Hello all, many of you may have heard about the new program that was just approved for China.? You have also probably seen the CFA News announcement.? There are certainly lots of rumors out there at the moment.? We value all of our CFA judges immensely and ?want to give you some of the background behind this and hopefully alleviate some of your concerns.
The challenge is simple, relations between China and the United States are not good.? Add Covid-19 and competing China based associations into the mix and things get even more dicey.?? In the last month, we have received word of several new China based cat associations that threaten to negatively impact CFA's presence in China.? They are all starting to have live shows again and that presents a huge problem for CFA.? We are told that TICA has already arranged to have China based judges set up so they can proceed with live shows.? We have some very talented CFA approved judges in China, but not enough to be able to sustain a full show.? It is clear that it will be some time before we can get U.S. judges into China and for the immediate future the borders are closed to other areas as well.? So at the moment, we cannot even get judges from other areas in Asia and Europe into Mainland China.? With the other associations gearing up to have shows again, we needed to come up with a plan that would enable us to have relevance in an area that represents over 60% of our income.??
We are including a copy of the plan approved by the Board below, but here are highlights:
- These individuals will be?Associate?CFA judges, not CFA judges
- They will be approved to judge in China ONLY
- They will not be Allbreed, they come in as single specialty which means that the shows in China, when they happen will have a lot of specialty rings.
- IF they choose to take the next step to become a regular CFA judge they will apply using provisions as broken out in the Judging Program Rules section 3.8
- There must be at least one regular CFA Judge at every show.
This plan is in no way meant to devalue our existing program or disrespect our CFA judges. It is simply another option for starting the journey to becoming a CFA judge.
The individuals chosen for Team One are superstars in their own right and have significant experience with CFA.
This is a radical new experiment that we hope is a success both in bringing us new talent, new ways to train and keeps us active in areas that are challenged with judge availability.?
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CHINA ASSOCIATE JUDGE PROPOSAL
BACKGROUND:?As you know, registrations from China make up a majority of CFA's income. Despite CFA shows having been severely restricted by the NGO, and now the pandemic, registrations are still coming in strong from China. It is obvious that this cannot be sustained without immediate show activity. CFA's financial future will be severely impacted unless a swift solution is arrived at.
CFA shows in China have come to a standstill due to the pandemic. All people outside of China, including Hong Kong, must go into a 14 day quarantine in order to enter China, so that makes it impossible for any outside judges to work there right now. Because of the number of COVID-19 cases in the United States and a sensitive political climate, it will probably be a very long time before U.S. judges can return to China.
In the meantime, there are now four associations working in China: ICE with Vivian Qian, CCA with Allen Chen, GCCFA with Pana Wang, and UCA with Yo Yo He. There are many other groups in China planning to have their own shows, so there are going to be numerous small associations popping up. Some of these associations are currently holding shows. In desperation, some of CFA's strongest supporters have had to resort to exhibiting in these associations.
Many people in China feel that CFA is finished in China, and that we won't be able to function there. The NGO office in China at this point is not approving U.S. organizations. However, several groups feel that they can successfully host CFA shows in alternative ways.
Simply put, without judges in China who are Chinese residents, CFA will lose its presence in China forever. We do not have a year or two to move Chinese applicants through the training process and forward to judging in our usual fashion. By then, China will have been lost to us. At this very moment, the opportunity is slipping through our fingers. The following proposal will satisfy the need to populate a judging ring with a judge with minimal qualifications. While not a perfect scenario, it will keep CFA alive in China, while giving hope to our Chinese exhibitors and showing the world that we are supporting that area in a new and innovative way.
PROPOSAL:?This is proposed to be an experimental program, to be up and running as soon as possible, for implementation during the COVID-19 reorganization. If the program is successful, it could be ongoing, not only in China but at the regional level in the United States, or in remote countries and areas.
Phase I Program Participants:
For the first test round, a small group of Chinese candidates from diverse areas and affiliations within CFA were selected by the subcommittee and will receive an invitation to go through this experimental program. These candidates are thought to have the potential to be successful. They are prominent people in China who already have a significant investment in CFA and the cat fancy with many years' experience, are licensed clerks, and have some proficiency in reading and writing English.
Gavin Cao??? ?? (Approved CFA SH judge) LH Trainee
Yi Chang???????????????????? LH Trainee
Eva Chen??????????????????? LH Trainee
Howe Gao???? ????????????? SH Trainee
Chris Lee?????? ???????????? SH Trainee
Katherine Liu ???????????? SH Trainee
Allen Shi??????? ????????????? SH Trainee
Agnes Sun?????????????????? LH Trainee
Mulin Yang ??????????????? LH Trainee
Kitty Jie Zhang ????????? SH? Trainee
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Phase II Participants and Beyond:
Additional individuals, either suggested by board members or the subcommittee, will receive an invitation to participate in future rounds of acceptance.
Training:
The concept is "on-the-job training." A core group of CFA Allbreed Judge trainers ("trainers") will be formed, to provide the candidates with whatever tools and assistance they need, to get started.
Online training would begin with the online breed presentations. Candidates would view all available presentations in their particular specialty, followed by a very limited test.
At least one Zoom handling session would be conducted with a trainer. The applicant would need to have available for the handling session several examples of breeds in their specialty. For instance, a SH applicant would need an example of a slinky, a working breed and a moderate breed available at the Zoom session. If the applicant requires an additional session, that would be set up a week later so they can absorb the handling advice.
When the online training and handling session(s) are satisfactorily completed, the candidate will be given the title of "CFA Associate Judge" and the Board of Directors will be notified. The Associate Judge may only judge shows in China.
Evaluation:
Once the Associate Judge begins judging shows, they will be evaluated by the club. At least one CFA judge must be at each show at which any Associate Judge officiates, to serve as a lead judge to answer questions and provide assistance, if needed.
Incentive:
The Associate Judge could convert to regular status in the same manner as a guest judge would qualify, according to Judging Program Rule 3.8.
