Once you have qualified as a GCCF Steward and have met the criteria listed below you will be able to apply to become a GCCF Student Judge.
Criteria Needed to Apply to be a GCCF Student Judge
The extract taken from the Judge Training Programme document explains the criteria you need to meet to become a GCCF Student Judge.
A candidate applying to follow the Student Judge route must:
- Be a qualified GCCF steward.
- Should have at least three consecutive years regular exhibiting experience of a breed that is catered for by the JPG to which application is to be made.
- Have breeding experience of at least 2 years from the date of their first registered litter, of at least one breed that is catered for by the JPG to which application is made.
A neuter owner candidate applying to follow the Student Judge route must:
- Be a qualified GCCF steward.
- Have at least four consecutive years regular exhibiting experience of at least one breed catered for by the JPG to which application is to be made.
- Owned and campaigned exhibits to at least Imperial level.
Where a candidate, as a SJ to their first list, has bred cats within more than one Imperial/Grand List, application can be made to the JPG’s catering for these breeds providing they feel capable of dealing with the commitment required by all the relevant JPG applied to.
Acceptance into Stage 2 of the GCCF Judge Training Programme of a JPG does not guarantee appointment as a Junior Judge/Specialist (Single) Breed Judge of a JPG List.
There is no minimum time constraint for completion of stage 2a.
Applying to be a Student Judge
If you have met the criteria above and wish to apply then all you need to do is send in the JPG Payment Form to the GCCF office and make the payment to the office. When you have done this complete the Student Judge Application form and send this to your chosen JPG.
Judges Fees
A – JPG Payment Form
1 JTP – Student Judge Application
Serving as a Student Judge
While serving as a Student Judge it is hoped that you will gain the experience needed to prepare you for when you become a Junior Judge. You will act as a steward for full GCCF Judges from within your section and also gain experience with some parallel judging, report writing and you will be able to accept engagements to judge miscellaneous classes.
Minimum Requirements
Below is a brief summary of the minimum requirements you will need to fulfil before you can apply to become a Junior Judge.
- You will need to steward or parallel judge for a minimum of five breed classes. (and send in reports on the cats if parallel judged)
- You will need to undertake five tutorials. (and send in reports on the cats)
- You will need to submit reports on ten cats. (any reports sent in for tutorials or parallel judging will count towards the total)
- You will need to undertake a veterinary assessment.
- You will need to take and pass your online assessment (when available)
A fuller explanation of the requirements can be found in the GCCF Judge Training document below.
GCCF Judge Training Document (V8a)
Frequently Asked Questions
There are a few extracts (that are highlighted in bold) that have been taken from the ‘serving as a student judge section’ (page 13-14) in the Judge Training Guide as these extracts have often triggered questions from candidates. So please take a look at some of the frequently asked questions which may be of help to clarifying exactly what is required when serving as a student judge.
From time to time further questions and answers will be added to this page. If you cannot find the answers to your questions on this page please contact your JPG and they will help you.
Judging Miscellaneous and/or Club Classes
c) SJ’s may accept judging engagements for miscellaneous and/or club classes wherein the relevant breeds are included. These should cover adult, kitten and neuter where possible. Any SJ accepting such engagements should not have more than 30 exhibits to examine. (No expenses can be claimed as a SJ). SJ’s must not be contracted to judge any Breed kitten classes at this stage.
Q. Can a student judge actively solicit engagements from a show manager?
A. Yes, student judges may let show managers know they are available to judge miscellaneous and/or club classes, but they must not accept any breed classes at this stage of the training.
Q. If I am a student judge, judging miscellaneous classes at a show, am I able to exhibit my own cats, like when I’m stewarding?
A. No, if you are engaged to judge at a show in the pedigree section then the GCCF byelaws say that you are not allowed to show in the pedigree section, you can of course show in the HHP section.
Parallel Judging
d) A minimum of 5 breed classes, which must include at least one adult/neuter class, to be judged in parallel and under supervision of a full judge. These may be done when stewarding for a FJ or engaged to undertake miscellaneous/club classes.
e) Candidates must approach both the Full Judge and the Show Manager prior to show day, to ascertain approval to undertake a parallel judging and/or a tutorial assessment opportunity.
f) Written critiques must be submitted on the exhibits handled when undertaking a parallel judging assessment, such reports may be counted towards the required minimum expected in this stage of training.
Q. Do I need to be stewarding for the judge that I am doing the parallel judging with?
A. No, student judges just need to be engaged to steward or have been engaged to judge miscellaneous of breed classes to be able to perform parallel judging with any full judge of the breeds catered for within the JPG.
Q. How are the cats chosen?
A. The cats are taken from the breed class in the full judges book. (unless a minority breed)
Q. Can I do more than one at the same show?
A. Yes, you can do as many as you feel comfortable doing at any show.
Q. Can I do more than one with the same judge?
A. Yes, you can but no more than two with the same tutor judge will count towards your progression. Having said that parallel judging should be viewed as a learning opportunity and you can do as many as you like with any judge if you wish to.
Q. What is parallel judging and how does the judge supervise it?
A. The full judge supervises the candidate by choosing the exhibits from the class in their book and asking the candidate to judge the cats as well. This can be done side by side with the full judge or separately to the full judge. After both the candidate and the full judge have placed the class it may be useful to discuss with the full judge but this is not compulsory. The idea of parallel judging is to give the candidate experience in judging a breed class and should be treated as a learning experience and it is not a test.
Performing Tutorial Assessments
h) A minimum of FIVE (multibreed coverage to be encouraged) Teaching & Learning tutorials with accompanying short critiques within the relevant section must be submitted, of which, all must be JPG Breeds specific, wherein the ability of the candidate to apply the SOP to an exhibit, place and report upon will be scrutinised.
i) Teaching & Learning tutorial on a listed minority breed. If an example of the breed is present, a tutorial assessment can be undertaken with any Full Judge of the breed, even if neither the candidate nor the Full Judge has the exhibit in their book. Multi candidate tutorial participation is encouraged to avoid overhandling.
j) Full Judges undertaking Teaching & Learning tutorials must ensure they submit a tutor judge tutorial form to the JPG Secretary.
N.B. any submissions from the candidate will only be accepted as “additional” information rather than counting towards the minimum requirements for a request for promotion should there be no corresponding Full Judge’s tutorial assessment form submitted.
Q. Do I need to be stewarding or judging miscellaneous or club classes to do a tutorial?
A. No, student judges just need to be at a show, in any capacity, to do a tutorial however the full judge must be engaged to judge at the show.
Q. How many tutorials can I do on one day?
A. There is no minimum or maximum so do as many as you feel happy to do.
Q. Is it okay to send the tutorial form by email to the full judge in advance of the show?
A. Yes, but if the full judge prefers a paper tutorial form on show day then it is the student judge’s responsibility to supply one.
Q. Is there a time limit to submit my Teaching & Learning tutorial forms?
A. Yes, your Teaching & Learning tutorial form and your accompanying reports need to submitted to the JPG within 28 days.
Submit Written Reports
l) The candidate must submit short critiques on a minimum of 10 exhibits covering the relevant breed or breeds (dependant on the JPG applied for). Breed class reports and/or exhibits in miscellaneous could be included if relevant. It is hoped that this be seen as similar to a parallel judging situation, by both the SJ and Full Judge, with relevant notes being made at an appropriate time with care taken not to upset the exhibit, hinder the Full Judge or the overall judging process. Candidates may return to an exhibit to re-examine but should not remove it from the pen.
Q. How many reports/critiques do I need to submit in total during my training?
A. A minimum of 10 reports/critiques, this is not 10 reports per engagement. In theory you can send reports on two cats at five different shows which would equal ten cats reported on however it is preferable that a variety of exhibits be reported on.
Q. Do my reports from Teaching & Learning tutorials and parallel judging count?
A. Yes.
Q. Should I submit report (s) from each show?
A. Yes, if your are performing an engagement then it is expected that you submit a report (it could be a report on just a couple of cats or more if you want to).
Q. Is there a time limit to submit my reports?
A. Yes, your reports need to submitted to the JPG within 28 days.
Veterinary Assessment
l) Complete a successful veterinary assessment.
Q. If I have a veterinary stewarding that I have already completed on the old scheme will that count?
A. Yes, candidates will not be disadvantaged so if you have already completed the a stewarding engagement with a vet (which is what was required as a steward in the past) then this will count. However, it is advised that you complete a full veterinary assessment as this will be required when progressing from speciality or junior judge to full judge.
Criteria For Appointment To Stage 2A – Student Judge
Non Breeders –
Q. Where it says ‘owned and campaigned exhibits to at least Imperial level”, does this mean the cat is in the Imperial class or does it mean the cat has achieved the title of Imperial.
A. Yes, it means the cat has to have achieved the title of Imperial.
The extract from the document is correct at the time of publication. It is expected that the GCCF training will evolve over time as indeed will the documentation but every effort will be made to keep this page up to date. Having said that it is advised to double check the document that the extract has been taken from as this will absolutely be kept up to date.
