The largest association practicing finals judging is the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA). It is headquartered in the United States but has many offshoots around the world. The International Cat Association (TICA), although smaller than the CFA, is highly influential. Finals judging is practiced primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as new cat fancying regions including South America, Japan, Australia, and Eastern Europe. Both styles of judging are practiced in Western Europe. France does not recognize finals judging, although many cat fanciers participate in this type of amazingly dynamic show.
PRINCIPLES
Finals or American style judging is based on a system in which all cats are presented individually to a judge who ranks them from first to last by color, color group or division, and breed. After this judging, which is conducted orally and in public, the judge calls back his ten best cats of all breeds and reranks them from tenth to first in an often spectacular final round.
In a particular show, cats are judged by several judges who each hold their own final round. Thus, the results may be different from one judge's ring to the next, but most often, the same cats are involved; only the ranking is different. This system of multiple judging always brings out the best cats, especially since the average of the rankings obtained is calculated at the end of the show.While cats are not grouped according to morphological categories, as in traditional shows, there are still two types of finals:
All Breed Finals: all breeds compete together.
Specialty Shorthair Finals: all shorthaired breeds compete together.
Specialty Longhair Finals: all longhaired and semilonghaired breeds compete together.
Finals involving ten cats require at least twenty-five participants to be valid.
No titles are awarded in finals judging. However, depending on a cat's rank, it can aspire to the titles of Champion, Grand Champion, etc.
METHOD OF AWARDING CFA TITLES
A cat over 8 months begins its career in open class. To become Champion, it must obtain first place in its variety (breed, sex, and color) six times.
Once the Best Of Varieties have been awarded, the judge ranks his three best males and his three best females by color group, then by breed.
Each time a Champion cat outranks a cat that is already Grand Champion in the Best Of Breed competition, it obtains one point. To become Grand Champion, a cat must obtain 200 points, or beat 200 cats.
METHOD OF AWARDING TICA TITLES
* A division is a group of colors based on the genetics of coat color in cats. TICA recognizes five divisions:
Solid division: solid colors without tabby or silver markings.
Tortoiseshell division: coat colors of cats that are heterozygotic for the orange gene linked to sex. These are tortoiseshell cats with no tabby or silver markings.
Silver and Smoke division: coat colors of cats in which the inhibiting gene is expressed. These are silver tabby, silver shaded, and chinchilla, and smoke cats, regardless of the base color.
Tabby division: all tabby colors except silver.
Particolor division: all colors with white.
Points awarded according to finals rankings:
Titles are awarded according to the following terms:- Champion: 300 points from four different judges and participation in one final round.- Grand Champion: 1000 points in six finals from four different judges, including three finals among the five Best Specialty or ten Best All Breed.- Double Grand Champion: 2000 points with one final round among the five Best Specialty or ten Best All Breed as Grand Champion.- Triple Grand Champion: 3000 points with one final round among the five Best Specialty or ten Best All Breed as Double Grand Champion.- Quadruple Grand Champion: 4000 points with one final round among the five Best Specialty or ten Best All Breed as Triple Grand Champion.- Supreme Grand Champion: 6000 points with one Best Cat as Quadruple Grand Champion.
Different Show Classes
As in traditional judging, there are finals reserved for altered cats and a class for household cats called Household Pets (HHP) that is highly esteemed abroad.
Kittens from 4 to 8 months compete in a class reserved for them. They are ranked like adults and participate in finals but cannot aspire to the title Champion.
In addition, new breeds and varieties that are not yet recognized can be shown in special classes but may not aspire to titles. These classes include provisional and miscellaneous classes for the CFA, and New Breed or Color (NBC) for TICA.
CFA Show Classes
KITTEN: cats from 4 to 8 months of recognized breeds.
CHAMPIONSHIP: unaltered male or female cats over 8 months of recognized breeds and competing for the titles Champion and Grand Champion.
PREMIERSHIP: altered male or female cats over 8 months of recognized breeds and competing for the title Premiership or Grand Premiership.
PROVISIONAL: intermediate class between championship class and miscellaneous class for breeds in the process of being recognized but not yet eligible for championship class. These breeds compete with each other up to Best Of Breed but do not participate in inter-breed finals.
MISCELLANEOUS: class reserved for cats of breeds not yet eligible for provisional class but whose registry in the stud books is open. This is a show class only that allows new breeds to be presented to the judges and the public.
TICA Show Classes
CHAMPIONSHIP (adults): cats over 8 months of recognized breeds.
ALTERS: altered cats over 8 months of recognized breeds.
HHP (Household Pets): non-pedigreed cats.
NBC (New Breed or Color): cats of breeds not yet recognized but involved in an approved breeding program.
The Best Cats of The Year
At the end of a show season, the cats that have earned the most points are ranked by region and internationally. Entering the ranks of the Ten Best Cats of the Year is the epitome of success for a breeder.
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