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Rethinking the Criteria for the ABC Show Site 

by Sandy Orr 
Orrkid Boxers, Omaha, Nebraska

It seems that we (the ABC) are having a tough time finding a spot for the national – one that meets all the criteria that we have decided it needs, as well as the meeting the main criterion...being affordable. Other breed clubs seem not to have this problem, although many of them hold roving nationals and change venues every year. So I decided to do some research using the Doberman club (DPCA) for comparison. I am still waiting for information on the criteria the DPCA has set for their national show sites, and will add that data when I receive it. 

The Dobe National Criteria.

I contacted several DPCA members whom I know personally, and asked about their procedures and numbers. They hold a roving national, which is basically hosted by local clubs, who bid for the privilege. The procedure is very similar to the way we handle our regionals. They have a national specialty coordinator who then goes through the process of negotiating the contracts with the hotel, etc., to get the best prices once a site has been chosen by the membership.

In 2003, the Dobe national was held in Colorado Springs, CO, which has no major hub airport. I was given the number of entries directly from the catalog, and was told that this number was much lower than usual due to the economy and the location.

The numbers for the DPCA national were:

I was also given the numbers for the host specialty prior to the national:

By comparison, Boxer numbers at our 2003 national were:

I was told that the normal entry for the Dobe futurity is around 200, dogs 140, and bitches 180 - didn't get any other numbers for the norm. From this you can see that their Agility and Obedience have higher entries than we do but their futurity and specialty have fewer entries.

The number of RV's at the Dobe national ranges from 40 to 60 total - so they have fewer than we have to park.

I was pointed to the DPCA web site for information on the 2004 Dobe national which will be held (Ta-Da! :-) at the Drawbridge Inn in October. The dates are October 11th through the 16th, with host club shows beginning on October 8th, so if someone were to attend the entire event it would be 9 days. The Dobe national takes up 6 of those days.

I also received some of the entry numbers from the last Dobe national that was held at the Drawbridge in 2001 (obviously, the Dobe people found the Drawbridge to their liking):

These numbers are a little closer to the ABC count.

The schedule as it is posted now is:

They seem to have as many activities/events as we do. In fact, the person I got this information from said that people complained in 2002 that they didn't have enough time to feed their dogs with everything going on so they only had one fund raising dinner (don't know how many they normally have). It appears that each night there is activity in the lounge after the events of the day :-).

Their RV parking for 2004 is $375 for the week and includes water and 2 dumps, propane can be purchased but is not included in this fee. They do not provide generators.

For 2004, they have 3 different areas for booths at varying costs from $380 to $400 for a 10’ X 8’ booth, which includes side and rear walls, an 8 foot skirted table, a sign, two chairs and a wastebasket. Electrical service must be arranged with and paid directly to the hotel.

Their annual dinner usually ranges in price from $25 to $34 per person. This evidently is well attended because the awards are distributed and the Top 20 winners (Obedience, Agility & Conformation) are announced.

This concludes my report. I found this interesting, because I was curious as to how other nationals manage to have shows in various parts of the country without seeming to have the "issues" that we have. I am not sure what this information tells us except that I think we need to re-visit the criteria that seem to be "required" for the ABC. The Dobe national has as many events as we have. Their obedience and agility numbers are bigger than ours although their futurity and specialty numbers are less. They have fewer RV's to park but not everyone who comes to the ABC in an RV is a handler. If the Dobes can park 60 RV's at their national, I think we can accommodate the handler RVs at ABC.

Also, the Dobe national isn't necessarily in a place where there is a major hub airport. Do we really need that? A major hub airport is only useful for those folks who also live in an area with a major hub airport. Those who do not live in a city with a major hub airport have to drive to the nearest major hub airport city in order to get a direct flight anyway.

These are just some thoughts to throw out since we seem to be having such a tough time finding an affordable, centrally located, major hub airport city, etc., etc., to hold the national. I think the site committee is doing a wonderful job, I just think we’ve given them an impossible job, with all the criteria that have to be met.