The East Sussex Cat Club

All Breed Club Affiliated to the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy

Links To Show Pages

 

2007 SHOW

2008 Show

2009 - Cancelled

2010 Show

 

THE SUPREME CAT SHOW

 

 

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Supreme Cat Show

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SHOW DAY

how it works

Exhibits will be received at the entrance of the show hall from 7.45 am until 9.45 am on the morning of the how.these times vary from show to show.

Exhibits must be brought to the show in boxes, baskets or suitable containers, accompanied by their owner/representative.

Cats which cannot be safely handled at vetting in will be rejected. Each exhibit will be examined by the Honorary Veterinary Surgeons, who are authorised to exclude any exhibit they consider unfit. No exhibit may be penned before being examined. Vetting In Slips and exhibitors’ passes will be issued at vetting in. Tallies are not be issued at these shows. Only supreme show.

All exhibits must have a current vaccination certificate against FIE, FVR & FCV (cat flu). The full course, in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations, must have been completed more than seven days before the show. The certificate must have been issued by a vet practice/ hospital & the last entry signed by a Vet.Surgeon or by a listed Vet. Nurse under the direction of a Vet. Suregon.

 

HOMEOPATHIC VACCINATIONS

cannot be accepted. You will be asked to produce a current vaccination certificate for each exhibit. Exhibits must have clean ears and coats free from pests. No pregnant or lactating queen, nor queen who has kittened within 12 weeks of this show may be exhibited. No exhibit that has been declawed will be accepted, neither will male cats which are either monorchid or cryptorchid. Please trim your cat's claws is necessary. Unfit exhibits must be removed by their owners and payment forfeited. If in the Vet Surgeon’s opinion it is desirable, all other exhibits from the same cattery/owner thereof shall be barred from attending the show. The Veterinary Surgeon’s decision is final. Where an exhibit has been rejected or disqualified by a Veterinary Surgeon, the show managers shall obtain the reasons and accordingly notify the GCCF within 48 hrs. of the show, ensuring that a copy of the rejection form is forwarded to the exhibitors concerned. The procedure for veterinary clearance is clearly stated in the GCCF Show Rules. However, exhibitors whose cats have been rejected at shows should note the following points: a) When sending a Clearance Certificate to the GCCF Veterinary Officer please include your copy of the rejection slip.

 

PRESENTATION AND BENCHING OF EXHIBITS

 

Take pride in presenting your exhibit. Be sure it is comfortable, warm and relaxed. Exhibitors must provide each exhibit with clean, white blankets, (plain woven, not cellular, without distinctive edgings or markings) of reasonable size to lie on (white Vet-bed or like material may be used if preferred), a white food bowl and food, a white water bowl with fresh water and a white sanitary tray, with the exhibit’s usual litter. All show equipment can be purchased at the show. Food containers must be removed from the pen before judging commences at 10.00 am and can be returned after 12.30 pm. Water must be left in the pen for the duration of the show. Hot water bottles or heat reflecting material are the only heating devices allowed and must be concealed by the blanket. None of the equipment in competition pens must bear any distinguishing marks. No written or printed matter of any kind, other than official notices and award cards may be put onto competitive pens, except with the permission of the show managers. “For Sale” notices are not allowed. The use of grooming aids in the show hall, other than the use of a clean brush and comb or cloth is prohibited. No powder or grooming substance may be left in the coat of exhibits. Using products to enhance the colour of an exhibit is forbidden, and the use of any substance which change a cat’s appearance or physical reaction is forbidden and will lead to disqualification, This includes Skulcap and Valerian Compunds and Rescue Remedy. Exhibits received into the show hall cannot be removed, without the permission of the show managers, prior to the closure of the show. Failure to observe this rule will lead to disqualification and forfeiture of any prize money and awards won. The show closes at 5.00 pm or at the show managers’ discretion. No early removal passes issed.

 

JUDGING AND JUDGES


Judging will commence at 10.00 am and exhibitors will be requested to clear the hall at this time until 12.30 pm, whilst the Open Classes are being judged. Judges are empowered to withhold any prize, award or certificate in any class if the exhibits do not, in their opinion, possess sufficient merit. Prizes will be awarded from the Judge’s award slip and not from any catalogue or prize card. A Judge’s decision is final. An exhibitor may not approach a Judge, nor enter into conversation with a Judge, until that Judge’s engagement is complete.

 

 

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General Enquiries & Information

5 King's Castle Business Park,

The Drove, Bridgwater,

Somerset, TA6 4AG, UK   

Tel: +44 (0) 1278 427575   info@gccfcats.org

 

East Sussex Cat Club Logo
Affiliated to the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy

Welcome to GCCF show page

 

There are 3 types of GCCF shows: Exemption, Sanction, Championship Show. There is also the GCCF's own Championship show - The Supreme

to which entry is restricted to cats and kittens who have qualified at other Championship shows. Many shows have a special section for Non Pedigree cats and all GCCF shows are one day events.

Exemption

An Exemption show is the first type of show that a GCCF affiliated cat club may hold and the only type an agricultural society may apply for.It is less formal than a Sanction or Championship show and does not have to comply so strictly with the GCCF Rules regarding classes and judges. In an Exemption show, cats with Preliminary Recognition that are normally judged in Assessment Classes are allowed to be given competitive Open Classes as for other breeds. No GCCF Certificates are awarded at Exemption shows and the results of Exemption shows are not recorded, therefore the entries are not checked by the Office for errors. Sanction A Sanction show is basically a dress rehearsal for a Championship show and may be held only by a GCCF affiliated cat club. Clubs may apply for this status of show only when they have been granted 3 Exemption show licences and have held 2 of the shows. The GCCF Rules apply in full but no GCCF Certificates are awarded other than Merit Certificates for Assessment breeds, if these breeds are included in the show, which go towards the promotion of the breeds to Provisional Status. All Open Class entries placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd are checked by the Office for errors and the Merits awarded in the Assessment Classes are recorded on the cats' show histories. Championship A Championship show is the ultimate status of show which may be held by a GCCF affiliated cat club. Clubs may apply for this status of show only after they have been granted 3 Sanction show licences and have held 2 of the shows. The GCCF Rules apply in full and GCCF Certificates may be awarded where applicable, if the judges consider their exhibits warrant them. It is at Championship shows only that cats can gain GCCF Challenge Certificates (entire cats) and Premier Certificates (neutered cats) which go towards their gaining Champion and Premier titles and Intermediate Certificates (Provisional breeds) which go towards the promotion of the breed to Championship status. All Open Class entries placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd and Merit winners are checked by the office for errors. The Adult and Neuter Open Class placings and any certificates awarded are recorded on the cats' show histories. The Supreme Show The Supreme Show does not have Miscellaneous or Club Classes as in other shows as it is basically a 'knock out' competition to choose the best Adult, Neuter and Kitten in the Pedigree section.These winners gain the title of Supreme Adult, Supreme Neuter, and Supreme Kitten (the Supreme Kitten title is not a permanent one) and then compete against each other for Supreme Exhibit. The Non Pedigree cats also compete in a similar way for Supreme Non Pedigree Exhibit.

Championship Shows

These are the serious shows of the Cat Fancy. They may be all-breed shows, in which case they have classes for each breed which is recognised by the GCCF, or specialist shows with classes for a breed section or sometimes for a single breed. Each breed has its own Open Classes: there are separate classes for Male Adults, Female Adults, Male Neuters, Female Neuters and Kittens. Kitten classes are for kittens with a minimum age of 14 weeks up to nine calendar months old when they become adult; these kitten classes may be split by sex or age at larger shows, or even both ways if there is a big entry; at specialist breed shows they may also be split by colour. Adult and Neuter Open classes are not split further, no matter how big the entry, unless this split has been approved in advance. The cats in these classes are placed in order of merit, from 1st to 4th; in big classes 5th, 6th, Very Highly Commended, Highly Commended and Commended may be given if the show offers cards for these placings and the judge wishes to give them. The winner of an Adult Open class will, if considered by the judge to be of sufficient quality, be awarded a Challenge Certificate. Similarly, the winner's of Neuter Open classes are awarded Premier Certificates. Three Challenge Certificates awarded by three different judges make a cat a Champion, three Premier Certificates from three different judges make him or her a Premier. Champions and Premiers may be entered in the Grand Champion or Grand Premier class respectively as well as, or instead of, being entered in their Open class. There are not "Grand" classes for each breed - just one or two per show section - and only a Grand Challenge/Grand Premier Certificate and a Reserve Grand Challenge/Grand Premier Certificate are awarded per class - provided the judges consider the cats worthy of these high awards. Three Grand Challenge/Grand Premier Certificates from three different judges makes the cat up to Grand Champion or Grand Premier. A cat keeps its title when it is neutered so you will often find a Grand Champion in a neuter class after it has retired from breeding. At ordinary Championship shows, full Grand Champions/Premiers may compete in special Imperial Grand classes for Grand Champions/Premiers only. Grand Champions/Premiers may enter their Imperial Grand, Grand or Open class, or any two out of these three; they may not enter all three of these classes. The winner of each Imperial Grand class is eligible to be awarded an Imperial Grand Challenge/Premier Certificate. The second placed cat is eligible for a Reserve Imperial Grand Challenge/Premier Certificate: this means that if the Imperial Grand Certificate winner is disqualified, the Reserve Certificate winner will be awarded the Imperial Grand Certificate which will count towards a title. No further placings are made in these classes, even if the certificates are withheld. Five Imperial Grand Challenge/Premier Certificates awarded by five different judges make the cat an Imperial Grand Champion/Premier. Cats of Provisional status breeds also have their own Open classes, the certificate on offer being an Intermediate Certificate. Preliminary status breeds compete in Assessment classes, each cat being judged against its standard of points and being awarded a Merit Certificate if it is good enough. Again, these help the breed to progress. Many shows offer Best of Breed awards for the best Adult, Kitten and Neuter of each breed, but these do not count towards a title of any kind. Some shows, especially specialist breed shows, hold a Best in Show but, again, winning this does not count towards any official title although it is a great honour for the winner.

The Supreme Show

Unlike most other shows the Supreme. has no miscellaneous or club classes. It does, however, have classes other shows do not have. There are four Adult Open classes for each championship status breed: Champion Male and Female classes for full Champions, the winners being eligible for Grand Challenge Certificates, and Pre-Champion Male and Female classes for cats with one or two Certificates or who have qualified as kittens, competing for Challenge Certificates. The same applies to the neuter classes which are split into Premiers and Pre-Premiers.Cats which are already Grand Champions do not compete in these classes but in special classes for Grand Champions, Imperial Grand Champions, UK Grand Champions and UK & Imperial Grand Champions only, the winner being eligible for a UK Grand Challenge Certificate. Grand Premiers, Imperial Grand Premiers, UK Grand Premiers and UK & Imperial Grand Premiers compete for a UK Grand Premier Certificate. In these classes several breeds may compete together. UK Grand Certificates are only awarded at the Supreme Show, two such Certificates from different judges giving the cat the title of UK Grand Champion/Premier or UK & Imperial Grand Champion/Premier if it has additionally gained that title. There is no Reserve UK Grand Challenge/Premier Certificate.Even a UK Grand Champion starts afresh when he is neutered, hoping eventually to gain the coveted new double title of UK & Imperial Grand Champion & UK & Imperial Grand Premier - something to aim for now there are several cats holding the title UK Grand Champion & UK Grand Premier.Best of Breed winners at the Supreme Show do not get certificates but compete against the other BOB winners in their section for Best of Variety.The seven Best of Variety Adults (Persian, Semi-Longhair, British, Foreign, Burmese, Oriental, Siamese) compete for Supreme Adult, the seven kittens for Supreme Kitten and the neuters for Supreme Neuter.Finally, the Supreme Adult, Supreme Kitten and Supreme Neuter compete against each other for the honour of being judged Supreme Exhibit. No extra title - just the honour, a very large rosette and a silver trophy to hold for a year.

Exemption Shows

These are "fun" shows. Some are cat shows held in conjunction with Agricultural shows, others are the "rehearsal" shows held by new Cat Clubs, gaining them the experience to run Sanction, then Championship shows. The shows are usually small and they do not have to put on separate classes for all breeds. This means that they may have a single Open class for all colours of Persian, or the Siamese and Burmese might find that they are competing against one another. There are no Assessment classes, so new breeds compete against the established breeds, often in the same class. As with almost all GCCF shows there are also miscellaneous classes - for cats bred by the owner, cats which have had a limited number of previous wins etc. - and often club classes, put on by other supporting Clubs for their own members to enter. There are no certificates to be awarded, no titles to be won, but you will often see Champions or even Grand Champions supporting an Exemption Show, especially if it is being run by a specialist breed club, just to enjoy the relaxed fun atmosphere. A new Club must run three Exemption shows before it is allowed to progress to the next stage.

Sanction Shows

These shows really are rehearsals for Championship shows. Although no Challenge, Premier or Intermediate Certificates can be awarded, all the same classes have to be provided and the rules are just as strict as for a Championship show. Sanction shows do put on Assessment classes so Merit Certificates can be awarded. A Club must run three Sanction shows, to the satisfaction of the GCCF, before being granted a licence to hold a Championship show.

Non-Pedigree cats Household Pets, which are defined as unregistered cats with one or both parents unregistered, have their own section at all-breed shows and at many specialist breed shows. Household Pet Open classes are divided variously by colour and/or coat length; shows which expect a large entry offer more different classes than those which expect only a few, so one show may have a single class for Black, Black & White and White cats whereas a larger show may offer separate classes for each of these.Household Pets do not have a standard of points but are judged on condition and temperament; if all the cats in the class are in tip-top sparkling condition and purring their heads off, the winner is the one the judge likes best. No certificates are offered and no titles can be won.Household Pets also have their own section at the Supreme Show. The classes are split Male and Female, as for the pedigree cats but, unlike the pedigree classes, these classes may be split further after the entries are in if there are a very large number of cats in a particular class. The class winners are judged for Best of Group, the Best of Group winners compete for Best Non-Pedigree Longhair and Best Non-Pedigree Shorthair and finally these two compete for Supreme Non-Pedigree Exhibit

COUNTERSIGNATURES

In the event of a change of Judge of an Open Class occurring after the closing date of the show, providing the exhibitor informs the show manager prior to judging that a certificate has previously been awarded by the replacement judge, the show manager shall appoint one other judge who shall judge the cat and if the cat is considered worthy countersign the certificate which shall then count towards title status. If the replacement judge at the first show has also been previously booked for a subsequent show, the closing date of whIch is before the date of the first show and where the actual entry has been made and received before the date of the first show, then at the subsequent show this judges can be regarded as a replacement judge for the purposes of requesting a countersignature.

EXHIBITS FOR ASSESSMENT CLASSES

Cats, kittens and neuters of those breeds with Preliminary recognition must enter the appropriate Assessment Class, plus a minimum of three applicable Miscellaneous or Club classes. Assessment classes are not competitive. Exhibits will be assessed and awarded a ‘Merit’ certificate if considered, by the judge, to meet the approved Standard of Points.

PLEASE NOTE: Exhibitors must provide, with their entry form, a copy of the GCCF approved
Standard of Points for each exhibit they are entering into Assessment Classes

  

 

Help/Rules when applying for entry to a show

Where possible, always complete your show entry form from your GCCF registration document (i.e. Registration or Transfer Certificate) for the cat that is to be exhibited, printing the details carefully to avoid any misinterpretation of your handwriting.

If the document you have is headed ‘APPLICATION FOR THE TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP OF REGISTERED CATS’ this means that the cat is not registered in your name and you must complete the form and send it back to the GCCF with the transfer fee as soon as possible. It must be received by GCCF no later than 21 days before the show.

If you have not received your registration document at the time of entry, complete the show entry form with the details from the pedigree, giving the first choice of name if it is a non-prefix registration, and put RAF (Registration Applied For) or TAF (Transfer Applied For), or both, in the Regd. No. box. It is wise to enclose a stamped self-addressed acknowledgement postcard with all registration and transfer applications, particularly for cats entered for shows, so that you know that the application has been received by the GCCF.

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Try to keep a copy of your entry form - then, when you receive registration details and number, check these against the entry form and notify the Show Manager in writing of any differences in the details as well as giving the registration number, if applicable. This may not be in time for the printing of the show catalogue, but the Show Manager should attach your letter to your entry form which will save unnecessary notification of discrepancies when that show is checked. All catalogue errors are checked against the original entry form and any exhibitors' letters are used for reference. Show managements are permitted to accept corrections, at their own discretion, up to the close of the show (on show day).

Any such correction must not be an addition or substition of any exhibit for which proof of entry cannot be validated or a change of exhibitor/owner If you are entering several cats from your household and the registered owners (exhibitors) differ within that household/family, check with the Show Manager whether using one entry form is acceptable or not and, if it is, indicate very clearly which exhibitor owns which cat, ensuring all owners sign the entry form. It may be less confusing and more acceptable to the Show Manager for each owner to use separate entry forms, but joint owners of an exhibit(s) should always use the same form and both must sign.

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GCCF Rules Section

4 Rule 26 – Exhibitors are reminded that the decisions of the judges are final.

Any attempt to influence such decisions, or to identify a cat or ownership of a cat to a judge at a show before that judge’s engagement has been completed may render the offender liable to disciplinary action

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Correspondance

it is Usual for all correspondence to be accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope if a reply is required. Any complaint related to the Show must be forwarded to the Show Managers within seven days of the show. To prevent disappointment it is recommended that exhibitors enclose a stamped addressed postcard with their entries, to be returned as acknowledgement of receipt of entries.

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Cat Registered On

The Reference Register

No cat registered on this Register is eligible to be shown and therefore these entries will be disqualified.The only exception to this is when a new breed becomes recognised; and then cats of the breed may be shown, even if they are registered on the Reference Register, as long as this was the only reason for the Reference registration.

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Provisional Status Breeds

Cats of Provisional status breeds also compete at the Supreme Show, but as they cannot win titles their classes are not divided into Champion and Pre-Champion. The Intermediate Certificate winners and Kitten class winners are considered for Best of Breed, as with the Championship status breeds, and the BOB winners go forward to compete against the Championship staus breeds for Best of Variety.

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Preliminary Status Breeds

As at other Championship shows, there are Assessment classes at the Supreme Show, with Merit Certificates on offer. These cats, however, do not progress any further in the show as they are always (except in miscellaneous or club classes at ordinary shows) judged against their standard of points and not against each other.