The meeting came to order at 2:06 pm.
The RAC Board Members in attendance were:
Doug Ljundgren
John Goetl
Julie Cole
John Russell
Eric Gawthorpe was our first speaker. He spoke on limiting the number of entries in an Amateur Stake.
Eric proposed Owner/Handler Amateur "Best Three."
Each Handler has the option to enter 3 dogs in an Amateur Stake. It is believed that this option may return competitiveness to the Amateur stake. This is an optional event. A discussion filled with pros and cons against the proposal ensued.
Last year's proposal was made that every club that holds two trial per year would have the option of holding an Amateur, Derby and Qualifying stakes without an Open stake every other year. This proposal passed with 81 clubs voting: 50 in favor and 31 against. The resolution passed.
Clarify Rule: could have two trials in second year could have AM w/o Open plus Derby and Qualifying. So every other year a club can substitute one of their regular trials with one stated above.
Advice from the Advisory Board:
John Goetl discussed the subject of honoring for dogs in competitive stakes. It has been observed that recently judges are waving the honor with no just cause. The committee advises that every stake (Q, A, O) should have an honor if possible.
Next, the Advisory Board discussed the use of frozen birds in a trial. A club should not use birds that are frozen. Each club should make certain the birds are completely thawed before they are thrown.
The comment was made by John that this is the first Advisory Committee Meeting where advice to the retriever community has been given.
New Business
Discussion ensued about the spirit of the language for an Owner/Handler Amateur stake. It has been discussed that Co-Ownership is a way to escape the Owner/Handler rule. The Advisory Board felt the language should be made more clear. Much discussion followed. The point was made that this only affects the Owner/Handler Amateur stake. A club may elect they just want to hold an Amateur without that restriction.