Nominations have opened today (21 November) for the Young Kennel Club (YKC) Young Person of the Year award 2025, which will see five young dog lovers recognised at Crufts for their achievements, both inside and outside the ring. The annual award, which celebrates the dedicated, inspirational and selfless actions of young dog lovers, is returning for 2025 with five new categories and the YKC, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary next year, is calling on the friends and families of its members to put forward those that they believe are deserving in one of the five categories.
The new categories for 2025 are:
- Inspiration – awarded to a young person and their dog who have inspired others, either through their own personal journey or having made a significant positive impact in their community;
- Teamwork – awarded to an inspirational partnership or team of members and their canine companions that have overcome challenges to achieve together;
- Talent – awarded to a young handler or trainer who has shown exceptional skill and dedication in competing or training their dog;
- Creative – awarded to a young person who has creatively showcased their love of dogs through art, photography, writing, or social media;
- Awareness – awarded to a young person who actively promotes animal welfare or involvement in animal rescue or shelter work, and awareness campaigns
Emily Dabb, aged 19 from Grimsby, Lincolnshire, won the 2024 award at Crufts earlier this year. Emily has been a member of the Brigg Muttley Crew flyball team since 2018, and this year also competed as part of the YKC Flyball team at Crufts, where she proved to be an inspirational role model to the younger members of the team. She was also recognised for her time and perserverance with training her rescue Border Collie, Dolly, to go on to successfully compete with her.
Helen Kerfoot, Chief Canine Health, Events and Activities Officer at The Kennel Club, said: “We know our YKC members are incredibly dedicated, not only to their dogs, but to their friends, families and local communities, and the YKC Young Person of the Year award is a great opportunity to celebrate their hard work and passion, particularly with these five new award categories, and ahead of our 40th year.
“We encourage anyone who knows a YKC member who is deserving of recognition to submit a nomination, and we look forward to rewarding our five finalists at Crufts 2025.”
The closing date for nominations is 23 January 2025, and the shortlisted nominees from each category will be announced in February before being put forward for a public vote for the overall winner, who will be announced at Crufts 2025 in March. Anyone can nominate a YKC member in one of the Young Kennel Club Young Person of the Year award categories here.
To find out more about Young Kennel Club membership, visit YKC website.
