GCCF Cat Shows and Classes

There are three levels of GCCF Show: Exemption Shows, Sanction Shows & Championship Shows. There is also a very special Championship Show - The Supreme Show. Many shows also have a special section for Non-Pedigree and Pet-Pedigree cats where they are able to win GCCF titles. All GCCF shows are one-day shows.

Exemption Shows

These are "fun" shows. Some are cat shows held in conjunction with Agricultural shows, others are the "rehearsal" shows held by new Cat Clubs, gaining them the experience to run Sanction and then Championship shows.

These shows are usually small and they do not have to put on separate classes for all breeds. This means that they may have a single Open class for all colours of Persian, or the Siamese and Burmese might find that they are competing against one another! There are no Assessment classes, so new breeds compete against the established breeds, often in the same class. As with almost all GCCF shows there are also miscellaneous classes for cats bred by the owner; cats which have had a limited number of previous wins etc. and often club classes put on by other supporting Clubs for their own members to enter.

There are no certificates to be awarded, no titles to be won, but you will often see Champions or even Grand Champions supporting an Exemption Show, especially if it is being run by a specialist breed club, just to enjoy the relaxed, fun atmosphere and a great day out.
A new Club must run three Exemption shows before it is allowed to progress to the next stage.

Sanction Shows
These shows really are rehearsals for Championship shows. Although no Challenge, Premier or Intermediate Certificates can be awarded, all the same classes have to be provided and the rules are just as strict as for a Championship show. Sanction shows do put on Assessment classes so Merit Certificates can be awarded and in the Household Pet Section, Non-Pedigree and Pet Pedigree cats can compete for their GCCF titles. Household Pet kittens, either Pedigree or Non-Pedigree must be neutered by the age of six months.

A Club must run three Sanction shows, to the satisfaction of the GCCF, before being granted a licence to hold a Championship show.

Championship Shows
These are the serious shows of the Cat Fancy. They may be all-breed shows, in which case they have classes for every breed which is recognised by the GCCF; or specialist shows with classes for a breed section or sometimes for just a single breed.

Each breed has its own Open Classes. There are separate classes for Male Adults, Female Adults, Male Neuters, Female Neuters and Kittens. Kitten classes are for kittens with a minimum age of 14 weeks up to nine calendar months old when they become adult. These kitten classes may be split by sex or age at larger shows, or even both ways if there is a big entry. At specialist breed shows kittens may also be split by colour.

Adult and Neuter Open classes are not split further at Championship Shows, no matter how big the entry, unless this split has been approved in advance by the Executive Committee when the club applies for its show license. The cats in these classes are placed in order of merit, from 1st to 4th; in big classes even 5th, 6th, Very Highly Commended, Highly Commended and Commended may be given if the show offers prizes for these placings and the judge wishes to give them.

The winner of an Adult Open class will, if considered by the judge to be of sufficient quality, be awarded a Challenge Certificate. Similarly, the winners of Neuter Open classes are awarded Premier Certificates. Three Challenge Certificates awarded by three different judges make a cat a Champion, three Premier Certificates from three different judges make him or her a Premier. The owner has to apply to the GCCF Office for their title giving details of their cat’s name, breed number, breeder’s name, owner’s name and address together with the names and dates of the qualifying shows and awarding judges’ names. All claims are acknowledged and, periodically, a list of Champions etc is published on the GCCF’s website at www.gccfcats.org .

Champions and Premiers may be entered in the Grand Champion or Grand Premier class respectively as well as, or instead of, being entered in their Open class. There are not "Grand" classes for each breed - just one or two per show section - and only a Grand Challenge/Grand Premier Certificate and a Reserve Grand Challenge/Grand Premier Certificate are awarded per class - provided the judges consider the cats worthy of these high awards. Three Grand Challenge/Grand Premier Certificates from three different judges makes the cat up to Grand Champion or Grand Premier. A cat keeps its title when it is neutered so you will often find a Grand Champion in a neuter class after it has retired from breeding.

At ordinary Championship shows, full Grand Champions or Grand Premiers may compete in special Imperial Grand classes. Grand Champions/Premiers may enter their Imperial Grand, Grand or Open class, or any two out of these three; they may not enter all three of these classes. The winner of each Imperial Grand class is eligible to be awarded an Imperial Grand Challenge/Premier Certificate. The second placed cat is eligible for a Reserve Imperial Grand Challenge/Premier Certificate. This means that if the Imperial Grand Certificate winner is disqualified, the Reserve Certificate winner will be awarded the Imperial Grand Certificate which will count towards a title. No further placings are made in these classes, even if the certificates are withheld. Five Imperial Grand Challenge/Premier Certificates awarded by five different judges make the cat an Imperial Grand Champion or Premier.

Cats of Provisional status breeds also have their own Open classes; the certificate on offer is an Intermediate Certificate. These cats of Provisional status may also enter a show to be considered for Best of Breed only. This does help to keep the top quality cats of a provisional breed in the public eye and those cats may also be considered for Best of Variety or Best in show.

Preliminary status breeds compete in Assessment classes, where each cat is judged against its standard of points and awarded a Merit Certificate if it is good enough. Again, these certificates help the new breed to progress. They also compete in Miscellaneous and Club classes against other Provisional or Championship breeds in their section which is very useful when applying for promotion as it is a clear indication of the viability of a new breed to succeed in general competition at a show.

At most shows there are Best of Breed awards for the best Adult, Kitten and Neuter of each breed, but these do not count towards a title of any kind. Many shows, especially specialist breed shows, hold a Best in Show but, again, winning this does not count towards any official title although it is a great honour for the winner as well as his or her breeder and owner.

The GCCF Supreme Show
Unlike most other shows the GCCF’s Supreme Show has no miscellaneous or club classes; it does, however, have classes other shows do not have. There are four Adult Open classes for each championship status breed: Champion Male and Female classes for full Champions, the winners being eligible for Grand Challenge Certificates and Pre-Champion Male and Female classes for cats with one or two Certificates or who have qualified as kittens, competing for Challenge Certificates. The same applies to the neuter classes which are split into Premier and Pre-Premier classes for males and females.
Cats which are already Grand Champions do not compete in these classes but in special classes for Grand Champions, Imperial Grand Champions, UK Grand Champions and UK & Imperial Grand Champions only, the winner being eligible for a UK Grand Challenge Certificate. Grand Premiers, Imperial Grand Premiers, UK Grand Premiers and UK & Imperial Grand Premiers compete for a UK Grand Premier Certificate. In these classes several breeds may compete together. UK Grand Certificates are only awarded at the Supreme Show; two such Certificates from different judges give the cat the title of UK Grand Champion/Premier or UK & Imperial Grand Champion/Premier if it has additionally gained that title. There is no Reserve UK Grand Challenge/Premier Certificate.

Even a UK Grand Champion starts afresh when he or she is neutered, hoping eventually to gain the coveted new double title of UK & Imperial Grand Champion & UK & Imperial Grand Premier - something to aim for now there are several cats holding the title UK Grand Champion & UK Grand Premier!
Best of Breed winners at the Supreme Show do not get certificates but compete against the other BOB winners in their section for Best of Variety.

The seven Best of Variety Adults (Persian, Semi-Longhair, British, Foreign, Burmese, Oriental and Siamese) compete for Supreme Adult, the seven kittens for Supreme Kitten and the seven neuters for Supreme Neuter.

Finally, the Supreme Adult, Supreme Kitten and Supreme Neuter compete against each other for the honour of being judged Supreme Exhibit. The Adult and the Neuter can add the coveted word “Supreme” to their title, for the kitten, there is no title - just the honour, a very large rosette and a silver trophy to hold for a year!

Provisional Status Breeds
Cats of Provisional status breeds also compete at the Supreme Show, but as they cannot win titles their classes are not divided into Champion and Pre-Champion. The Intermediate Certificate winners and Kitten class winners are considered for Best of Breed, as with the Championship status breeds, and the BOB winners go forward to compete against the Championship status breeds for Best of Variety.

Preliminary Status Breeds
As at other Championship shows, there are Assessment classes at the Supreme Show, with Merit Certificates on offer. These cats, however, do not progress any further in the show as they are always (except in miscellaneous or club classes at ordinary shows) judged against their standard of points and not against each other.

Household Pets
Since June 1st 2009, the Household Pet Section can be divided into two groups. These operate independently and affiliated clubs are able to include one or both groups at their Sanction or Championship Shows.

The Non-Pedigree Pet group is comprised of unregistered cats from unregistered or unknown parents as now. They would be of traditional “moggie” appearance either Long, Semi-Long or Shorthaired.

The Pedigree Pet group is comprised of cats of pedigree appearance with known or unknown pedigree, full or half pedigree background. These are cats that are as well loved and cared for as any other Household Pet and can now be shown and compete for titles under the new rules agreed in Council The requirements for showing BOTH groups of Household Pets is that all are judged by the same criteria for the quality of their Presentation, Condition, Temperament and Personality. In the Pedigree Pet section no prefixes or titles shall be used; cats will be entered either by their pet name or, if registered, the rest of the registered name, without the prefix, may be used. No reference will be made to breed numbers or descriptions and all Household Pets aged 6 months and over must be neutered. The classes provided in both groups are defined by coat length, colour and pattern.

These classes offering titles are administered by Lesley Szwed, 35 Potton Close, Barn End, Coventry, CV3 3EA and it is to her that exhibitors make their claim for titles. Owners must include their cat’s name, colour, sex and age, together with the names and dates of the qualifying shows, the awarding judges’ names and photocopies of the relevant certificates. All claims are acknowledged and, periodically, a list of Master Cats etc will be published on the GCCF website. The GCCF titles in the Household Pet Section are:

MASTER CAT
The title Master Cat (MC) shall be attained by the awarding of three Master Cat certificates by three different judges at participating Championship or Sanction shows licensed by the GCCF.
GRAND MASTER CAT
The title Grand Master Cat (GMC) shall be attained by the awarding of three Grand Master Cat certificates by three different judges at participating Championship or Sanction Shows licensed by the GCCF.
IMPERIAL GRAND MASTER CAT
The title Imperial Grand Master Cat (IGM) shall be attained by the awarding of five Imperial Grand Master Cat certificates by five different judges at participating Championship or Sanction Shows licensed by the GCCF.

It is important for Show Managers, Judges and Exhibitors to remember Household Pets do not have a standard of points but are judged on condition, presentation and temperament; if all the cats in the class are in tip-top sparkling condition and purring their heads off, the winner is the one the judge likes best!

Some shows have elected not to include the GCCF Household Pet Classes and in these cases the club or show committee choose their own Open Classes but no certificates are offered and no GCCF recognised titles can be won.

Household Pets at the GCCF Supreme Show
Household Pets also have their own section at the Supreme Show for both Pedigree and Non-Pedigree Pets. As in the Pedigree Section there are special Open Classes unique to the Supreme Show. There are Pre-Master Cat, Master Cat and Grand Master Cat Classes in both sections for cats to enter at their relevant level. For the first time in 2009 Household Pets with the title Grand Master were able to compete at the GCCF Supreme Show to win a UK Grand Master Certificate!

The winners of their Open classes will compete for Best of Breed and then for Best of Group with special prizes offered for these categories in both sections.

There will be two Overall Best in Show winners for the for the Household Pet Section at the Supreme Show, they will be Supreme Non-Pedigree Exhibit and the Supreme Pedigree Pet Exhibit and each will win a Supreme Trophy. The winners will also be able to include the coveted “Supreme” in their title. It will be the ultimate accolade that a Household Pet is called a Supreme, UK and Imperial Grand Master Cat!