Recertification Test
A conversation with Tim Thomas about the Recertification Process
Per policy adopted by the Board, all conformation judges are required to complete the recertification course/exam every five years.
Every 5 years.
Judges for most sports have been required to compete continuing education/recertification for a number of years:
-
-
- Agility Judges – every three years at cost of $75-$100
- Obedience Judges– every three years at cost of $50
- Rally Judges - every three years at cost of $50 (must also complete Obedience requirement)
- 1Retriever Hunt Tests – every four years at cost of $25+
- 1Pointing Breed Hunt Tests – every five years at cost of $25+
- 1Herding Trials – every four years at cost of $25+
- 1Lure Coursing – every six years at cost of $25+
-
1 Clubs host continuing education for a fee of $500 payable to the AKC. The club may charge attendees a fee of $25 or more at their discretion.
The purpose of the recertification requirement is to ensure judges are knowledgeable of current procedures and polices associated with judging AKC conformation dog shows. Sound judging procedure, ring control, and a thorough knowledge of AKC Rules and Policies are responsibilities of judges and essential to inspire the confidence of the fancy. A lack of knowledge of proper procedure and AKC rules and policies can lead to many issues including but limited to the results of the event being impacted, exhibitors denied an opportunity to compete, and sullying the integrity of the judge and the sport.
Page 1 of the Rules, Policies, and Guidelines for Conformation Dog Show Judges clearly defines the responsibilities as a judge: Breed Knowledge, Procedure, and Impartiality. Of course, a thorough and comprehensive understanding of a breed’s standard and its salient characteristics are essential to judging a breed, but to be a competent judge one must also be sound on procedure which necessitates a knowledge of the rules and policies related to judging dog shows. If a judge has poor procedure and/or a lack of ring control, exhibitors lose confidence in their judging. Procedural errors that deny exhibitors the opportunity to exhibit result in a loss of faith in judging. Judges whose measuring or weighing procedures are not sound affect the integrity of the results.Too many errors continue in the awarding of Selects and judging of NOHS.
This is difficult to answer. Rule changes are approved by the delegate body. Policy and regulation changes are approved by the Board. In the past several years there have been numerous changes that directly impact judges. There is no set schedule as amendments are proposed and adopted when it is determined there is a need.
Rules changes can only be approved by the delegate body. They may be proposed by the Delegate Dog Show Rules Committee, the Board, or a member club through its delegate. A proposal is presented to the Board who may approve, disapprove and/or make recommendations. If approved, it is then set forth to be voted on by the Delegate body after two publications in the Secretary’s Page of the Gazette. If the Board disapproves, the proposer is notified (subcommittee or member club) who may demand the matter be brought to the delegate body for vote.
The above is a brief summary of the process, the exact procedure is outlined in the Charter and Bylaws of The American Kennel Club.
Policy changes are approved by the Board. The adoption of a new policy or amendment to a current rule or policy may be proposed by the Board or by staff. Staff or the Board may also receive suggestions from clubs, delegates or committees which it may present to the Board.
Rules and Policy changes are published in the applicable minutes (Delegate or Board), posted on the AKC website, and included in the Secretary’s Page of the AKC Gazette. Matters related to conformation judging are communicated by Judging Operations via email to all judges. They are also posted in the Conformation Judges Facebook Group and the Conformation Judges Blog. Judges who (1) opt out of emails from the AKC, (2) do not keep their contact information up to date, (3) do not provide an email, (4) do not join the Conformation Judges Facebook Group, and/or (5) do not enroll as a follower in the Conformation Judges Blog hinder their ability to be informed when changes occur.
When applicable, the Rules, Polices and Guidelines for Conformation Judges is modified to reflect any changes. Notice that the Judges Guidelines has been updated is also communicated through all of the channels previously stated.
The recertification exam is open book. There are links to resources that will aid the test taker to successfully complete the test. Judges should be familiar with each of these resources.
If one wants to review in advance, the best booklet is the Rules, Polices and Guidelines for Conformation Judges. The others provided are more supplementary. However, as it is open book, there is not a need to study in advance. Judges will do much better referring to the rules and regulations booklets while taking the exam. When they do not, the same errors that are taking place in the ring are being duplicated in their answers. The intent is to educate our judges on proper procedure and provide them with an understanding of policies so scenarios they may encounter are managed properly.
The Rules Applying to Dog Shows, The NOHS Regulations, and the NOHS flow chart.
Also, while not required to successfully complete, many have shared that the webinars on procedures and policies have been most helpful. The recordings of the past offerings are available on the AKC website, specifically at the Conformation Judges Resource Center. The listing includes the topic covered in each.
No. I am not sure where that rumor started but it is not correct.
NO. Retaking the exam after an unsuccessful attempt does not require another payment. The $50 fee to complete is remitted once every five years.
One could potentially have nine attempts to pass.If after three attempts a judge has not passed, we arrange for a meeting with a member of the Field Staff who will review all missed questions.After the review they are given three more attempts to pass the test. If unsuccessful after three more tries (6 total), the judge is marked inactive and may retest after six months or immediately following the attendance of an AKC Institute for New and Aspiring Judges. If the person is unsuccessful after the 3rd set of three attempts (9 total), Judges Operation could recommend to the Board that that individual’s judging privileges be removed..
To date – every judge who was unsuccessful after three tries and seen the process through has successfully passed after their review with an Executive Field Representative.
One could potentially have nine attempts to pass. If after three attempts a judge has not passed, we arrange for a meeting with a member of the Field Staff who will review all missed questions. After the review they are given three more attempts to pass the test. If unsuccessful after three more tries (6 total), the judge is marked inactive and may retest after six months or immediately following the attendance of an AKC Institute for New and Aspiring Judges. If the person is unsuccessful after the 3rd set of three attempts (9 total), Judges Operation could recommend to the Board that that individual’s judging privileges be removed..
To date – every judge who was unsuccessful after three tries and seen the process through has successfully passed after their review with an Executive Field Representative.
When judges are first notified of the need to take the exam, they are informed that they should complete the exam in two months. If one fails the exam, once re-enrolled in the next version, we ask that they complete the exam in 30 days.
Remember, you do not have to complete the exam in one sitting. You may exit at any time, and it will place you where you left off when you return.
Legitimate and reasonable requests have been accommodated with extensions.
Judges who fail their first three attempts are placed on referral. The referral does not affect any assignments previously approved but does block the person from being approved on any future panels while in place. Once the exam is passed, the referral is lifted.As explained previously, failure after six attempts results in the judge being marked inactive until the requirement successfully completed.
Judges who refuse to comply, are placed on referral and may be marked inactive. Numerous notifications are sent by the department reminding judges of the need to complete the exam. The department also notifies the judge if he/she is being placed on referral or marked inactive due to the lack of response.
Take and pass the exam.
Most questions are multiple choice. The questions may have from 1 to 4 correct answer options. To get full credit for the question the test taker must mark all correct answers. The exam does utilize partial scoring so some credit may be received if one marks some but not all correct options.
The exam also has scenario questions that use a marked judges book or illustrations to represent awards in a class. The test taker may be asked to identity, based on the markings/results, which dog(s) are eligible to compete for Winners. Reserve or NOHS BOB. These questions primarily focus on NOHS procedures and multiple entries of the same dog – the two areas in which we see the most frequent errors occurring.
Yes, the exam is not scored until the test taker submits it for scoring. Once completing the last question, the exam provides the option to click the “Finished” button to score the exam or to review your answers. The exam will not be scored until the user clicks the “Finished” button. Any unanswered questions are scored as incorrect.
There are no questions related to specific judging procedures related to those competitions. There may be questions concerning accepting assignments for FSS Open Shows or the Four-to-Six Month Best Puppy Competition, as all judges approved for at least one breed are eligible to judge these events.
A rudimentary understanding of the proper procedures associated with measuring and weighing is necessary as all judges approved for at least one breed are eligible to judge an NOHS group and FSS Open Shows. As all groups contain measurable and/or weighable breeds, and FSS and Miscellaneous breeds may have height/weight disqualifications, all judges are eligible to judge a competition in which dogs may be measured or weighed.Furter, judges may be asked to judge a breed or group as an emergency replacement or invited to judge a sweepstakes or futurity for a measurable breed. It is worth noting the procedural exam for first time judging applicants also contains questions covering these concepts regardless of the breed(s) one is applying for.
Some are, and others are not. Many questions provide a scenario for which the test taker applies their understanding of the applicable rules and policies to answer how a matter would be properly handled. For example, if a judge is assigned to specific breeds, group(s) or Best in Show, would a family member be permitted to exhibit at that show and if so in what classes?
