Page 64 - K9 News Digital - Issue 11 May2020

’
K im s
KOLUMNOLUMN
K
Thoughts on Crufts
WHERE HAS THE DRESS CODE
GONE?
Thoughts on Crufts 2020 and there were many
of them. I think I should start with stewarding, that
still being where my heart mainly lies. Apparently
there were a large number of missing stewards this
year, notwithstanding those who had chosen not
to attend due to Coronavirus and no one would or
should blame them for that. A message went out
to regular stewards prior to the event asking if they
knew of any friends or family who might want to come
and steward at the show, which drew a few more,
but the thing that shocked me was the lack of dress
code. Shocked and appalled to be honest. When I
think back to my time there, and the time and money
spent on finding smart outfits to adhere to the dress
code, as set down in the Stewards’ instructions of
what could and could not be worn at the show. Also
for friends who also made sure they looked smart,
efficient and professional at the World’s Greatest
Dog Show, but Crufts 2020 was a real eye opener
as far as that went. Jeans, trainers, HOODIES!! and,
so I’m reliably informed by one steward, someone
wearing SHORTS on one day. Does the dress code
not exist any more? Do people have no pride in how
to represent themselves or Crufts? I was horrified to
say the least, and sadly some group stewards looked
worse and had bad attitudes to match. It seems that
a pleasant disposition, good manners etc. have gone
to the wall and left, along with the stalwarts of good
stewarding when they hung up their clipboards. In
one ring a steward had her children sitting at the
table! Where on earth were the group stewards?
Would it have been stopped?
64 - K9 NEWS DIGITAL
On the subject of absent group stewards, there
were a few ring stewards who had to visit the office
themselves, to have calls put out for the start of the
next breed, which, for those who don’t know, has
to be done before the next breed judging can take
place. This is the job of the Group Steward who
keeps an eye open on which classes have been
completed, who won Best of Breed and the gender
of said animal. This is then relayed to the Chief
Stewards Office and when Best of Breed has been
announced and paperwork completed, a call goes
out to exhibitors in the next breed in the ring, to give
them sufficient time to get there. So where were the
Group Stewards? It’s often been said that they don’t
‘bother’ those rings where good ring stewards are,
but in these days of only one steward per ring, at the
very least to check on how things are progressing,
and possibly standing in so the ring steward can
have a natural break, would be ideal, surely. No one
wants to be there with legs crossed all day and some,
it should be said, simply cannot do it.
USUAL E1 PROBLEMS
There has been praise in the dog press apparently,
for the car park attendants. This wasn’t the case
for several ring stewards though. One in particular,
armed with their ‘Official’ car park pass, was refused
entry to East 1 car park, designated for Judges and
Officials. This was the case on a number of occasions
over the weekend and as far as I remember, fairly
normal behaviour going back for some years. This
steward had arrived in plenty of time to be in the
building, refreshed and at ringside for 08.30, but was
refused entry to the East 1, being sent instead to East
4. Now, being the first day when everyone knows it’s