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GENERAL RULES & REGULATIONS

August 2004

 

1.                    MEMBERSHIP

(a)                  Membership of the Council shall be open to any Cavy Club affiliated with their State Council, where one exists.  This membership will entitle the club to receive copies of information sent out by the Council, including notice of meetings, agenda, notices of changes to standards etc.  It will not entitle the club to attend meetings of the Council or to vote at Council meetings.

(b)                  The Council will remind Clubs of their membership fee obligations in the form of an Invoice annually to be sent at least 60 days prior to the National Annual Delegates Meeting. 

(c)                  State Councils and Clubs must forward their membership fees within 60 days of the National Annual Delegates Meeting or disaffiliation will automatically apply and the unfinancial Councils or Clubs will have to reapply for membership.

(d)                  When changes or alterations occur within a State Council or Clubs’ current Constitution, a copy of this new Constitution, outlining the changes must be forwarded to the Council within 30 days of these changes occurring.

2.                    MEETINGS

(a)                  Notices of Motions proposed by individual Clubs in states where a State Council exists shall forward their proposals to their relevant State Council Secretary.  The State Councils shall in turn forward these proposals to their ANCC member Clubs who will then vote on all State motions.  Club Secretaries shall then correspond with their State Council advising the acceptance or non-acceptance of these motions by their Club for inclusion in the ANCC Agenda.  State Council will then advise the ANCC Secretary of motions to be included in the Agenda.

(b)                  Where there is more than one Club in a State and a State Council does not exist, the Clubs shall liaise between themselves in the above fashion prior to submitting notices of motion to the ANCC.

(c)        The Chairman shall have no power to delete any submission or motion duly and correctly submitted according to the Constitution of the Council from the agenda of the Annual Delegates Meeting without first submitting this to a vote of the delegates present.

(d)        States may and are encouraged to give their delegates authority to vote on agenda items following discussion and/or when minor alterations are made. (eg. Changes in wording).  With such authority, delegates would be expected to have an understanding of the overall opinion of their State on the agenda items, and to vote in the best interest and intentions of their State and the cavy fancy .

(e)        The Council Secretary will provide a copy of the Agenda and Agenda Items to each of the delegates for perusal.

(f)         Each State is entitled to one vote.

(g)        Observers must be representing a State Council or Club for admittance to the meeting and the relevant State Council or Club must apply in writing to the Council Secretary at least 30 days prior to the meeting.

3.                    NATIONAL SHOWS

(a)                  The date, venue and organising Host State, shall be decided at the Annual Delegates Meeting for the forthcoming year.

(b)                  The Host State will finance the National Show from entry fees and general fund raising activities at the discretion of the Host State. The Host State shall retain any surplus funds or profit from the National Show.

(c)                  The Council will grant a sum of money to the Host State, to be allocated after the show, subject to the satisfactory completion of post show obligations as required by the Secretary of the Council.  This shall include attendance to such matters as official marked copies of Guinealogues and Judges Reports distributed as necessary and the details of names and addresses of holders of all perpetual trophies to the Council and subsequent Host State.

(d)                  The sum granted may be reviewed at any time at the discretion of the Council.

(e)                  The Host State will provide an audited Balance Sheet to the Council Secretary no later than 60 days after the National Show each year.

(f)                    The Host State will provide complete and correct National Show results within 30 days after the National Show to the Council Secretary and all State Councils or Clubs.

(g)                  The Council will provide payment of said grant within 30 days after receiving the Audited Balance Sheet and complete and correct National Show Results in accordance with Clause 3 ( c ).

(h)                  The Council will be allocated up to 1 full-page advertising space in the Guinealogue, at no cost to the Council, to be used at its discretion.

(i)                    The Host State shall engage a minimum of three Judges for National Shows.     This shall remain at the discretion of the Host State.  National show Judges must be all-breed judges, selected from the Council’s list, which will be updated as necessary throughout the year, or overseas Judges who are fully qualified and are currently approved by a controlling body in their own country.

(j)                    All judging at National Shows will be in accordance with the standards as printed in the current ANCC Standards Book, plus any new or altered British Standards, provided they have been notified to all Judges and States, at least one month prior to the National Show.

(k)                  Rules for the National Show shall be printed in the ANCC Standards Book.

(l)                    All Judges accepting an invitation to judge at a National Show must also agree to present a written Judges Critique to the Host State no later than 30 days after the show.  The Host State will include this requirement when inviting Judges.

(m)                Clarification of the Novice Class:

A novice is considered to be an exhibitor who is exhibiting at the National Show for the first time and is present to handle the animal

(eg. Not an exhibitor who has shown under a family/partnership in the past and is now showing as an individual for the first time; or someone whose animals have been exhibited in the past but they themselves were not present).

·        The class will be separate from the scheduled Breed Classes.

·        A Judge nominated by the Host State, who is not officiating in judging the Breed Classes, will judge the class.

·        The Judge officiating this class will be eligible to enter cavies in the Breed Classes.

·        The novice will advise eligibility and intent to enter the class on the official entry form, stating Name and variety of cavy nominated.

·        Only one cavy per exhibitor shall be nominated for entry in this class.

·        The cavy nominated for this class shall also be entered in the appropriate Breed Class (eg. It must conform to a standard recognised by the ANCC.)

·        The nominated cavy must be owned and exhibited by the novice exhibitor.

·        The results of the class to be announced at the Presentation Dinner.

·        The Host State will be responsible for the administration of the class.

(n)                  Clarification of Junior Exhibitor:

Junior Exhibitors must be 16 years or under on the day of the show to be eligible to enter this class.

·        Only one cavy per exhibitor shall be nominated for entry in this class.

·        The cavy nominated for this class shall also be entered in the appropriate Breed Class (eg, It must conform to a standard recognised by the ANCC.)

·        The nominated cavy must be owned and exhibited by the Junior exhibitor.

·        The results of the class to be announced at the Presentation Dinner.

·        The Host State will be responsible for the administration of the class

(o)                  All ANCC affiliated clubs are required to submit a full list of members and studs to the ANCC Secretary prior to the National Cavy Show entry closing date, as printed on the National Cavy Show Schedule.

(p)        All exhibitors, other than exhibitors in pet classes, when applicable, must be financial members of a Club affiliated with the Council.

(p)                   If any individual behaves in an unacceptable manner at a National Show the officials of the Host State responsible for that show shall discuss the matter with the individual.   Should the individual still fail to comply, the matter shall be referred to the Council, which will have the right to take action to ban that individual from one or more future National Shows.

(r)         No one, other than the judges and officials are allowed behind the judging tables for all In Show award (In Group and In Show) judging and that no flash photography is allowed until judging is concluded.

4.                    STANDARDS

(a)                  The Council shall cause to be printed and made available at a nominal cost, to be decided by the Council from time to time, a complete set of standards for all the accepted and approved cavy breeds.  This set of standards to be brought up to date within 30 days after the Annual Delegates Meeting and at regular intervals throughout the year. 

The Council reserves all rights to print and distribute Standards Books and no State Council, Club or individual shall have any rights to copy or distribute the contents of the Standards Books in any form. ©

(b)                  All State Councils, Clubs having membership with the Council as well as Judges recognised and listed on the Council’s list of Judges, will use and abide by the standards accepted under clause 4. (c), (d) and (e).  Such use and abidance of these standards is a mandatory requirement of continued membership with the Council.

(c)                  New full standards or changes to standards accepted by the British Cavy Council, will automatically be considered by the Standards Review Panel.  The Standards Book Co-ordinator shall notify all member Clubs and judges on the current Australian listing as soon as possible of any new or altered standards.  Any such new or altered standards will become operational one month after the Standards Book Co-ordinator posts the notices.  Standards Book Co-ordinator will post notices at earliest convenience or within one month of receiving notification of new or altered standard.  States and member clubs must use these new or altered standards within one month upon receipt of notification.  For National shows, the State Councils and Clubs must receive such new or altered standards at least one month prior to the National Show.

(d)                  In the case of varieties of cavies for which no British standard exists guide standards may be submitted for consideration to the Council.  If accepted, such Australian Standards will be valid within Australia.  New guide standards accepted by the British Cavy Council, will automatically be considered by the Standards Review Panel according to the provisions outlines in rule 4 (c) for new full standards.

(e)                  A new Australian standard will only be approved when the relevant cavy meets all three of the following requirements:

i)                      Has some feature, eg. Colour or coat, which is different from any existing variety and is not just a minor genetic variation of an existing standardised cavy

ii)                    Is in the hands of and being bred or shown by three different fanciers, in three different states and is in sufficient numbers in the opinion of the Council.

iii)                   The promoters of the variety are able to produce satisfactory physical evidence of the new variety and should be present in four successive breeding generations.   This evidence to be in the form of live cavies and documented evidence.

5.                    JUDGES

(a)                  All judging at shows will be in accordance with the standards as printed in the current ANCC Standards Book, plus any new or altered British Standards, provided they have been notified to all Judges and States, at least one month prior to the Show.

(b)                  State Councils and Clubs to engage only qualified Judges officially recognised by the Council in Australia or overseas Judges who are fully qualified and are currently approved by a controlling body in their own country.

(c)                  Such Judges shall be members of a Club within the State in which they reside that is a member Club of the Council.

(d)                  The Council shall keep a register of qualified Judges from all States.   A list of such Judges together with their addresses, contact telephone numbers and status as all breed or specialist judges, will be made available to State Council and Club Secretaries by the Council Secretary within 60 days after the ADM or on request.

(e)                  State Councils or Clubs where no State Council exists, shall notify the Council Secretary in writing of any additions, deletions or changes of address on the status of qualified Judges in their State within 30 days of said change.

6.                    STUD REGISTRATIONS

(a)                  All stud applications are to be forwarded to the Registrar of Studs upon receipt from the applicant to the Club Secretary or Club Registrar, where applicable.   The applicable stud registration fee must accompany the application. 

(b)                  Stud applications will not be processed unless Registrar of Stud has received full payment.

(c)                  Stud Registration fee is a once-only payment of $20.00, to be reviewed by the Council from time to time.

(d)                  A stud prefix will not be accepted if it is the same as an existing registered stud prefix, or so similar as to lead to possible confusion.  Stud prefixes of an offensive or derogatory inference will not be accepted.

(e)                  Stud Prefixes are limited to fifteen letters, including spacings.

(f)                    A Registration Number will be given to each registered Stud.   This number will comprise of the numerical order for the month, the month of registration and the year of registration.

(g)                  The Stud Register shall be available for purchase, with the price to be set annually.  All affiliated Clubs to receive a free copy on publication.  The Stud Register will be distributed on Read-Only computer disc IBM format unless requested otherwise. ©

7.                    DISCIPLINING OF MEMBERS

(a)                  A complaint may be made to the committee by any individual that a member of the Council:

(i)         has persistently refused or neglected to comply with a provision or provisions of these rules, or

(ii)                has persistently and wilfully acted in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the Council.

(b)                  On receiving such a complaint, the committee:

(i)         must take into consideration the nature of the complaint,

(ii)                must cause notice of complaint to be served on the member concerned, and

(iii)                 must give the member at least 14 days from the time the notice is served within which to make submission to the committee in connection with the complaint, and

(iv)                 must take into consideration any submissions made by the member in connection of the complaint.

(c)                  The committee may, by resolution, expel the member from the Council or suspend the member from membership of the Council, or whichever action the committee deems appropriate if, after considering the complaint and any submissions made in connection with the complaint, it is satisfied that the facts alleged in the complaint have been proved.

(d)                  If the committee expels or suspends the member, the secretary must, within 7 days after the action is taken, cause written notice to the member of the action taken, of the reasons given by the committee for having taken that action and of the member’s right of appeal under rule 8.

(e)                  The expulsion or suspension does not take effect:

(i)                    until the expiration of the period within which the member is entitled to appeal against the resolution concerned, or

(ii)                  if within that period the member exercises the right of appeal, unless and until the association confirms the resolution under rule 8 (e).     

whichever is the later.

8.                    RIGHT OF APPEAL OF DISCIPLINED MEMBER

(a)                  A member may appeal to the Council in general meeting against a resolution of the Committee under rule 7, within 7 days after notice is served on the member by lodging with the secretary a notice to that effect.

(b)                  The notice may be accompanied by a statement on the grounds on which the member intends to reply for the purposes of the appeal.

(c)                  On receipt of a notice from the member under clause (a), the secretary must notify the committee which is to convene a general meeting of the association to be held within 28 days on which the secretary received the notice.

(d)                  At a general meeting of the association convened under clause (c):

(i)         no business other than the question of the appeal is to be transacted, and

(ii)                  the committee and the member must be given their opportunity to state their respective cases orally or in writing, or both, and

(iii)                 the members present are to vote by secret ballot on the question of whether the resolution should be confirmed or revoked.

(e)                  If at the general meeting the association passes a special resolution in favour of the confirmation of the resolution, the resolution is confirmed.

9.                    ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, RELEASE AND INDEMNITY

Each Exhibitor in consideration of the Council or its agents accepting one or more of the exhibitor’s applications for entry:

(a)                  Acknowledges and agrees that the exhibitor participates in any competition or event conducted during the Show wholly and solely at the exhibitor’s own risk and injury to his person or property.

Releases the Council and its servants and agents at the time of participation, from and against any and all liability for personal injury or damage to the exhibitor’s property which the exhibitor may receive, sustain or incur directly or indirectly as a result of the negligence or alleged negligence of the Council and its servants or agents aforesaid resulting from or arising out of any accident or happening whilst the exhibitor is at the show or elsewhere under the direct or indirect control of the Council its servants or agents whether or not such accident or happening occurred whilst the exhibitor was participating in or competing in any event or competition and the exhibitor for himself, his executors, administrators and any person claiming through or under him indemnifies and holds the Council its servants and agents aforesaid indemnifies from and against all claims, demands, suits, actions, damages, costs and expenses which the exhibitor or persons engaged by the exhibitor may be entitled to make or bring against or which may become payable by the Council by reason or arising from or out of directly or indirectly any such accident or happening or by reason of any act or omission on the part of the exhibitor or of any person engaged by him whilst he is competing or attending to any exhibit entered by the exhibitor and the exhibitor agrees that any act or omission on his part or on the part of any such person engaged by him found in any action against the Council to be negligent shall be deemed to be negligence for the purpose of any claim under aforesaid indemnity.

  

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Changes:

August 2004 – 4c, 4d