Wcra Rule Clarification

[Cu-Luath Whippets]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

Sorry - I have only just been able to access the board after a long absence.

I have been reading and noting everyones comments on this topic and it has been very helpful.

If anyone would like to phone me to discuss the WCRA disqualification rules as they stand or as they would like to see them changed, please feel free to ring me.

My mobile number I believe is well known to all - but if not - 07768 687475

Would you like to see this topic included in the WCRA Talk in for example???

I will take your comments on board and to the committee for discussion.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Hi June,

I'd think it would be a good idea to see an upto date list of disqualified dogs sent out to the Secretary of a club holding an Open so they know who are didq for that open.

so say it was the northern on the Sunday I could recieve a letter by say Friday showing what can't run as i'm sure i'm not the only 1 who has no idea of what dogs are excluded from racing as an open approches.

I was going to send Paul a letter for inclusion at the talk in but if you would want to do it as part of your bit i'm happy for you to do that?.

 

[BeeJay]

Hi June,            I'd think it would be a good idea to see an upto date list of disqualified dogs sent out to the Secretary of a club holding an Open so they know who are didq for that open.

so say it was the northern on the Sunday I could recieve a letter by say Friday showing what can't run as i'm sure i'm not the only 1 who has no idea of what dogs are excluded from racing as an open approches.

I can't see that this would work Mark. The time scale mightn't allow it.

If a dog clears on a Saturday or say Thursday evening before an open on Sunday then as long as they've served the 7 day suspension before successfully clearing then that dog should be passed okay to run on the Sunday.

The WCRA couldn't get the info to you in time. The dog is still cleared for racing.

If the dog can't run then it will be disqualified for longer than the 7 days laid down in the rules. Which would be unfair.

Basically at some point you have to rely on the honesty of the owners and trust them.

 

[Scott Frodsham]

Hi June,          I'd think it would be a good idea to see an upto date list of disqualified dogs sent out to the Secretary of a club holding an Open so they know who are didq for that open.

so say it was the northern on the Sunday I could recieve a letter by say Friday showing what can't run as i'm sure i'm not the only 1 who has no idea of what dogs are excluded from racing as an open approches.

I can't see that this would work Mark. The time scale mightn't allow it.

If a dog clears on a Saturday or say Thursday evening before an open on Sunday then as long as they've served the 7 day suspension before successfully clearing then that dog should be passed okay to run on the Sunday.

The WCRA couldn't get the info to you in time. The dog is still cleared for racing.

If the dog can't run then it will be disqualified for longer than the 7 days laid down in the rules. Which would be unfair.

Basically at some point you have to rely on the honesty of the owners and trust them.

Anybody heard of that thing that Alexander Graham Bell invented ? :clown:

If a dog cleared on Thursday, you'd have Friday and Saturday to get in touch with the RM. :b

 

[BeeJay]

Yes Scott. But Mark is asking for a list of disqualified dogs from June not the dogs owner to contact him. His point I believe is that he can't rely on the owners to be truthful or know about the cleared or not status of their dogs. If he felt that he could then he wouldn't need a list from June would he. Things would carry on as they do now.

If he could trust the owners word then he would simply accept that any dogs running weren't disqualified. Also that owers of any dogs that have previously re-cleared on the day wouldn't ask to do so again that year.

 

[john doe]

There must already be some kind of system in place for informing Clubs about dogs that are disq.

Or could you tell me when a disq dog last ran at an Open.????????????????????????

SUBJECT CLOSED :cheers:

 

[Mark Roberts]

Hi BJ I take your point but Scott has hit the nail on the head, if a Secretary was sent an up to date list say mid week as it stood then they could always be given a call to let them know of a late clearence but theres not many places to clear mid week is there (South Cotts, HOE) so a quick call could update the list.

it would mean 1 letter needing to be sent out a week with maybe 1 phone call as well! not exactly going to break the back is it.

Most owners are 100% truthfull but I think we need more communication on the matter between WCRA & Clubs

 

[Cu-Luath Whippets]

Hi again everyone

Re your anxiety about who is on the disqualified list, I phone the club secretary every Friday just before their open to let them know who is disqualified and who has already trialled on the day and is therefore not eligible to do this again. Secretaries all have my mobile number and can contact me at any time if they have any concerns, as can anyone.

A new form was circulated to club secretaries with a covering letter the week I took office! Can I remind them that if a dog is disqualified at their open this needs to be completed and sent to me within four days, so that I can process it for the following open and if applicable one given to the owner also.

If an owner has NOT sent me their clearance trial form, then their dog is not cleared to race. An owner clearing on the Saturday just prior to the Sunday open has not yet occurred. Should this happen I will look at the circumstances at the time and of course ensure that a) the rules are followed and that b) every opportunity is given for the dog to run if it is entitled to do so.

Can I ask if anyone has any concerns or queries about disqualification rules to contact me. I am looking at the current rules to see if they can be tidied up, all constructive! comments are welcome.

Thanks to those of you who have already responded to me - I promise all your points will be considered, I know I will not be able to please everyone, but I promise to do the best I can to ensure safe racing and fair rules.

June

 

[Judy]

Hi June

Perhaps the uncertainty about when a dog can race again could be cleared up. The rules I have read (which may be out of date) say " A disqualified whippet shall be suspended for seven days and a minimum of three acceptable consecutive clearing trials will be required before the whippet may compete again."

Does the seven days start on the day of disqualification or the day after - i.e. if a dog is disqualified on a Sunday at an open, can it run the following Sunday (presuming it has cleared) or not.

I always thought that because the suspension started as soon as the dog was disqualified, that Sunday would be day one and the following Saturday would be day 7 which would mean the dog could race on the Sunday following the disqualification but others interpret it differently, counting the Monday as day one. Just think it should be cleared up.

Also, I inerpret it to mean that a dog whilst being suspended from competing, can clear at any time i.e. during the week after being DQed and does not have to wait for seven days before being allowed to do clearing trials but again some people think otherwise so that bit needs to be re-worded too maybe.

Ahhhh, the ins and outs of whippet racing. :teehee:

 

[Mark Roberts]

Thats the point I was trying to make Judy,

A dog clears say Saturday at the HOE and the owner then comes to an open on the Sunday to race their cleared dog but as June has not recieved the clearence form with the dog only clearing on the Saturday would/could that dog be allowed to race.

and how would Clubs know what is & isn't clear to race if we never get a list (and updates) of dogs on the disqualified list?.

Sorry June I know it's more work for you but you did ask for suggestions, it was somthing I was going to put forward for descussion at the next talk in.

 

[Cu-Luath Whippets]

Hi again!

The rule is as follows:

If a whippet is disqualified on Sunday and does not / cannot retrial on the day, it has to wait 7 days before it can do 3 clearing trials.

That means that it cannot do the first of its clearing trials until the following Sunday at the earliest, which means it cannot run at any Open/Champs on that day.

It has to do 3 consecutive clearing trials - once completed and signed correctly, the form is then sent to myself. It is up to the owner to ensure that their dog is cleared OK and the form is sent and received and acceptable to the WCRA. I am always happy to talk to any owner who has queries about the current status of their dog, or procedure to clear their dog.

Lists of disqualified dogs are not posted / published as changes are constantly ongoing. To repeat what I said previously I phone the Secretary of the Open on the Friday/Saturday before their Open (that is the day before) and tell them who is disqualified and who cannot retrial on the day under the one hit rule. So they know if any dogs have entered who are not eligible to run and can take appropriate action if needed.

Since I have become disqualification officer, there has been two occasions when disqualified dogs have been entered, as they were entered before their disqualification. On both occasions the owners withdrew the dogs without any intervention by the club or WCRA, as one would expect responsible owners to do.

I know the rules seem hazy in some areas, and I do welcome all constructive comments. This is why I am going to look at them over the next few months with the aim of trying to tidy them up and clarify them, so that they are easier. Also I know that there are some major changes which many people would like to see. These will need to be decided on a democratic basis by the WCRA committee and clubs. If you would like to propose a specific change or any amendments, please would you email or phone me so I can collate all ideas.

Can I also highlight that as the Disqualification Officer I am looking at the DISQUALIFICATION RULES, not the rules on fighting, if you want these reviewd then ask your club secretary to write to the WCRA / bring it up at the talk in. They are two very different areas, although linked! I only deal with the scenario after the race manager has pronounced the dog disqualified!

Thanks to everyone who has responded so far.

June

 

[Judy]

If a whippet is disqualified on Sunday and does not / cannot retrial on the day,  it has to wait 7 days before it can do 3 clearing trials.

Ahh.. but that's not what the rule actually says and it's not what has happened in the past. The rule says suspended for 7 days and doing 3 clearing trials (not before doing 3 clearing trials) before being allowed to compete again.

To quote directly - " A disqualified whippet shall be suspended for seven days and a minimum of three acceptable consecutive clearing trials will be required before the whippet may compete again."

So is that just your interpretation June ? You see the problem!

 

[BeeJay]

>So is that just your interpretation June ? You see the problem!

As June is the disqualification officer then I don't see any problem at all Judy.

It's June doing the job so I'd take her interpretation over yours. Of course the way that June interpreted this rule as you know is also the way that I did. So I would say that she's right wouldn't I.

Actually the rule says ..........."shall be suspended for seven days and a must go back to the clubs in order that a minimum of THREE acceptable consecutive clearance trials may take place before the whippet may compete again................"

God knows what 'and a' means?? :teehee:

 

[Strike Whippets]

I personally feel that it's up to June to decide what's right or wrong :b but going by what our WCRA rules posted to South Cotswolds club is that a Whippet is disqualified for 7 days, then it's clearing trials can begin after that ..........I know that Whippet racing is ment to be for fun, but i honestly feel that we are getting more and more competative in peddie Whippet racing, so we could really do with taking any fighting / dodgy dog very seriously :thumbsup: and give them a decent amount of time to re-clear properly as i for one am fed up with my dog getting knocked from pillar to post in the name of fun

 

[Judy]

I personally feel that it's up to June to decide what's right or wrong

But Hannah, tha's the whole point !!!! :blink: - Its supposed to be rule that's not open to interpretation because one persons interpretation should be no more valid than anyone else's.

 

[ChrisBishop]

I agree with June as to the 7 day thing and read it as a dog when disqualified is so for 7 days and therefore UNABLE to race on the following Sunday !!! as you are unable to use the day it was disqualified as its first day.. and 7 days is 7 days !

I have read this section of the disqualification rules by the WCRA quite thoroughly and beleive that you may have an out of date ruling Judy as it states :-

" it is also the responsibility of the race manager to inform the race manager or club secretary of the following weeks open of any dog that has been disqualified and could be entered for that event "!!

Why else would you need to do this if the dog was allowed to re-clear during that week and race again on the following Sunday.Surely this would be unfair and would not be a punishment for fighting in the first place , if this wasn't the case.

I'm aware that this hasn't happened in the past but perhaps it would be for the benefit of Whippet racing as a whole if disqualified dogs did go back to club racing and re-schooled then we might not be passing this problem from one open to the next ... :- " :sweating:

 

[Nigel]

I think it would be a good idea if the WCRA published the definitive, up to date, rules on their WCRA notice board - that's what its there for to keep everyone informed :- "

How can any club or officials have any hope of deciding what is correct and what isn't if no one is even sure what the latest set of rules are :wacko: - let alone what the interpretation of the rules should be...

 

[Judy]

Why else would you need to do this if the dog was allowed to re-clear during that week and race again on the following Sunday.Surely this would be unfair and would not be a punishment for fighting in the first place , if this wasn't the case.

Don't think the rule is meant as a punishment Chris. Its there to weed out the fighters and make sure they re-clear before racing again.

 

[Cu-Luath Whippets]

Hi everyone

A copy of the WCRA Rules of Racing, which includes the fighting and disqualification rules, was sent to each Club Secretary at the beginning of the season I understand, by the WCRA.

The copy should be noted with Revision 02, November 2003 at the end. This is the current copy.

I note your point Nigel about posting them on the web. I will look further into this.

Thanks to everyone else who has responded so far, please keep sending your emails or phone my mobile.

June