Coonhound Advisor June 2020: Wins During COVID-19 Are Official
As published in the June 2020 Issue of CB
June 3, 2020
Source: Trevor Wade, UKC Coonhound Program Manager
Email: twade@ukcdogs.com
It is evident that spring is in the air in southwest Michigan by the vibrant blooms, active wildlife and intolerable allergies. It is unfortunate that two of my favorite seasons, spring coonhound competition season and baseball season, must be accompanied by the pollen that makes life borderline unbearable at times. I know a lot of you are in the same boat as I am and for that, I am sorry. Be sure you keep your Kleenex and eye drops close by and forgive me if you have trouble understanding my plugged mumbling when you call into the office.
Covid-19 really left a mark on UKC licensed events for the months of April and May. We truly appreciate the clubs for making our life easier by calling in their cancellations and working with us on the rescheduling of their events. Trying to fit a years worth of events into a smaller than usual window has been challenging but seeing the clubs work together to help themselves and UKC out has been refreshing to see. As of this writing, at the beginning of May, things seem to be opening up and we are getting less cancellation calls and more confirmation calls which is encouraging.
Most major events have been rescheduled at this point and we are getting make up dates for more and more RQEs each day. If you have any questions about an event you have plans to attend, the events calendar on our website is the first place I would recommend for you to look. It is being updated hourly during business hours. We also have Major Event and RQE schedules on our website that are being updated twice a week with the newest information we have available.
Wins During the Pandemic
Q: I decided to go to a local event that was happening last weekend and lucked up and won Best Male of Show and my cast as well. After posting my wins on Facebook, I was informed that UKC events were shut down and that my wins would not count towards my championship degrees. Is this accurate?
A: Man, we sure are getting a lot of these calls and Im not sure where this logic came from. From the beginning, UKC took the stance that each club would have the option to continue holding their events or to cancel/postpone them with no penalty. We also asked that they considered local and state restrictions and mandates. Restrictions varied from state to state, county to county and even city to city.
With that being said, events that clubs decided to continue on with are still official UKC licensed events. All wins achieved at those events will count towards championship degrees as usual. As a matter of fact, most of the wins from this time period should already be credited to the dog at the time of this printing.
To read some questions from the archive, view the full article
Guided by the belief that dogs make a difference by being the best partner a human can have in the field, on the job, or in a competition event, UKC is a community for people and dogs to pursue excellence together. Founded in 1898, UKC has been dedicated to enhancing the lives of Dogs That Do More, and their owners, by providing essential resources to help owners and breeders make informed decisions. The dog-human bond is celebrated through family-friendly programs highlighting the instincts and heritage of purebred and mixed-breed dogs alike at over 15,000 licensed events annually.