The Kennel Club has created a list of the first-time championship show judging appointments cancelled so far this year, in order to assist societies when planning to issue future judging invitations. It is also hoped that the list will help such judges receive a ‘replacement’ appointment.
The list comprises more than 650 appointments, approved by the Kennel Club, where judges were due to award Challenge Certificates or judge a group or Best in Show for the first time at championship shows cancelled as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Consequently these judges are now to be considered as previously approved and are not required to complete another judging questionnaire when nominated to judge the relevant breed, group or Best in Show at championship level.
To find the lists of relevant judges, please visit our Events and Activities section. Please note that, in some cases, judges may have opted-out of being listed.
Societies wishing to nominate any of these judges should do so in the normal manner, completing the relevant nomination form.
Please note that, due to the practicalities of amending the list, if judges receive an invitation for the breeds, group or best in show listed, their name will continue to appear on the list.
Kathryn Mansfield, Kennel Club Secretary, said: “The Kennel Club’s online Find a Judge facility gives full listings of CC, group and Best in Show appointments, but only after these have been undertaken. Therefore it has been agreed to make available a list of first-time appointments ‘lost’ this year, to support these judges and in order to assist inviting societies. A first-time appointment in the UK involves a great deal of commitment and is usually greatly anticipated by the judge concerned, so we hope societies will remember these people when making selections for future shows.”
Any omissions from the list should be notified by the judge concerned to The Kennel Club's breed shows team.
The latest version of the list was added to the Kennel Club website on 21 May 2020 and includes judges from shows cancelled up until that date. It will be updated if further shows are cancelled.