FUTURITY CENTRAL - DRAFT PROPOSAL
We need your input (deadline 9/30/08).  Please review the current Futurity Draft proposal below and send us your comments and/or suggestions.  You must be a BCSA member and your e-mail must be signed with you first and last name.

OTHER FUTURITY PAGES

The word 'Futurity' implies looking into the future. It also implies a gamble on the future. The Futurity Program has been created to give Breeders a chance to “gamble” on the future of their breeding program as well as giving an extra incentive for striving to insure the future excellence of the Border Collie.

The BCSA Futurity Program gives Breeders and owners of nominated puppies the chance to compete in two of the most important aspects of our breed: Herding and Conformation. In both venues, puppies will compete against other puppies from nominated litters in hopes of winning the coveted title of Best in Futurity. Besides the pride of winning or even earning a class placement at the Futurity, the Futurity offers the chance for Breeders to gather together, evaluate the success of different breeding programs, learn from other Breeders, and also have fun! AND, there is the monetary reward for all winning and placing dogs, which is a percentage of the nomination and entry fees being divided between the winning dogs' owners AND Breeders!

The Futurity works by a series of four nominations ranging between before birth and up to about two years. Owners will be able to decide if their puppy will compete in Herding, Conformation, or both at the Futurity. The inaugural BCSA Futurity will be held in the spring of 2010. The following are the rules in which will govern this competition as well as the nomination stages.

JUDGING
Judging for Herding and Conformation at the Futurity will either be held on the same day or on consecutive days, depending on the entry size for Herding. For Herding entries of twenty five or less, Herding and Conformation Judging will be held on the same day. For more then twenty five Herding entries, the Futurity committee will determine when and how many Herding runs will be held in a given day and when each event will be held (Herding and Conformation).

HERDING JUDGING
The Herding judging will be divided into two divisions – the Junior division and the Senior division. Each division shall utilize the same course design, but the Junior division will have a shorter outrun and drive legs and will not be required to pen the stock.

Each dog competing in the Herding Futurity will earn a score based on the following areas:

• Ability to control the stock

• How smoothly dog is able to move the stock through the course

• How many components of the course are attempted and/or completed

• How well dog and handler work as a team

• Dogs which willfully attack the stock, become lame while competing, or are out of control will be excused from competing without finishing their run at the Judge's discretion and will not receive a score.

Herding Classes
Both the Junior and Senior divisions will be divided into 3 classes for award purposes only. Judging or course lay-out will not differ between classes within a division and there will not be in judging between classes. Class placements will not be awarded until after all dogs in the division have been judged.

The Junior division classes are:

• 12 months and under 15 months

• 15 months and under 18 months

• 18 months and under 21 months

The Senior division classes are:

• 21 months and under 24 months

• 24 months and under 27 months

• 27 months and under 30 months

Dogs will be scored out of a possible (100?) points, with placements given to the top 6 dogs in each class by the Judge. No minimum score is required for placements. Best in Herding Futurity and Reserve Best in Herding Futurity will be awarded to the two highest overall scoring dogs, no matter the division the dog competed in.

Courses
The elements of the course will be decided on by each futurity host, in consultation with BCSA's herding chair, based on the availability of obstacles and course area. The course will be announced long before final nominations are due.

CONFORMATION JUDGING
The Conformation judging will be divided into three classes with dogs and bitches being judged separately. All dog classes will be judged first, followed by all bitch classes. The three classes in which dogs and bitches can compete are as follows:

• 6 months and under 12 months

• 12 months and under 18 months

• 18 months and under 24 months

Each class will be awarded First through Fourth placements by the Judge. All dogs and bitches receiving a First placement in their designated class will then go on to compete against each other for Best in Conformation Futurity and Best of Opposite in Conformation Futurity.

COMBINED JUDGING
The Combined Judging will be for all dogs who compete in both Herding and Conformation at the Futurity. Each owner who plans to compete in the Combined will need to enter their dog in the Combined on the entry form and pay the correct fee. The Combined will only be open to dogs and bitches between the ages of 12 months and under 24 months at the time of the Futurity.

The Combined will be based on how each dog fares in the regular judging of both Herding and Conformation. Points will be given in each venue at the Futurity and the dog or bitch which earns the greatest amount of points (Herding plus Conformation) will earn Best in Combined

The point base will be as follows:

• Herding

  • 1 point – placing 3rd through 6th in the class (1 to 6 dogs competing in the class)

  • 2 points – placing 2nd the class (1 to 6 dogs competing in the class) or placing 3rd through 6th in the class (7 or more dogs competing)

  • 3 points – winning the class (1 to 6 dogs competing) or placing 2nd in the class (7 or more dogs competing in the class)

  • 4 points – winning the class (7 or more dogs competing)

  • 5 points – Reserve Best in Herding

  • 6 points – Best in Herding

• Conformation

  • 1 point – earning any class placement (1 to 4 dogs competing in the class)

  • 2 points – placing 2nd through 4th in the class (5 or more dogs competing in the class)

  • 3 points – winning class (5 or more dogs competing) or placing 2nd through 4th in the class (10 or more dogs competing in the class)

  • 4 points – winning class (10 or more dogs competing in the class)

  • 5 points – Best of Opposite in Conformation

  • 6 points – Best in Conformation

In the event of a tie, Herding scores will be used to determine Best in Combined.

JUDGES
Potential Judges for both Herding and Conformation will be submitted by the Breeders nominating litters as part of the first Nomination stage. There shall be only one Judge nomination for each Herding and Conformation per breeder/co-breeder* regardless of the number of litters. (*Definition of breeder shall be the person signing and submitting the Litter Nomination form.) Persons whose names have been submitted to be Judges will then be contacted by the Futurity Chair to confirm that they want to be considered for the position. NOTE: All nominated Judges will be required to submit a short biography explaining why they feel they are qualified to Judge at the Futurity. If more then six (6) different people are nominated, the Futurity Committee will evaluate each nominated Judge and pick the six (6) who closest fulfill the present requirements. These six (6) nominated Judges will then be voted on by the BCSA membership after the Futurity nominations close and the name with the most votes will be selected to Judge at the Futurity. If, for any reason, the person who is selected to Judge at the Futurity is unable to fulfill the position, then the person with the second most votes will be contacted to Judge at the Futurity.

The following is a list of requirements in which the Futurity Committee would like to see fulfilled by nominated CONFORMATION Judges. However, due to this being a new competition to our club, we are willing to allow nominations for people who at least fulfill two (2) of the following requirements:

1. Either currently competing in Conformation or has competed in the recent past in Conformation with Border Collies. (does not need to be a BCSA member)

2. Has bred at least THREE litters of Border Collies.

3. Has bred at least ONE dog who has earned its AKC Championship.

4. Has owner/handled at least TWO dogs to their AKC Championship (not necessarily from their own breeding).

5. Has handled at least ONE dog to an AKC Herding Started title (from A or B course)

For the HERDING Futurity, a nominated judge must meet one (1) of the following requirements:

1. Has handled at least ONE Border Collie to an AKC Herding Championship (from A or B course)

2. Has handled at least THREE Border Collies to an AKC Herding Excellent title (from A or B course)

3. Has handled at least TWO dogs other then a Border Collie to an AKC Herding Championship (from A or B course)

4. Has handled at least FOUR dogs other then a Border Collie to an AKC Herding Excellent title (from A or B course)

Judges are ineligible if they fall into one of the following categories:

1. Breeder/Co-Breeder of a nominated litter

2. Owner/Co-Owner of a Stud Dog that sired a nominated litter

3. Owner/Co-Owner of a puppy from a nominated litter

AWARDS AND DIVISION OF MONIES
An official BCSA certificate will be issued to the Breeder(s) of the dog or bitch who wins Best in Herding, Best in Conformation, and Best in Combined Futurity along with a rosette to both the Breeder(s) and the Owner of each.

• Rosettes will be offered to all class placements as well as Best of Opposite in Conformation and Reserve Best in Herding.

• Prizes will be offered to all class First placements

• The money paid into the Futurity from the nominations will be divided as such:

  • 35% - Operating expenses

  • 40%* - Prize money shall be equally distributed to each of the First place winners

  • 10%* - Prize money shall be distributed to Best in Conformation

  • 10%* - Prize money shall be distributed to Best in Herding

  • 5%* - Prize money shall be distributed to Best in Combined

  • *60% of each prize goes to the owner(s) and 40% of each prize goes to the Breeder(s)

NOMINATION STAGES

Litter Nomination

The dam of the litter must be owned or leased by a BCSA member in good standing. Both the Dam and the Sire of the litter must be at least 2 years of age prior to the breeding for the litter to be eligible. The litter must be nominated after the breeding has taken place BUT BEFORE the litter is born. The nomination envelope must bear a post office cancellation stamp with a date prior to the whelping date of the litter. The fee of $30.00 for each litter nominated must accompany the form and all nominations must be made on the official BCSA Futurity Litter Nomination form. All parts of the nomination form must be filled in. No exceptions!

The BCSA strongly recommends that both the Dam and the Sire of the nominated litter have all health testing/clearances prior to the breeding. At this time, health testing/clearances of the Dam and Sire are not required to be able to nominate a litter, BUT all health testing/clearances (or lack thereof) WILL BE listed in the Futurity Catalog. BCSA DOES reserve the right to require health testing/clearances at future Futurities when they deem it necessary. Health testing/clearances that the BCSA recommends (but not limited to) are OFA for Hips/Elbows, yearly CERF exam, and DNA testing for CEA/CH, CL, and TNS.

If, for any reason, there are no live pups at time of birth or if there are no live pups by the time the litter turns 30 days old, a refund can be claimed as long as proof of loss of litter is given to Futurity Chair. Proof must be in the form of a letter from a Veterinarian or a BCSA member in good standing who is not a co-owner of the litter OR a owner/co-owner of the Sire of the litter.

Litter Confirmation
Breeder must send in a Litter Confirmation form after the litter has been whelped BUT BEFORE the litter is 60 days old. A fee of $10.00 needs to be sent in with a Litter Confirmation form issued by the BCSA and post marked within 30 day after whelp date. Failure to submit a Litter Conformation form by this date will result in Breeder's loss of Litter Nomination fee and disqualification of litter from competing in the Futurity.

Puppy Nomination
Once the Litter Confirmation has been received by the Futurity Chair, a Puppy Nomination form for each live pup in the litter will be sent to the Breeder of record. These Puppy Nomination forms can either be filled out and returned with the fee by the Breeder OR, if the puppy has been sold, by the new owner of record. The new owner needs not be a BCSA member to be able to enter and show a puppy from a nominated litter at the Futurity. The Puppy Nomination fee is $10.00 per puppy. Each puppy nominated from the litter must have a Puppy Nomination form filled out for it and returned to the Futurity Chair. Puppy Nomination forms must be returned to the Futurity Chair before the puppy is 3 months of age. Failure to submit a Puppy Nomination form by this date will result in disqualification of THIS puppy from competing in the Futurity. The person who fills out the Puppy Nomination form must also decide which Futurity year the puppy will compete in.

Puppy Entry
At least 12 weeks prior to the selected Futurity, each owner of a nominated puppy will receive a Futurity Entry Form. Owner will need to fully fill out the form and return it by the deadline on the from. At this time, the owner will decide if they want the dog to compete in Herding only, Conformation only, or the Combined (Herding and Conformation). NOTE: Only dogs between the ages of 12 months and 30 months during the Futurity are able to compete in the Combined. Fees are as follows: Herding only $30.00, Conformation only $30.00, or Combined $40.00.