# Layman's view



## Janee (May 4, 2008)

Hi all 

I went to Chepstow GCCF show - these are my impressions and some questions too if you don't mind filling in a newbie.

First of all this was semi and long hair. So there were lots of persian, maine coon, somali (?), some non pedigree, burmese, Norwegian Forest cats and possibly others.

First impression: all the cats were so laid back - how do ppl showing know that their cat will be like that? 

A lot of them were peacefully sleeping in their litter tray 

What is the 'rossette' scheme i.e. what is the winning hierarchy? Most cages had a rossette or two but what does it mean - is an imperial champion better than a grand champion? What is a reserve champion?

What do the ladies in white coats with the trolley do? Are they the judges? I thought all judging was done in the morning when no public?

Some cat cages had 'no touching under pain of death' type labels whereas other owners seemed quite OK with stroking etc - why?

Why is everything white in the cages? 

Why do some cats seem to have loads of space (what seemed like a 2 cat cage) and others seemed to have only a 1 cat cage or less?

Are different shows more prestigious than others?

Wow - a lot of questions here......thanks in advance to any body who attempts to answer


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## Selk67U2 (May 5, 2008)

*I can't answer all of them as I don't do GCCF, but some questions relate to all shows*



> First impression: all the cats were so laid back - how do ppl showing know that their cat will be like that?


We try to take them from kittens, so they are used to what goes on. You soon know if the cat is going to like it or not, by their behaviour.



> A lot of them were peacefully sleeping in their litter tray


*Not sure why they do this, some of mine do and you see lots at FIFe, & TICA doing it too*



> Some cat cages had 'no touching under pain of death' type labels whereas other owners seemed quite OK with stroking etc - why?


*Because you can get the public going from one cat to another and it increaes the risk of spreading any infections that might be present*


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## Angeli (Jun 2, 2008)

Janee said:


> Hi all
> 
> I went to Chepstow GCCF show - these are my impressions and some questions too if you don't mind filling in a newbie.
> 
> ...


I do GCCF shows regularly and will gladly fill you in 
The first title an adult cat can compete for is Champion, you need to win three Open classes under three different judges for this.
You have to be a Champion to be able to compete for the Grand Champion title, the winner of this class gets the Grand Champion rosette and the runner-up gets the Reserve. This title is given when you have won three of these classes at three different shows.
The Imperial is basically the same system, you can only enter this if you have become a Grand Champion but instead of three shows needed it is five. The Imperial is the highest GCCF title to win. 

The ladies or gents in the white coats pushing the trolleys are the judges and they are accompanied by a steward (they take the cats out of the pen and hold it up while the judge examines the cat) The main judging is done in the morning when the exhibitors are told to leave (10am) They will be judging the Open, Grand Champion, and Imperial classes first.

At 12.30 when exhibitors and public are allowed back into the hall they will still be judging but it will be for the side classes.

The reason why everything in the cat pens is white is so that every cat remains anonymous to the judge that will be judging it. ie. no distinguishing features from anyone elses pen that could identify a cat as belonging to a certain person.

When you enter a show part of the entry fee covers your pen which is the standard 2 x 2 size. This is usually ok for a small to medium size cat being exhibited. There are some extremely large breeds of cats being shown where this size would be unsuitable so on the entry form you are given the choice of upgrading to a double pen for which you will have to pay extra for.

All the Championship shows are regarded the same, whether they are large or small shows the same titles can be won at any of them.


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## Rraa (Apr 15, 2008)

Hello Janee - I can answer some of the questions but will leave the ones that Wendy has already answered well.

Why is everything white in the cages? 
The GCCF tries to make everything in the cage as bland and uniform as possible so as not to influence the judges who must only judge the cat and nothing else. No distinguishing marks in the cage are allowed. The theory is that they should not be influenced by marking up a cat whom they recognise as belonging to someone they know or whose cage is more beautifully decorated than its neighbour.

Why do some cats seem to have loads of space (what seemed like a 2 cat cage) and others seemed to have only a 1 cat cage or less?
When entering your cat in a show, there are cages of double space for which a little extra is paid if you prefer. I think TICA show do this. Generally, and I am prepared to be corrected on this, GCCF tend to only have double pens for exhibits and but not for cats who are being judged - however, perhaps my understanding is not quite accurate here. Certainly one may pay a bit more to have your cat in a double pen rather than the usual single pen.

Are different shows more prestigious than others?
At GCCF shows, they are supposed to be equally prestigous except for the grand shows - one is the Supreme which is held near the end of November and the other is the National Cat Show in mid December. These are supposedly more prestigious because, one has to have gained at least one first place in an Open class to be eligible for entry into the Supreme (or the National but I am again prepared to be corrected on this latter point).

The reason these two are more prestigous also is that there is going to be far stiffer competition from a greater number of cats than the normal local friendly cat shows or breed shows. Breed shows also tend to be rated slightly higher in some circles than local shows as the breed shows bring together all the best in that particular breed.

Sorry, long post and there is still one that I cannot answer - the one about the distinction between Imperial, Grand and Reserve Grand Champions - I would like to know more about this too.


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## Saikou (Apr 2, 2008)

The only show you have to qualify for is the Supreme, and you can gain titles there that you can not at other shows ie UK Gr Ch or UK Gr Pr. The National is just a normal show like the others throughout the year.

An imperial award is the highest award you can get at a regular show. When a cat reaches nine months he/she can start competing for certificates either Challenge Certificates (ccs) if they are entire or Premier Certificates (pcs) if they are neutered/spayed. Entire cats and neutered cats never compete against each other for titles. The cat competes for ccs or pcs against its peers ie an oriental black male, has to beat all other oriental black males at the show to be awarded the certificate. The judge can withhold the award if they feel that the cat is not up to standard, so even if you are the only one in the class then there is no guarantee of a certificate. A cat needs to be awarded 3 ccs/pcs from 3 different judges to gain the title Champion or Premier. 

Once you have that title you can compete for Grand Certificates, and again you need 3 awarded from 3 different judges, you compete for Grands against all of your sex in your breed (some of the breeds may be broken down differently but on the whole thats what happens) who have a minimum title of Champion or Premier, but the class is also open to existing Gr Chs/Gr Prs and Imp Gr Chs/Imp Gr Prs. In the grand class they give out 2 certificates a Grand and a Reserve, on the basis that as it is a prestigious award, if the Grand winner is disqualified for any reason then the Reserve is given the award instead. Only Grand certs count towards titles, reserves are just nice to have. Again a judge can withhold a certificate if they do not think the cat is worthy of the title.

Once your cat has acheived Gr Ch/Gr Pr then they can compete for Imperial Grand certificates and you need 5 from 5 different judges. In this class the cat complete against all cats of the same breed and sex but they have a minimum title of Gr, existing Imperial Grs can also compete in the class.


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## Janee (May 4, 2008)

May I thank you - I understand a little more now.

I was most interested in the Maine Coons. I read I think on one of the GCCF club sites that the GCCF preferred MCs which were between 7 and 12 lbs (I may be wrong - will try to find the link) but the implication was that heavy cats were difficult to get out of the cages.

I wondered when I read this if the various cat fancy clubs - GCCF, TICA etc had an undue influence on the characteristics of a breed. Maine coons are renowned for being big heavy boned cats usually 15-25Ibs.

However at the show the GC (maybe IC?) coon was a big cat. (Wish I had got a catalogue now lol)


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## Selk67U2 (May 5, 2008)

There is a huge Maine Coon cat called Titan Moon, but I think he's been retired now as he's got everything he can get. He's the biggest i've ever seen He is stunning though


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## starlight (Jun 5, 2008)

Selk67U2 said:


> There is a huge Maine Coon cat called Titan Moon, but I think he's been retired now as he's got everything he can get. He's the biggest i've ever seen He is stunning though


I just googled Titan Moon  what a huge cat!!!!

Gorgeous though


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## Angeli (Jun 2, 2008)

I would think with huge breeds such as Maine Coon and Norwegian Forest, the larger the better.
A standard of Points for Maine Coons can be obtained from the GCCF and will give you a good idea what the judges will be looking for.

The SOP's for Maine Coon can be seen here 
Standard of Points


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## Selk67U2 (May 5, 2008)

*They are supposed to be fairly large, Maine Coons being bigger than the Wegies The problem is that some of the Coonies are getting so big that they're starting to get Hip Dysplasia which is not good*


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