Page 59 - K9News_Issue12_July2020

“there is a pike next to ring 18” you now know someone would turn up and say “I understand
what it was all about!
After the meeting, it’s back to the steward’s
office for one last check through to make sure
absolutely everything really is ready for the
morning, and then it’s back to the hotel where
tradition has it that the Group Stewards attend
the judges briefing. The given reason for this is
that it is important for the Group Stewards to be
on hand to answer any queries and to be aware
of any changes. The real reason is that the wine
is free.
Thursday morning arrived and, as you can
image, it’s an early start for the Group Stewards
- we need to be in the office by 6.30 - and
it was with a sense of relief that we found that
the NEC hadn’t been closed down overnight,
everything was ready and the show was actually
going to happen.
In the Crufts Stewards Office there are two parts
of the day when activity is at its most intense.
The first is the period between when the first
Ring Stewards arrive, usually about 7.00am,
and the commencement of judging in the last
ring to start, usually 10.30, sometimes 11.00.
Only when we know that judging has started in
all rings, and all rings are fully manned to the
best of our resources, can we begin to relax.
For a while, anyway! The second peak is from
when the first results start to come in, and runs
until the final result of the day is in, and we know
that all Best of Breeds are heading for the Arena
for the televised group judging, the start time
of which is set in concrete. During this second
period we also get back all of the stewards’
boxes and restock them for the next day.
Then everybody breathes a sigh of relief.
2020 was no different to any other year, except
that the first period each day was a little more
exciting than usual. This was caused by what
can only be described as a daily Ring Steward
re-allocation exercise. I will leave it to your
imagination as to what other suitable titles
there could be! But Lady Luck was on our side
and even when a potential hole was looming
and I would be trying to decide who to move,
K9 NEWS DIGITAL / JULY 2020
you might be looking for some extra Ring
Stewards.” If it hadn’t been for the guidelines
issued by the World Health Organisation, I could
have kissed them! And while not everybody was
happy with the essential daily re-allocations, the
priority, of course, is that the show must go on.
There’s plenty of time for a post-mortem later.
Crufts Ring Stewards, all volunteers, always
do a great job. But 2020 will be remembered
as the year when some went beyond the call of
duty, and we will always be grateful to the many,
some at the very last moment, that stepped into
the breach.
I am glad that Crufts went ahead. There’s a
whole year of organisation that goes into its
smooth-running (the first Crufts Committee
meeting is held on the Monday morning
immediately after the show, to start planning for
next year!). And, of course, the same goes for
the exhibitors. They too spend a huge amount
of time planning and qualifying for the event.
It would have been a huge disappointment to
everyone if it had been cancelled.
And while it is a tragedy that, as I write this,
it looks like the whole of the 2020 calendar
of canine events is going to fall victim to this
pandemic, it is kind of fitting that the last dog
show, the last event at the NEC, and one of the
very last major events of the year, was Crufts,
the greatest dog show in the world.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that there was one
particular element of the show that didn’t change
in 2020, one that is particularly challenging for
the Group Stewards. The automatic light sensor
for the gents facilities is situated between the
outer and inner doors and, whoever installed
it, decided that three minutes was quite long
enough for anything. Any longer and you are
plunged into a complete and total darkness. It’s
no good waving your arms - the sensor is the
other side of the inner door. The choice is to sit
tight and hope someone else comes in soon,
or try to deal with the challenge in complete
darkness. Jim Peach never warned me about
this, and now I carry a torch!
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