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Certificate of Conformation Assessment (CCA)
The Noncompetitive Conformation Assessment Program is one
that was created by the Golden Retriever Club of America (GRCA).
It provides for a Certificate of Conformation Assessment (CCA)
that can earned by Goldens over the age of 18 months who are
AKC or CKC registered, or have an AKC ILP number. Spayed and
neutered Goldens are expressly permitted, as well as those
owned by non-members of the GRCA.
Information regarding this program (entrants, event calendar, host member clubs,
evaluators) can be found by
clicking here.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
(answers from GRCA)
1) What is the original intent of the CCA? Twofold: (a) to provide a NON-COMPETITIVE area of participation in conformation
where dogs are assessed against the Breed Standard rather than merely against
other dogs present and (b) to give owners written reports as to the evaluators'
assessments which will provide information not available in the show ring.
2) How does the CCA compare to other basic non-competitive, entry level tests
offered to Golden Retrievers? Both the Hunt Test and WC programs require an
average passing score of 7 points in all categories and the number of attempts
is not limited. The CCA program is also on a point scale requiring the
dog to score a minimum of 75 or higher out of 100 possible points, broken down
into ten categories. A non-competitive CCA event tests the individual dog on the
physical conformation and temperament qualities as set forth in the Breed
Standard. There is a limit on the number of attempts that can be made. It also
has a mandatory pass for temperament and sets a minimum age of 18 months. While
the conformation quality of a retriever MAY improve with maturity and
conditioning, the basic structure changes very little.
The CCA, WC, and
Hunting Test programs are similar in that they all reward very good to excellent
representatives of the breed by comparison to an impartial criteria without bias
or dog-to-dog competition, and they all test the desired physical and/or mental
attributes of a sound hunting companion.
3) Why have a seemingly high percentage of dogs passed
so far? In most cases people are not likely to enter their dogs if they don't
have a reasonable expectation of qualifying, so poorer dogs will not often be
entered. Of the 35 evaluations done to date 17 have had at least one
championship parent and a number have already obtained points at AKC shows. Most
of these dogs have passed. Of the remaining 18, eight have passed. If the
quality of the dogs entered is high enough it is conceivable that all could
pass. The success of the program cannot be based on how many pass or fail.
4) Is there any difference between a CCA from three Category 1 evaluators versus
a dog that obtains the title from a panel that was not all from Category 1?
No. All evaluators are chosen because of their experience and background and a
willingness to give a written opinion and scores. At least two of the qualifying
scores must come from Category 1 evaluators in order to obtain the title.
5) Why wouldn't GRCA require all CCA evaluators to have bred, exhibited and had
success with Golden Retrievers only? There are certainly knowledgeable and
capable people judging Golden Retrievers for the AKC whose primary breed is not
ours, and many who come from other Groups as well. They add their wider
experience to the pool of evaluators, and there is a place for varying emphasis
within the program, just as there is in the show ring. There are also
performance people who have a strong dual knowledge of what is required to
produce physically good retrievers.
6) How many evaluators are there?
Approximately 3 dozen presently. We initially invited all breeder-judges of
Goldens to apply and more than half of them did. Some people applied through the
form posted on the website. A number of versatile breeder-exhibitors are being
contacted to expand the Category 2 listing...not all experienced people
necessarily want to become AKC judges. In order to make the program viable for
hosting clubs a broad geographical listing is desirable.
7) How could the
CCA Title add point value to the VC/VCX Program? Here are reasons the CCA adds value
and compares to other titles:
- Limited tries, a dog can’t campaign indefinitely for
this title.
- Qualified Evaluators with breed experience.
- In-depth evaluation of the Goldens conformation not
biased towards styles or trends and focused on breed
purpose.
- Open to all registered or ILP Goldens over 18 months
of age including those which have been spayed or
neutered.
- No limit to how many dogs can earn this title in a
calendar year. Which means if our breeders are breeding
more dogs to the standard there is no penalty because of
sheer numbers?
- Other entry level titles have unlimited tries and
can be trained with limited experience and inherited
basic instinct.
- Many titles that are awarded a high point value in
the Versatility titles have no relation to the standard.
They require a trained and talented golden.
- Many Goldens with good to excellent conformation
will not be campaigned in the show circuit due to time,
money or interest.
- If we only scored the field titles based on
competitive dog comparisons then none of the WC programs
or Hunt Test Programs could count towards a Versatility
title because there is no comparative judgment in those
events.
- Although this is not an official temperament test it
is a component of the CCA title.
- Experienced breeders and competitors who are not
approved AKC judges may qualify and make a difference by
becoming CCA Evaluators.
We have put faith in our evaluators, that they award
very-good to excellent representatives of the AKC Golden
Retriever Standard with a CCA title.
8) Why does
the CCA limit attempts to only six evaluations and why
can you see such a difference in scores between some of
these evaluations? The primary objective of the CCA
Program is to be very rewarding as an educational
experience. The goal of the program is to have everyone
walk away with respect, admiration for their golden and
a good understanding of the breed standard. Secondly, we
put faith in our qualified Evaluators to be objective,
educational and reward (with qualifying scores and
honorable mentions) good to excellent representatives of
the breed in relation to the standard regardless of
styles or trends etc. The scores will always differ to
varying degrees since the standard leaves room to be
subjective. However, the key to managing these
differences is to award a dog that is ABLE to obtain
three qualifying scores or honorable mentions from the 3
different Evaluators in a limited amount of tries
regardless of individual preference or style. The limit
was never meant to weaken chances at a title; it was put
in place as part of the requirement to earn a CCA
Certificate. The requirement being, the dog must receive
a qualifying score or honorable mention at a MINIMUM of
50% of its evaluations without the owner/entrant being
able to select the Evaluators individually.
9)
Can you enter under the same Evaluator twice? As a
participant you will always have the right to choose the
CCA Events you wish to enter but the dog must be entered
under all the Evaluators on the premium list. A dog may
be entered under the same Evaluator twice but only one
qualifying score may count towards a CCA certificate.
Entering under the same Evaluator could lessen your
chances of earning the CCA title if you already have a
qualifying score from that individual. However, if a
previous score wasn’t qualifying there is always a
possibility the dog may receive a better score the
second time under the same Evaluator. Dogs can look
different on a different day.
10) What do I bring
to a second event if my dog has qualifying scores from a
previous event? It is a good idea to bring the
paperwork showing previous qualifying scores with you.
Make sure the CCA Event Secretary is aware of your prior
passes when you arrive at the second event or send a
note along with your entry form. Also, we would hope and
expect people to honor an entrant’s word and everything
is verified with the CCA Committee before the actual
certificates are mailed out.
11) May the host club limit how many dogs an individual
owner can enter? The CCA Committee does not place any
restrictions on host clubs regarding limits except that
only 1 entry per dog may be accepted. An example of a
host club limitation might be: “No owner may have a
second dog chosen unless the first dog of all applicants
have been accepted.” The host club may also choose NO
limits or to limit owners to two or three or four dogs
in an effort to be fair to all applicants. It is our
hope that many future events will meet demand and host
clubs will not have to favor limits.
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