— Veteran Show Dogs Eligible for AKC/Eukanuba National Championship –
— Juniors Competition in Obedience and Agility Added —
We are pleased to add a new way to qualify for the 2011 AKC/Eukanuba National Championship (AENC) – Veteran dog status! As a way to celebrate our older stars who made a mark in the show world during their career, any dog or bitch between seven and twelve years of age as of the first day of the show that has won an All-Breed Best in Show, National Specialty or was once ranked in the top five of their breed according to AKC breed points, will be invited to compete for Best of Breed, and if eligible, for the Best Bred-By-Exhibitor Award.
After May 1st, the AKC website will show a list of dogs who meet the above criteria. The Veterans must be intact since they are eligible to advance to compete in Group and Best in Show competition. We thank everyone who contacted us and asked us to include our Veterans in the competition. It will be a treat to see some of these great older dogs enter the ring at the National Championship.
More Juniors Competition Added
Additionally, for the first time ever, we’ll also have Juniors-specific competition within each event. Joining the AENC Junior Showmanship competition will be a Juniors competition in the AKC National Obedience Invitational (NOI) as well as the AKC Agility Invitational. The Juniors Obedience Competition will take place Saturday, December 17, 2011 and offer Beginner Novice and Novice classes. Entries will open July 25, 2011. For additional information and a list of full eligibility requirements, visit here. For questions, please contact Trial Secretary Lisa Strickland at 919-816-3816 or lms2@akc.org
The Juniors Agility Competition, open to children up to 18 years old on the day of the event, will take place on Friday, December 16, 2011 and consist of two rounds – a Standard course and a Jumpers with Weaves course. Stay tuned to the Agility webpage for upcoming news and updates. For questions, please contact Carrie DeYoung at 818-886-8212 or cxd2@akc.org.
As a reminder, the AENC qualification period ends October 11, 2011. As in past years, our automatic qualifiers include dogs ranked in the top 25 of their breed (by AKC breed points only), All-Breed BIS winners, National Specialty winners, Grand Champions that completed the title during the qualifying period, Bred-By-Exhibitor champions (2-Year qualification window), Amateur-Owner-Handler class champions (2-Year qualification window), and the seven top breed winning dogs from over sixty International Registries and the Best of Breed and Best of Opposite Sex to Best of Breed winners from Crufts (2-Year window). As always, check www.akc.org/invitational/2011 regularly for full details and updates.
For both the NOI and the Agility Invitational, the qualification period runs until June 30th, 2011. The top 25 Obedience dogs as well as the top three dogs of each breed will be invited to the NOI based on Obedience Trial Championship (OTCH) points. The top five dogs from each breed will be invited to compete in the AKC Agility Invitational based on the Top MACH Dog formula (Double Q’s x 10) + MACH (Master Agility Championship) points that dogs have earned during the qualifying period.
We look forward to seeing everyone who qualifies in Orlando, Florida. With state-of-the-art facilities and 600,000 square feet of space at the Orange County Convention Center, this year’s AKC/Eukanuba National Championship will be bigger and better than ever. There will also be plenty to enjoy in the city itself, as the Center is located in the heart of Orlando’s tourism district. Start planning your trip and stay tuned for more updates and information in the coming months.
Sincerely,
Ron Menaker
Chairman