United Belgian Shepherd Dog Association Judge Selection Procedures Revised UBSDA requirements to judge Belgian Shepherd Dogs in Conformation at UKC events In order to bring the UBSDA conformation judge requirements more into line with that of the other special breed requirements for UKC judges of the Toy Fox Terrier, the American Eskimo and the American Pit Bull Terrier dogs, the following changes are recommended to the Official UKC Judge’s Handbook effective immediately following UKC approval. “VI Conformation Judge Rules.    E.  Special procedures to apply to judge American Eskimos, Toy Fox Terriers, American Pit Bull Terriers,    and Belgian Shepherd Dogs. 4. Applying to judge the Belgian Shepherd Dog. In addition to the qualifications and requirements outlined for all conformation Judges, a person applying to judge Belgian Shepherd Dogs must complete the following requirements:  a.)Local Club recommendation.  Applicant must be recommended by the local Belgian Shepherd Dog club of which he/she is a  member. Applicants who are not members of a local Belgian Shepherd Dog club  must be recommended by three members of the UBSDA Board of Directors.  The letter of recommendation  must be signed by three officers of the sponsoring club and sent to the UBSDA Judges Coordinator  Committee who will then forward it to the UBSDA Board of Directors.  b.)Written test on the breed standard.      Recommended applicants will be required to successfully complete a written test on the UKC    Belgian Shepherd Dog breed standard.  c.)United Belgian Shepherd Dog Association (UBSDA) recommendation.      In order to receive a recommendation from UBSDA the following requirement are needed in    addition to the receipt of a judge’s letter of recommendation from any local Belgian Shepherd Dog    club or three members of the UBSDA Board of Directors:          1)  The applicant must have a successful completion of the written test on the UKC Belgian Shepherd                 Dog breed standard.          2) The UBSDA will review the applicant’s credentials, print the applicants name in the Belgian              Beacon for membership review (45 days).          3) The applicant should be involved with the BSD in some facet of UKC competition such as             conformation, or any performance event for at least 2 years.          4) The applicant is strongly encouraged to follow the UBSDA recommendation to use the               Assisted Animation with Critiques when judging the BSD at UKC licensed events.          5) The applicant must be a member of UBSDA.          6 ) The UBSDA Board of Directors will make a recommendation to the UKC which will include the            original letter of recommendation (see 4a). A copy of the recommendation will be provided to the            applicant.  d.)Apprentice Judge.        Applicants who pass the written test on the breed standard and are      recommended by the UBSDA as UKC Belgian Shepherd Dog judges are eligible to accept assignments      as an apprentice judge of Belgian Shepherd Dogs, and will be so notified by the UKC within 30 days      of receipt of the recommendation letter from the UBSDA. The rules for apprentice judges of BSD's      are the same as for American Eskimo apprentice judges regarding applying for an apprentice judging      assignment, approval/denial of application for an apprentice judging assignment, Duties of an      Apprentice Judge, Prohibitions, Non-licensed classes, Apprentice Judge Evaluation Form and the Duties      of Senior Judges with Apprentices   e.) Completing an apprenticeship.       Upon satisfactory completion of the requirements below, an       Apprentice Belgian Shepherd Dog Judge will be notified by the UKC that he/she can now accept       assignments as a licensed Probationary Belgian Shepherd Dog Judge:            Serve as a Scribe for as many UKC licensed conformation shows as it takes for the Apprentice             Judge to document Senior Judge’s comments on a minimum of 15 different Belgian Shepherd             Dogs using the assisted animation process and the Assisted Animation Long or Short Form.              Serve as an Apprentice Judge of Belgian Shepherd Dogs at as many UKC licensed Conformation             shows as it takes for the Apprentice Judge to evaluate a minimum of 20 different Belgian            Shepherd Dogs using the assisted animation process and the Long or Short form.             Serve as an Apprentice Judge under at least three different licensed Senior Judges.        Receive favorable recommendations from at least three Senior Judges.    f.) Probationary Judge.           A person must serve as a Probationary Judge for a minimum of two years         after licensing, during which time he/she must judge Belgian Shepherd Dogs at least 4 times         using the Assisted Animation /Critique Procedure (Long or Short Form) at least three times.           No Probationary Judge may authorize an Apprentice Judge to serve under him/her.  During                         the probationary period, UKC will evaluate the performance of Probationary Judges.  Judges         who successfully complete the probationary period will automatically qualify as a Senior Judge                 unless notified otherwise by the UKC.    g.) Senior Judge.           A Senior Judge may not evaluate more than one Apprentice Judge during any show.   Back to the UBSDA Homepage