Welcome — and thank you for thinking about stewarding for the GCCF.
Stewarding is the foundation of the GCCF show world. As a steward you work alongside experienced judges at the bench, learn how shows actually run, and gain hands-on experience with cats and the people who breed and show them. Many stewards do it for the love of the role and stop there. Many others use it as the first step on the pathway to becoming a GCCF judge. Both routes are equally valued — and the choice is yours.
This page is your starting point. It explains what stewarding involves, the three things to do first, and what comes after.
Your three first steps
Take these in order. The order matters — engagements only count towards qualifying once you’re properly on the scheme, so step 1 unlocks everything that follows.
1. Join the GCCF Stewarding Scheme
Becoming a steward officially starts when you join the Guild of GCCF Judges & Stewards. There’s a short application form and a £5 membership fee. Once your form and payment reach us, you’re enrolled on the scheme — you’ll receive an email confirmation and you’re in.
You can steward at shows informally before you join, and you’re welcome to. But to make those engagements count towards qualifying as a GCCF Steward, you need to be a member of the scheme first. So this is where it begins.
Step 1: Joining the Stewarding Scheme →
2. Read the two key documents
Two short documents tell you everything you need to know about the role and the rules:
- The GCCF Stewarding Scheme — Rules and Procedure
- The Role and Responsibilities of a GCCF Steward
Both are on the Forms & Deadlines page. They’re a fifteen-minute read and they’ll save you a lot of questions later.
3. Get yourself onto the Steward Directory
The Steward Directory is where show managers and judges go to find available stewards near their venue. Once you’re listed, show managers can come to you — which makes booking your first engagements much easier than chasing shows from a cold start.
Step 3: Register on the Steward Directory →
What comes next
Once you’ve joined the scheme and registered as available, the training itself is straightforward: six stewarding engagements (across as many sections as possible — a minimum of four different sections), two Table Work Certificates, a veterinary stewarding session, and then your promotion to a fully qualified GCCF Steward. Here’s where to find each piece.
- The full Stewarding Scheme → — the complete syllabus in one place: the six engagements, the two table-work certificates, the veterinary stewarding step, the key rules, and how promotion works.
- Booking your engagements → — how to find GCCF shows, a copy-and-paste message for contacting show managers, and how the GCCF Roadshow is the friendliest way to land your first engagement.
- On the day → — what stewarding actually feels like at a show: what to wear, what to bring, and what the judge will ask of you.
- Forms & deadlines → — every certificate you’ll need, the 28-day rule, and where to email everything (yes — email is fine).
- From steward to judge → — if you’d like stewarding to be the start of something bigger, the judge pathway and one practical tip about the veterinary stage worth knowing early.
Take your time
The GCCF promise is simple. There’s no time limit, and you train at your own pace. Some stewards work through the scheme in a couple of months; many take a year or more. All of that is fine. Stewarding is meant to be enjoyed and learned properly, not rushed, and the system is designed to fit around your life rather than the other way around.
If a few months go by between shows, that’s normal. Pick it up when you can.
Need a hand?
If anything on this page (or anywhere else) is unclear, email us at admin@gccftraining.org and we’ll point you in the right direction. We read and reply to every email — there’s no wrong question.
Welcome to the GCCF. We’re glad you’re here.
