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Field Trial Hall of Fame

The Election Process, Definitions, and Responsibilities

The Field Trial Hall of Fame has been an important part of the field trial sport for seventy years. For those seventy years, The American Field served as the medium through which the Hall of Fame communicated with the field trial community, announcing the nomination process, providing nomination ballots, announcing the Election Committee, and eventually the newly elected members of the Hall of Fame. That nomination and election process is not feasible today.

In an effort to provide the field trial and bird dog community with a broad and equitable representation in the nomination process of deserving candidates for Field Trial Hall of Fame honors, a regional/geographic framework has been adopted, along with those persons representing important positions and responsibilities of the Field Trial Sport.

The time-honored categories are:

  1. Distinguished bird dogs that are no longer living
  2. Persons, deceased or if living, of at least 64 years of age, who have made outstanding contributions to the field trial sport.

Section 1 The Election Process

1A Public Opinion: The United Kennel Club will provide a forum for enthusiasts of the field trial sport, allowing them to submit and read endorsements for nominations of Dogs and Persons from June 1st to July 15th.

1B Nominators: Each geographic Regional President shall hold an election at their annual meeting to elect a Field Trial Hall of Fame Nominator from their region to a 3-year term. If Regional selection cannot be made by June 1st, the President of the Region will serve as a temporary nominator for 2026.

In addition, the following will also serve as Nominators. The President of the Grand National Grouse Championship, President of the National Field Trial Champion Association, President of the National Open Shooting Dog Championship Association, President of the Amateur Field Trial Clubs of America, members of the Awards Committee, Judges for the most recent Grand National Grouse Championship, National Bird Dog Championship, and National Open Shooting Dog Championship.

Each Nominator will act independently to nominate, in their opinion, the two (2) most deserving Dogs and two (2) most deserving Persons to the Selection Committee based on their independent research, experience, and knowledge of the nominees. Nominations shall be made on the official nomination form, signed, dated, and sealed in the official nomination envelope and sent to the Offices of the UKC and postmarked by August 1st of each year. Electronic submissions are not permitted.

1C Selectors: The Selection Committee will consist of the five members of the UKC/American Field, Field Trial Hall of Fame committee, who are responsible for administering and managing the election process. Along with the five (5) committee members, eight (8) Nominators, including four (4) Region Representatives, one (1) President, one (1) Awards Committee member, and two (2) Judges, will join the Selection Committee by an automated random selector program at a webinar committee meeting. A minimum of three (3) alternate Nominators, including one (1) Region Representative, one (1) President, and one (1) Judge, will be selected by the same automated random selector program as alternates if any Selectors are unable to attend or are recused from the webinar election meeting.

The Selection Committee will meet each year to review the nominations submitted. In review and discussion of the nominees, the committee must elect, by majority vote, the one (1) most deserving Dog and the one (1) most deserving Person for annual induction into the Field Trial Hall of Fame to be announced on or about September 1st with induction to occur at the Bird Dog Foundation's Hall of Fame induction ceremonies held annually at the Bird Dog Museum.

Members of the Selection Committee, at their sole discretion, may, in addition to the customary election process, nominate and elect by super majority vote deserving Dogs and/or Persons from an earlier era.

Section 2 Definitions and Responsibilities

2A Nominators:
a) Nominators agree that their nomination is their sole and independent nomination based on their own research, experience, and knowledge of the nominee.
b) All nominated Persons and Dogs must be in good standing with the UKC/American Field at the time of nomination.
c) A Nominator shall not nominate a Dog owned by them or their immediate family members.
d) A Nominator shall not nominate themselves or Persons from their immediate family.
e) A Nominator must recuse themselves from the nomination process in the year they join the Selection Committee.

2B Selectors:
a) All Selectors meet each year to review the nominations submitted. From those qualified nominations, Selectors agree that their chosen option is their sole and independent selection based on their own research, experience, knowledge, and collaboration with only members of the Selection Committee. Final selection is made by majority vote.
b) A Selector must recuse themselves from the selection process if a nomination of a Dog owned by that Selector or an immediate family member is officially accepted.
c) A Selector must recuse themselves from the selection process if a nomination of that Selector or an immediate family member is officially accepted.

2C Code of Conduct and Confidentiality
a) Nominators and Selectors are discouraged from participating in discussions or posting on private and public forums, including other social media outlets, to any matter related to the Field Trial Hall of Fame nominations and selections.
b) Selectors must maintain integrity, avoid compromising comments outside meetings, and hold deliberations in "strictest confidence." Violations can lead to removal (e.g., conduct unbecoming or breaching confidentiality on opinions during meetings).

Geographic Nominators

Region 1 Representative: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut
Region 2 Representative: New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware
Region 3 Representative: Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina
Region 4 Representative: Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia
Region 5 Representative: Illinois, Missouri
Region 6 Representative: Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi
Region 7 Representative: Texas, Mexico
Region 8 Representative: Colorado, Oklahoma
Region 9 Representative: Idaho, Utah, Wyoming
Region 10 Representative: British Columbia, Oregon, Washington
Region 11 Representative: California, Nevada
Region 13 Representative: Ontario, Quebec, Michigan
Region 14 Representative: Montana, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba
Region 16 Representative: Alabama, Georgia, Florida
Region 17 Representative: Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa
Region 19 Representative: North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin
President of the Grand National Championship
President of the National Field Trial Champion Association
President of the National Open Shooting Dog Championship Association
President of the Amateur Field Trial Clubs of America
Members (7) of the Awards Committee
Judges (2) of the Grand National Grouse Championship
Judges (3) of the National Bird Dog Championship
Judges (3) of the National Open Shooting Dog Championship.