Championship Status - Irish Kennel Club
The Irish Kennel Club (IKC) operates under a Green Star system . . . Green Stars are the qualifications that lead to the title of Champion being conferred upon a dog.
A dog needs a minimum of 40 Green Star Points (GSP's) to become an Irish Champion & within those 40 points, at least 4 'Majors' must be obtained. The system appears relatively complicated compared to some other countries, but in reality it is not too difficult.
For Shetland
Sheepdogs, a GS & Res. GS is available at most Championship Shows for each Sex.
i.e. Green Star Dog Ticket & Green Star bitch Ticket. The number of points
obtained for the dog & bitch ticket is calculated from the number of dogs / bitches
respectively present.
The IKC allocate
each breed a GS Index Figure.
This number represents the number of dogs / bitches present
& correctly registered / transferred with the IKC. Dogs present but incorrectly registered, &
subsequently diqualified by IKC, do not count towards the value of a GS. The minimum
value of GPS's allocated to any one dog is 1 (one), while the maximum is
10 (Ten). Where only one GS is offered for a breed, a Mixed Index Figure is given, but this is rare
in Shelties.
The index figures for the current year should be printed in every Championship Show Catalogue. If the number of dogs present equals the GS index figure, then 5 GSP's are obtained. For every 20 % of dogs present above this figure, the GSP value is increased by 1 point. Similarly, for every 20 % below, the value is decreased by one point etc. However, only the IKC can confirm if all dogs present are correctly registered & thus count towards the value of the GS.
'Majors' are
classed as a 5 or more GSP's. At least 4 Majors are required before the title of
Irish Champion is Awarded. These may be obtained by winning :
Four 5 GSP's under four Different Judges.
Two 5 GSP's & one 10 GSP's under three Different Judges
Three 5 GSP's & one Group win under four Different Judges.
*** At least two of the Green Stars must be won after the age of twelve months ***
The GS dog or bitch winning Best Of Breed automatically obtains the highest number of GSPs available.
A dog may only use one group win towards the title of Champion, but all group wins during a specific year may be counted for the award of Annual Champion. The dog winning Best In Group is awarded the highest number of points obtained by any other dog competing in the group.
The title, "Annual
Champion" was introduced by the IKC ~ 30 years ago. It is awarded
to the top Green Star winning dog / bitch in it's breed, who has won at least 30 GSP's in
the current year. A dog winning two consecutive Annual Champions is award the title
of Irish Champion - this may be useful in numerically small breeds where it is difficult
to obtain the required majors. Each dog winning an annual championship is entitled
to put (AN --) after it's name. The dashes -- stand for the year in which annual
championship was awarded & this sometimes appears in catalogues.
Green Star Tickets
& Reserve Green Star tickets are awarded by the judge on the day of the show.
They are signed by the judge & a rosette may then be obtained from the Secretary at
most of the Championship Shows. Following the Award of a Green Star Ticket, the IKC
will post a certificate with the dog's registered name, name & date of the show
attended & the confirmed number of points obtained.
The Title of Champion may only be used following authorisation / verification from the IKC.
Correct to the best of my knowledge - April 2001