Fun Matches

[enchantingdragon]

Hi Can anyone tell me what you do at fun matches? Is it just like a confirmation show but not based on points and obviously more relaxed? What do you use to judge one? Ive heard of them and saw a lot of ribbons at my breeder's house but I realized I dont know what one is. Is this if youre interested in showing a way to practice without the pressure? Sorry for the naivity

[inca]

not sure if its the same or not but we have matches at ringcraft ..its like a mini show where the dogs are judged to see how well they would perform in the ring

[debjen]

There are different types of fun matches..they can be conformation, obedience or agility or any combination..and there is a difference between a fun match and a sanctioned match(sanctioned by AKC with paperwork involved)...most are generally run like it was a show but much more relaxed with some training allowed (as long as it isn't a sanctioned match)..a Sanctioned match will have have ribbons and Best of Match (if conformation)..a fun match will vary from no prizes to some fun prizes..often at the fun matches some club member will be judge or people will take turns being judges..at a Sanctioned Match you will often have people who are applying to be a judge for that group...they have to work some sanctioned matches before they apply for the provisional judges license I believe.

Here is some info on Sanctioned matches

http://www.akc.org/pdfs/rulebooks/RESANC.pdf

[Bruce H]

The fun matches are great like Debjen said! We always try to keep our eyes open for the local ones, especiallly when we have puppies that we are intending to show. There are no points, but it's great practice for the real thing. If you have never shown before and think you might like to, the fun match is the place to give it a try. No pressure, just fun; and they are usually fairly small, I think the largest I have seen was maybe 30 or 40 entries. And depending what type of fun match it is, I believe you can enter a dog as young as 3 or 4 months.

If you think you might be interested in either watching or participating in a fun match, contact one of the all-breed kennel clubs in your area. I believe they all have at least one fun match every year. Our club has 1 sanctioned B match every year in the summer.