2018 May June

Committee Reports
The following Committee Reports are published as received (bold indicates receipt) and approved:
Agility, Conformation, DNA, Dock Jumping, Education, Hall of Fame, History,
Juniors, Legislative, Most Versatile Aussie, Obedience, Rally, Stockdog, Strategic Planning, and Tracking
Conformation Committee
Liz Gibson, Committee Chair, coastalrange@embarqmail.com
After a long discussion and a lot of feedback from the
membership, we presented a motion that passed the CC to deal with
the wording on the judge test procedure.This motion is currently
before the board for vote and by the time you read this it will have
been voted on.
We also listened to the membership about the test and that is
currently under review by a sub-committee. The sub-committee
will present the new tests to the board for review.
Yes, I said new tests! We will have 2 different tests. The test
will not have as many questions, but will have new and updated
questions.
The CC will continue to work on judge education along
with the judge requirements. We hope to have a source for online
education in the near future.
The CC has several more projects in the works. One member
took on the task of possible ways to update the judge books to work
better. By the time you read this the CC will be discussing these
changes. Another subject is the possibility of some sort of Grand
Championship program.
The CC would like to welcome Gail Karamalegos and Joyce
Charron. We also say goodbye to Holly Clifton and thank her for
her contributions to the CC.
The CC gets many questions about judge and exhibitor ethics.
For a judge, it can be tough to tell your friends not to show under
you. ASCA is a tight-knit community and we all know one another.
There are some simple rules to keep in mind when you accept
an assignment. These are covered in Chapter 7, section 7.6. For
exhibitors the rules are mirrored in Chapter 9, section 9.10.
One situation that comes up is hiring a judge for a show (a
business arrangement) and then said judge showing to the person
that hired him/her before the accepted assignment. Now, there is not
a rule that specifically covers this, except the business or contractual
agreement the 2 people made when one hired the other. Ethically
it does not look good and first and foremost we, as judges, must
avoid any perceived improprieties.
We ask that all exhibitors and judges read the rules, 7.6 and
9.10 along with Appendix 3; ASCA Conformation Judge Education
and the ASCA Judges Code of Ethics for a better understanding.
A handy statement to remember is that there will always be “gray
areas” that perplex judges. When faced with such a dilemma, ask
yourself whether the situation, however innocent, maintains an
outward appearance of propriety. A good rule of thumb is; if you
have concerns about whether something is inappropriate, you
probably should avoid the situation.
As always, we ask you the membership, for ideas or comments
on the conformation program.
DNA Committee
Peter Hellmeister, Committee Chair, peter.hellmeister@gmail.
com
National Specialty 2018 in Colorado:
The Nationals are fast approaching and the DNA committee
is planning a blood draw like in years past. The blood draw will
take place on Tuesday, September 25 th 2018. We are currently
exploring available options and will keep you updated as soon as
more information becomes available. We are looking for volunteers
to help us make this a successful event. If you are available please
contact the committee chair at peter.hellmeister@gmail.com.
For our European members:
The ASCA approved DNA lab in Europe, Certagen, is offering
a combination test package for 13 different traits. The description
of the test package can be found on the website at www.certagen.
de under Genome Scan No. H321. The price is €154.70.
Für unsere europäischen Mitglieder:
Das ASCA-anerkannte DNA Labor in Europa, Certagen,
bietet einen Kombinationstest für 13 verschiedene Untersuchungen
an. Die Beschreibung des Testpakets findet ihr auf der Webseite
auf www.certagen.de unter Genom Scan H321. Der Preis beträgt
€154,70.
History Committee
Sunday Miles, Committee Chair, countrywoods@voyager.net
Time sure can sneak up on you ... Before you know it, it
becomes “History.”
Our Committee is making our final choices for the recipient of
this years Lifetime Achievement Award. I wish we had more input
from the membership ... I love it when we have names sent in of
people you respect enough to have us consider them. Whether we
end up selecting that nomination I feel it is an honor that they have
made such an impression on people.
There is quite a bit going on in ASCA these days, new
programs, some updates to existing ones, rules being updated for
others. Buy the time you’ll be reading this it will be almost time
for Nationals entries to open, another year becomes history ... I
look forward to seeing many of you in Colorado and wish all those
who make the trip wonderful safe travel.
Also we the members of the committee would like to invite
you to join us if you have interest or info to share.
AUSSIE TIMES May-June 2018 49