trial waiver for usa clubs - Page 1

what is a legitimate reason for a trial waiver?who has the ultimate power to decide in the end?does usa really care if old small time clubs loose status?hegins valley police and schutzhund club member.steve

In our region the RD decides on whether a trial waiver should be granted. I do not know if the organization can help if there is disagreement about it. I personally do not see the reason for a requirement to have a trial annually, and yes, despite all the people who live in areas with lots of large clubs and lots of helpers and lots of everything, some of the requirements for the organization make little sense. It is the same about all of us NOT having a real voice in the organization. If you can not send someone to some place for some meeting over the course of several days, then no one cares what you think either. That is wrong, especially in this day and age where there are plenty of ways to allow individuals to be heard. For example, I just mailed off my absentee ballot for next weeks' election. The bottom line is, in my opinion, most people at the top of the organization, and the wannabes', could give a damn about the single people who train alone and have no club, and the clubs that are small. Some of us have tried to bring this up, but all one gets is slammed for doing so.

In our region the RD decides on whether a trial waiver should be granted. I do not know if the organization can help if there is disagreement about it. I personally do not see the reason for a requirement to have a trial annually, and yes, despite all the people who live in areas with lots of large clubs and lots of helpers and lots of everything, some of the requirements for the organization make little sense. It is the same about all of us NOT having a real voice in the organization. If you can not send someone to some place for some meeting over the course of several days, then no one cares what you think either. That is wrong, especially in this day and age where there are plenty of ways to allow individuals to be heard. For example, I just mailed off my absentee ballot for next weeks' election. The bottom line is, in my opinion, most people at the top of the organization, and the wannabes', could give a damn about the single people who train alone and have no club, and the clubs that are small. Some of us have tried to bring this up, but all one gets is slammed for doing so.

I agree hodie. My impression is that the club trials I have been to are closed sets. Try to find out the results in writing on the net. Impossible. If you know what I mean. And the bigger your name in the sport, the more leeway you get. Schutzhund will never be popular in the hinterlands unless some of this nonsense is changed. I know. I know. The USA won the World's. That doesn't help John Doe who is interested in the sport but is told by everyone he talks to: "You can't get there from here". Too much behind the scences crap going on. It's about as open and accessible as the town government where I live. If you miss the meeting, you can only depend on 2nd hand info or rumors. D'Mann

doggman, Trials, by rule, can not be closed to spectators, if that is what you are referring to. Clubs can deny entry to someone for cause although it is not considered "sportsmanlike". Schutzhund will never be popular for a number of reasons, as much as I love it. First and foremost, the politics is crap and most people have no time or interest in that. Secondly, it takes a long, long time to train a dog, under the best of circumstances. Good and friendly and open clubs are hard to find. Helpers who are competent are even harder to find. And there are other reasons as well. But Schutzhund is a human artifact in any case and is certainly not the only true measure of a good dog!

As a Regional Director if a club makes every effort to host a trial during the year and cannot because , field, Judge, helper, not enough entries, etc. etc. I have no problem with giving a trial waiver. Some clubs have hardships and I understand that. The biggest problem I have is no communication with me on what a clubs needs are. Clubs have all year to schedule, train and ready themselves for a trial and even the smallest club can pull of a trial. If they need I'll get dogs from my own club to enter to give them enough for a trial. But the problem is Politics among clubs, politics within the organization, Politics within each club, Training directors in clubs having a strangle hold on members (My way or the Highway), etc etc. I do agree not enough attention is given to the regular John Q Public. As I have said many times over it is the 4500+ members in the organization that runs USA, Not the 2 or 3 world team members, or Executive Board members. As far as every USA member having a vote, then at the very least they should allow members that go to the GBM to vote that may not necessarily be a delegate. But to count 4500+ members vote on a motion brought up at the GBM would be a logistic nightmare. Uwe

"Clubs have all year to schedule, train and ready themselves for a trial and even the smallest club can pull of a trial." I agree, especially now that a person can enter SchHA, TRs, and OBs. If your club can't get 4 phases and 1 SchH dog each year (from your own ranks or from calling in neighbors) to fill out the minimum entries for the trial, isn't something wrong with the training program OR with the attitude in the club? If you don't want to have a trial each year, why not be a training group not affiliated with any organization? Especially if you truly feel that your voice isn't being heard in the organizations you currently belong to? As for club trials, I have seen some TDs be adamantly against their members trialing anywhere else, and I have seen the flip side where some clubs don't want any outsiders to join them at their trials. Both cases are pretty sad - desperation to keep their own little kingdoms intact and their deals undisturbed. Of course, not all clubs are like this.