Important Information on Showing with TICA

Important Information on Showing with TICA – please read

Welcome to showing with TICA. We hope you have an enjoyable day here at the show.

Please take the time to read this leaflet – as it describes how a TICA show is run – and this is very different from

the GCCF or FIFe show formats that you may be used to.

Benching

After vetting-in, please take your cat(s) to their assigned pens in the benching area.
Your name or number will be on the front of the pens and there will be a plan of the hall as well to help you.
Cats from the same owner are benched together rather than by class as is more usual at GCCF shows.
Pens can be decorated (as at the Supreme or at FIFe shows).Or you can use your own portable pens eg. sturdipens
Please make sure that your cats have access to water and a litter tray. Food and toys can be left in
the pens at any time.
The cats are only handled by the exhibitor or the judge, so unlike GCCF or TICA shows, cats are not
required to have tags round their neck

The Catalogue

At TICA shows, the cats, kittens, alters (which is how TICA describes neuters) and household pets
are divided into
Long-Hair and Short-Hair categories and then into breeds.
LH Kittens are numbered from 1 to 50, SH Kittens 51 to 100
LH Cats are numbered from 101 to 200, SH Cats from 201 to 300
LH Alters use numbers from 301 to 350, SH Alters from 351 to 399
LH HHPs are numbered from 401 and SH HHPs are numbered from 451.
Please check your catalogue for any errors such as the cat's breed, colour, sex, or age - you must see
the entry clerk to get any corrections made before judging starts.
Other errors (such as spelling mistakes) can be notified to the Master Clerk during the day.

When to take your cat to a Ring

Judging takes place in the judging area, each ring is presided over by a judge, who has a Ring Clerk
and perhaps a steward to help him.
The Ring Clerk ensures that the right exhibits are called up to the ring at the right time, and also records
the judge’s decisions.
The steward is responsible for keeping the holding pens clean and, unlike GCCF or FIFe shows, stewards
will not handle any cats or transfer cats to/from the benching area.
There will be a judging schedule printed on the back of the catalogue, to give you some idea of when
your cat will be judged in each ring.
Each Ring Clerk will also make a series of announcements – for example “This is Ring 1, can we have
SH cats 251 to 256 to Ring 1 please”
It is your job as the exhibitor to ensure that your cat goes to the relevant ring, and is put into the holding
pen with its number on it.
It is important that you listen out for your cat’s number and get to the ring promptly.
If the judge is transferring a cat to/from a holding pen, then please wait until the cat is either on the judging
table or back in the pen.
Unlike FIFe shows, you may not sit holding your cat unless you have explicit permission from the judge.
If your cat is already in another ring (e.g. for judging or Finals) then please let the Ring Clerk know immediately
and they will guide you on what to do if this happens.
Ring Clerks will make up to 3 calls for a cat – if it is not in the ring, it will then be marked as absent from that ring.
Individual cat numbers are not normally announced for “Finals” – when the ring clerk announces that (for example)
“numbers are posted for kitten finals in Ring 3” – you will need to check if your cat’s number is on a pen in the
judging ring.

Judging

In judging, kittens, cats and alters are judged separately. All that the Judge knows about the cat is the breed,
colour, sex and age.
Although the speed of judging may be faster than you have experienced before, the judges have been trained
to properly evaluate your cat. Generally, TICA judges handle a cat for as long as a FIFe judge does – but because
there is no written report it seems so much faster !
The judge takes the cat from the holding pen, places it on the judging table, evaluates the cat against their
knowledge of the written standard, returns the cat to the pen and continues on.
Do not speak to the judge unless you are specifically addressed by the judge.
Should you need to relay any information to the judge, speak first to the ring clerk and they in turn will notify the judge

Taking your cat out of the Ring

Once the judge or the ring clerk has turned the number card on the pen face down, this is a signal for you to remove
your cat from the holding pen.
Please remember to mark your catalogue with your cats placings as you will need the results to calculate your scores for
any title awards.
During Finals, once the judge has announced the Best Cat/Kitten/Alter, then you can take your cat out of the ring,
along with your Finals rosette.

Judging Sequence

There is a pyramid of evaluation – first all cats of the same breed and colour are judged against the TICA standard
for that breed.
Up to 5 cats are selected as the best-five representatives of their breed in that colour, and the judge will place different
coloured ribbons on the pens to show the placings.
Blue is Best of Colour, red is 2nd Best of Colour, yellow is 3rd Best of Colour, green is 4th Best of Colour and white is
5th Best of Colour.
After judging each colour class within a Division, the judge will then award Division placings - Best of Division
(grey ribbon), 2nd Best of Division (purple ribbon) and 3rd Best of Division (orange ribbon). Awards are again
shown by placing the ribbons on the pens.
If a judge chooses to announce their Best of Breed, 2nd Best of Breed and 3rd Best of Breed, unlike GCCF BoBs,
these don’t count towards any awards.

Finals

After the judge has seen all kittens, cats or alters, he/she decides on their best exhibits across all the ones that they have judged.
A Speciality (SP) Final will be the best exhibits from either the Longhair or Shorthair category.
An All Breed (AB) Final will be the best exhibits drawn from both Longhair and Shorthair categories.
Speciality Judges can only hold Speciality Finals
“Finals” are effectively a “Best in Show” for that ring.
The Ring Clerk only announces that Finals numbers have been posted – it is your responsibility to check if your
cat is needed and take your cat to the ring.
As a general rule, a cat or alter that has not already won either a Best or 2nd Best of Division is unlikely to be finalled.
The judge will explain his placings – either the top 5 or the top 10 (depending on how many cats are competing).
The judge usually explains what they liked about each cat and their ranking before placing a Finals rosette on the pen.
As an exhibitor, it is good etiquette to thank the judge on leaving the ring if your cat has been Finalled.

You can always tell when finals are happening because of the cheering and applause that greets each announcement.

Earning Titles

Titles are earned by a combination of numerical scores and getting one or more Finals places.
Titles must be claimed in writing from the TICA Executive Office A copy of the form and scoring explanation is in the catalogue
A cat needs 150 points and one Final to earn Champion status
500 points and 3 Finals are needed to earn Grand Champion status
Further Grand titles require either 500 or 1,000 extra points and at least one Final earned at the previous level
Alters and Household Pets have equivalent awards
Best of Colour is worth 25 points down to 5 points for 5th Best of Colour
Best of Division is worth 25 points down to 15 points for 3rd Best of Division
Finals placings are worth between 200 and 110 points (AB Finals) or 150 and 60 points (SP Finals)
Points scores are cumulative – excess points at one level count towards the next level

We hope this has explained how showing and judging works in TICA. If you have any other queries then don’t hesitate to ask

one of the organisers. If they don’t know the answer themselves, they will know “someone who does”!

Most importantly enjoy your day at the show

Visit our website www.cattica.co.uk for further information on upcoming shows