2008 BEAGLE ADVISORY
COMMITTEE MINUTES
71ST BAC MEETING
On August 6, 2008 at 10:00 AM EST the meeting was called to order by Mel
Stewart, Chairman via teleconference.
Roll was taken and all accounted for.
AKC staff in the
Doug Ljungren then gave a follow up on last
year’s recommendations. The AKC Board of
Directors approved the judges’ education recommendation in February of 2008
which was implemented almost immediately with the first Advanced Beagle Seminar
being held in March.
Differentiating the Field Championship titles is also going before the
Board. It was presented to them in July
to be voted on at the August meeting, then it goes on
to be presented to the Delegate body.
The recommended titles are reflective of the three distinct Beagle
Hunting styles: FC – Brace, FC – Gundog, FC- Large Pack.
Staff has also recommended the creation of a Gundog
Brace National Championship. This idea
will be voted on by the Board in August.
If both recommendations are approved the first Gundog
Brace Championship will be held in 2009 and differentiating the titles will be
implemented in 2010 due to the need for computer programming.
Items to be Voted On:
A vote of two-thirds in support of the topic is necessary for passage.
1) The first item on the agenda
was then addressed, a trio format. There
was a request from the Gun Dog Brace clubs to lower the minimum number of
entries from 30 to 21 when allowing the Field Trial committee the option of
running trios (3 at a time) instead of braces (2 at a time) in the first
series.
Jerry Knuth made the comment that the people he
represents had a somewhat “vanilla” response.
They appear to be quietly accepting this idea. It does give the dogs more time on the ground
and leaves less time for “parking lot politics”. He will go along with it if it’s put in the
hands of the Field Trail Committee at the time entries close.
John Prianti indicated that his faction of
Traditional Brace Beaglers were somewhat indifferent
to the proposed rule change. They were
not opposed to it, but were not going to throw support behind it either. The rule change would not affect them. He’d vote for it, if it’s left as an option
whether or not to do it.
Jerry Knuth then made a motion to bring the
matter to a vote. John Parianti seconded the motion. Mel Stewart indicated yes was to pass the
rule change and no, not to pass.
Committee
Member: Vote Cast:
Ron Anderson, Yes; Gerald Ells, Yes; Jerry Knuth, Yes; Art Boger, Yes; James Grimes, Yes; George Fields, Yes; Ron Gray, Yes; Richie Houde, Yes; Gary DeFoor, Yes; Scotty Pannell, Yes; Carl Buchanan, Yes; Gary Hanks, Yes; John Prianti, Yes.
Results: 13
Yes, 0 No
Let the record reflect the option of running trios instead of braces in
the first series passed with a unanimous vote.
2) The second item on the agenda, splitting
classes was then addressed. Large Pack
clubs would like to discuss giving the Field Trial Committee the right to split a
class. Mr. Stewart read the current rule
of the Additional Standard Procedures, 6-B, Paragraphs 2 & 3:
In case of an entry of over 25 hounds in a
class the Field Trail Committee shall also have the following option: If the entry in class is over 25, the class may
be split into two divisions; if the entry is over 50, the class may be split
into three divisions; if the class is over 75, the class may be split into four
divisions. The divisions will be known as Qualifying
Packs. The Qualifying Packs shall be
drawn for, with an odd hound in each of the last two or three packs.
The Qualifying Packs will run in the order
drawn, each subsequent pack to be cast as the previous Pack has been ordered
up.
Mr. Stewart indicated he was uncertain
about the details of this proposal since there was already the ability to split
the class if entry exceeded
25.
Gary DeFoor indicated this would allow large
packs to run packs sequentially versus simultaneously.
Mr. Stewart asked for clarification from the Large Pack representative. Richie Houde
indicated that a lot of clubs grounds are not big enough to run two packs at
the same time.
Michael Sergio stated that he confirmed with Vic Costanza (2007 BAC Member who raised the issue last
year) that his intent was to give clubs the option of running split classes
simultaneously or one after the other depending on the availability of the
grounds.
Richie Houde made a motion to vote on the
proposed rule change. Gary DeFoor seconded that motion. A yes answer is to pass giving clubs the
option, no is to not pass it.
Committee
Member: Vote Cast:
Ron Anderson, Yes; Gerald
Ells, Yes; Jerry Knuth, Yes;
Art Boger, Yes; James Grimes, Yes; George Fields, Yes; Ron Gray, Yes; Richie Houde, Yes; Gary DeFoor, Yes; Scotty Pannell, Yes; Carl Buchanan, Yes; Gary Hanks, Yes; John Prianti, Yes.
Results: 13 Yes, 0 No.
Let the record reflect the proposed rule change giving clubs the option
of running split packs simultaneously or sequentially passed with a unanimous
vote.
New Business:
1) Ron Gray said he had agreed to request that the BAC consider
the idea of combining classes by sex as well as size. The basis for this request is that in some areas it was difficult to get six entries,
particularly in the small male class. Plus,
some clubs do not have the game to
support four days of trailing.
John Prianti indicated for Traditional Brace
and Gundog Brace events it would be beneficial to the
clubs if they had an option of running two classes in a trial. They recently ran a three day trial
consisting of 28 entries. They could
have run in two days if they were combined, which would have been better for
the Beaglers and the club.
Art Boger commented that Chapter 9, Section
one, describes the four classes. He
suggested leaving it as is and adding to it giving the club the option to hold
a trial with two classes either deciding at the trial or advertising prior to
the trial.
John Prianti stated that the Gundog Brace people would be in favor of putting this on
the agenda for next year.
The discussion continued as John Prianti wanted
to know if it would affect all types.
If it was for all types, Scotty Pannell
indicated they would be for it as long as you made it an option for the club.
Carl Buchanan said that as long as it was an option and left up to the
club’s discretion, they would be behind it.
Gary DeFoor said that his association is
against it across the board as it applied to Traditional Brace. He suggested looking at it further, saying he
was willing to be open minded about it.
Ron Anderson indicated the National Beagle Club was not in favor of it,
if it was only being done because there were not enough dogs.
Carl Buchanan indicated that he did not have an opinion for the Brace and
Gundog Brace folks.
He needed time to go back and talk to people to get a feel for what
their thoughts are on the subject. He
suggested putting it on the agenda for next year, for discussion only.
Scotty Pannell made a motion to put it on the
agenda for next year. John Prianti seconded that motion.
Jerry Knuth said this should be an option to be
handled at the club level on any given day.
Scotty Pannell said it should be advertised as
such and Art Boger agreed.
A vote was taken, yes is for discussing and voting on it at the 2009 BAC
Meeting.
Committee
Member: Vote Cast:
Ron Anderson, No; Gerald
Ells, Yes; Jerry Knuth, Yes;
Art Boger, Yes; James Grimes, Yes; George Fields, Yes; Ron Gray, Yes; Richie Houde, Yes; Gary DeFoor, Yes; Scotty Pannell, Yes; Carl Buchanan, Yes; Gary Hanks, Yes; John Prianti, Yes.
Results: 12 Yes, 1 No.
The option of combining classes by sex will be placed on the 2009 BAC
Agenda for a vote.
2) Ron Gray brought up the
idea of reducing the points required to qualify to become a Traditional Brace
Beagle Champion. He suggested more wins with fewer points
indicating this was just an idea for consideration.
Scotty Pannell said they were totally opposed
to changing anything. Everything works
fine the way it is.
Gary Hanks stated that if they combined the classes there would be no
need to lower the number of points.
Ron Gray indicated rising costs was a factor in considering this idea as
less people are traveling.
Doug Ljungren spoke up and indicated that the
price of gas may be a negative influence; however, not all segments of the
Beagle world were down. Gundog Brace numbers were up by 15% during the first half
of 2008.
Carl Buchanan indicated that at their May Derby Run-Off they had a record
entry of 300.
Scotty Pennell said at one of their recent
events they had their largest turnout ever.
Gerald Ells said the west coast folks usually only have 8-10 little males
per event. When someone finishes their
dog, they feel bad since they typically stop running!!
Mel Stewart went on record for AKC stating the AKC is opposed to lowering
any of the requirements for obtaining Field Champion status.
Ron Gray made a motion to talk about it next year. The motion died for lack of a second
motion. This idea will not be placed on
next year’s agenda for a vote.
3) Ron Anderson read a memo
he wrote, dated August 5, 2008, Subject:
Changes to Formats. His
suggestions were:
1)
Remove brace rules from rule book and replace those
rules with gun dog brace rules.
2)
Remove small pack rules and replace them with small
pack option rules.
This would leave three formats:
1)
Brace (run under Gun Dog Brace rules).
2)
Small Pack (run under Small Pack Option rules).
3) Large Pack.
Mel Stewart inquired whether this was the National Beagle Club’s idea or
his own idea. Mel said the question was
posed because it seemed inconsistent that the National Beagle Club Board would
vote to agree with last year’s BAC recommendation to differentiate the titles
and now propose a recommendation that would eliminate Traditional Brace and
Small Pack Field Trials. Ron did not
directly answer, but said the idea had been discussed with some NBC Board
members.
Ron Anderson made a motion to vote on this proposal to go on the 2009
agenda. The motion died for the lack of
a second motion. This idea will not be
placed on next year’s agenda for a vote.
Mr. Stewart then asked if there were any other new items. When no response was received, Doug Ljungren thanked the BAC members for their time. Mr. Stewart followed suit and the meeting was
adjourned at 11:08 AM EST.