@akc.org or 919-816-3844.

The Regulations for Lure Coursing Test and Trails were modified to specify when there are multiple stake winners, they must all advance and be randomly drawn into the Best of Breed run rather than be run off against each other first to determine which one dog would be the overall stake winner and advance to the Best of Breed run. This clarification will prevent misinterpretation leading to dogs having the undue burden of running an additional time.  This change is effective for trials held on or after August 1, 2022.  For comments or questions, contact lurecoursing@akc.org or 919-816-3908.

Additionally, we have this information to pass onto clubs as well.

Effective July 1, 2022, Event Committees shall not entertain social media complaints, regardless of where the post is made or the content of the post.  These matters are to be addressed by the AKC via the Code of Sportsmanship and Code of Sportsmanship Enforcement Polices (both are available at  https://www.akc.org/rules/policy-manual/akc-board-administration-policies/). Exhibitors should contact the Compliance Department (compliancediv@akc.org or 919-816-3546) for questions about how to file such a complaint. 

For varying reasons, we have recently had an increase in situations where conformation judges are not able to fulfill part or all their assignment.  Please remember that a judge cannot be removed from a breed assignment to fulfill an open assignment.  Additionally, if a judge that is licensed for a breed is available (either already on the panel or added to the panel) for assignment without conflict or overload, the judge must be used to fulfill the assignment.  Please contact AKC Conformation Event Operations at EventPlans@akc.org or 919-816-3579 if you need assistance.  On the weekend, please call 919-816-3955.

Please contact the Event Operations department at eventnews@akc.org with any questions.

This email was sent to abtoddes@comcast.net from an AKC mailing list. If you believe you have received this email in error, please contact eventnews@akc.org.

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