Please get me right - I will be happy to help a new club, but I will also be more than happy to support MCFA if they continue to organize shows with the changes I suggested to them. I agree with Jimmy (?), the "hard core CFA-person
, that it is good if there are FRIENDLY competing clubs. I started TICA in Austria in 1996. When a member got unhappy I told her to found her new club and organize shows, my club even helped her as I felt that with competition my own club will work even harder to present first class shows in Austria. Now we have three active TICA-clubs here and since then the quality of every show is better than ever. Friendly competition helps!!!
I must say that I am thankful to Ismail Mohd Ali that he gave me and my wife the chance to come to Malaysia. We enjoyed our stay here, although we were so busy with the organisation of this show that we didn't have the chance to do sightseeing and spend money to support the Malaysian economy at all
!
Very important things to make judges happy -
a) Send them the flight tickets in time (this means approximately two months before the show). So the club needs to have quite a sum of money about two months before the show starts. This can be raised either by sponsors (who usually pay very late) or by collection Early Bird Entry Fees. It is important for us judges to have our schedule in time so that we can plan our vacations (yes, we have another life too!!!)
b) Send the judges the address of the hotels
c) Pay for the show-license well in advance too! For a new club's first show the license fee is cheaper. Usual fees are USD 35,- per ring (Allbreed or Speciality), for a new club either USD 15,- or USD 20,- per ring.
d) Order your rosettes in time.
e) Have the money for the judges ready when they arrive (i.e. Judges Fees, parking fees at airport) - we are NOT happy if we have to wait until the last minute to get our fees...
f) Buy the Entry Clerk Assistant-Program well ahead before the show. Costs are about USD 53,-. In this program you can enter all cats, automatically a catalog will be created, you can send out the confirmations for your entries in time, the judges books can be printed (you will need to have a needle printer)
g) My club usually prints the catalog on Wednesday before the show. You will receive after you paid your show-license and sent in the application a box from TICA with judges books, judges book covers and some more information you have to include in the catalog
h) Add an exhibitors list to the catalog (also part of the Entry Clerk Program)
i) Most important - make a financial calculation before the show. A new club needs to think about - Judges Tables (maybe 70 x 40 cm) in different heights (some judges are taller than others), you will need cards with numbers for each ring (in two colors - usually pink and blue to determine if the cat is a boy or a girl), you will need the ribbons for Colors and Divisions, you will need things where to put the numbers in.
j) chose a vet in time for the vet-check
k) Make sure that you have clerks who know what they are doing (Each TICA-Judge will be happy to hold a Clerking School the day before the show - approx. 3-4 hours)
l) what I also suggested is that before the show starts one of the judges will introduce new exhibitors to the TICA-system. The do's and don'ts of each exhibitor, so that the show can run smoothly.
m) if you plan a Best of Best then you must write this in the catalog and also write how you will determine the winners
n) Make a judging schedule before the show
o) Decide if you only want AB-Rings or if you also will have SP-Rings (more costs for the club as you will need more rosettes, but then again more cats can final and more exhibitors will be happy)
p) If someone wants to found a new club then there must be 5 TICA-members in the committee. I think that the cost for the license of a new club is USD 50,-
q) Set a show-date ahead of time. Most of the judges have tight schedules (for example I have already invitations for September 2012) and the more you plan ahead the more likely it is that you will get the judges you want...
Hmm, again a long posting, but those are just the things which came spontaneously into my mind what it takes to have a successful show.
Kurt