Notice to All Clubs Hosting Obedience & Rally Obedience Trials
It has come to our attention that there is inconsistency in the interpretation of the rules related to calculating judging time for Obedience and Rally trials.
The Obedience Council has reviewed specific sections of the rules in this regard and would like to assure that everyone has the same interpretations.
Section 4.3.5 in the Obedience section of the Obedience Trial & Rally Obedience Trial Rules & Regulations says:
“No judge will be assigned to judge for more than seven (7) hours in one day or for more than six (6) hours in one day if judging more than 12 classes. This limit includes rally and/or any breed judging assignments. (Each regular A or B class will be counted as one class).”
The correct interpretation of Section 4.3.5 is that A and B classes count as ONE combined class.
In an obedience trial with all regular classes, the total number of classes is five (5): Pre-novice, Novice A/B/C, Novice Intermediate, Open A/B, Utility A/B.
In a rally trial with all regular classes, the total number of classes is five (5): Novice A/B, Intermediate, Advanced A/B, Excellent A/B, Master
Section 4.3.2 in the Rally section of the Obedience Trial & Rally Obedience Trial Rules & Regulations says:
“The formula for the preparation of the judging schedule shall be based on the judging of a maximum of 15 dogs per hour. A ten (10)-minute walk-through for each class level must be included in the scheduled judging times. (A and B classes of each level judged by the same judge may be combined for walk-throughs.) If a large class is scheduled, judges will allow an additional ten (10)-minute walk-through every two (2) hours for the next block of dogs to be judged in the class.”
The correct interpretation is that the calculation for preparation of the judging schedule is determined by the total number of dogs entered divided by 15.
For example, 105 dogs in rally is seven hours of judging. The 10-minute walk-through is included in this calculation and should NOT be added as extra time.
Should you have any questions, please reach out to your local Obedience Trial Council Representative in this regard.