ILR Show Division Youth Committee Minutes - February 12, 2009
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ILR Show Division

YOUTH COMMITTEE Minutes
February 12, 2009
 

The Youth Committee meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. CST on Thursday, February 12th. Members present were Beth Myers, Seth Onsager, Debbie Shellabarger, Tabbethia Haubold, and Kelly Gisch. 

The first item of discussion was the possibility of combining age groups. The committee agreed that the junior group (ages 8 - 11) should not be combined with intermediate and advanced at any time. If show management feels that there are not significant numbers to warrant three age groups, then the youth may be split into two groups instead of three by combining the intermediate and advanced classes and leaving juniors as a separate class. (Motion: Tabbethia Haubold, Second: Seth Onsager)  The motion passed unanimously.

Next to be discussed was the number of points required to move from intermediate youth to advanced youth level. The committee decided that the number should be evaluated at year end to determine what an appropriate number would be. The group decided on December 1st as the date to begin evaluating so that a specific number could be decided on before January. (Motion: Kelly Gisch, Second: Tabbethia Haubold) The motion passed unanimously.

The discussion moved to showmanship. The committee is not in favor of adding performance-type maneuvers to showmanship classes. They agreed that youth showmanship exhibitors should not be asked to show teeth, pick up feet, or lift the tail.  Maneuvers that are acceptable include: stand in profile, stand in line side by side, haunch turn or pivot, ability of judge to touch the animal, back a few steps and reposition and square up in front of judge, change positions in line, change animals, move at a normal to brisk walk, question to exhibitor appropriate to age and/or level.

Dress Attire

(a) In showmanship classes, appropriate attire is suggested which includes dark slacks, trousers, jeans or skirts, white/light shirts or tops with sleeves (tank tops not suggested) and full shoes/boots are required. No open toes, open backs or open sides of shoes will be permitted.

(b) Special exception because of religious reasons or physical handicap must be requested and approved from show management or judge prior to the class.

(c) Judges, at their discretion, may authorize adjustments to attire due to weather related conditions.

Much discussion ensued on the topic of allowing youth to show the same animal in both youth and open division at the discretion of show management. The committee voted to allow youth to show the same animal in both youth and open at the discretion of show management, but only if that animal was not shared with another youth. (Motion: Tabbethia Haubold, Second: Seth Onsager) Motion passed with 4 "yes" and 1 "no" vote. 

Youth may share an animal in youth classes at the discretion of show management, but the number of youth sharing one animal in youth classes will be limited to two, in order to prevent undue stress to the animal. In showmanship, llamas will not be shared by youth in the same age group since the youth would be in the ring at the same time.  (Motion: Debbie Shellabarger, Second: Seth Onsager) Motion passed unanimously. 

A suggestion was made to table youth judging for the time being. The committee agrees that youth judging should be offered but needs to put ideas together to determine how best to move forward with the youth judging program. 

A motion was made to table budget discussion until the next meeting. (Motion: Tabbethia Haubold, Second: Debbie Shellabarger) Motion passed unanimously.

Any youth education will be left up to show management discretion at this time. We will have manuals, a rule book, and educational materials available in the future. The committee consensus was to table discussion at this time.

The committee also agreed to table discussion of scholarships at this time.

The next item on the agenda was whether to require youth classes for all ILR sanctioned shows. The committee agreed that is something best left up to show management and we will not require youth classes to be offered in order for the show to be sanctioned.  (Motion: Debbie Shellabarger, Second: Tabbethia Haubold) Motion passed unanimously.

The discussion moved to whether or not a youth must be an ILR youth show division member to show in the youth division at ILR sanctioned shows.  The committee is in favor of allowing all youth to show, but non-members would be required a flat fee of $5.00 per show in addition to the show entry fees. (Motion: Debbie Shellabarger, Second: Seth Onsager) Motion carried unanimously. 

It was decided that a youth may only accumulate ILR points for a show if the youth is a member at the time of the show. (Motion:  Seth Onsager, Second:  Kelly Gisch) Motion passed unanimously.

It was agreed that all youth show entries must have a permission signature from a parent or leader/advisor. The signer must be at least 18 years of age. If signed by a leader or advisor, the signer must have a general permission form signed by a parent or legal guardian on file. Exact wording will be determined. (Motion: Tabbethia Haubold, Second: Kelly Gisch) Motion passed unanimously.

Alpacas may be used in all youth classes. They will be required to obtain an ILR recording number as stated in the general rules.

The consensus of the committee is that points will be awarded to all youth placing in a class and all are eligible for championship at that show, however only youth with paid ILR membership will be eligible for accumulating points and receiving year-end awards. 

It was agreed upon that there shall be no additional sanctioning fee to include youth classes at an ILR sanctioned show. (Motion: Debbie Shellabarger, Second: Seth Onsager) Motion passed unanimously.

The committee agreed that youth classes should be judged only by an ILR approved judge.

Youth performance classes must increase in degree of difficulty or number of obstacles. Courses must differ by at least three obstacles (either change of obstacle or degree of difficulty) between each class. (Motion: Tabbethia Haubold, Second: Seth Onsager) Motion passed unanimously.

The required number of obstacles or maneuvers for youth classes will be:

Juniors :  8
Novice/Intermediate:  10
Advanced:  10

(Motion: Tabbethia Haubold, Second: Kelly Gisch) Motion passed unanimously.

If youth are showing in both youth and open, courses must differ by at least six

The consensus of the committee was that the handler may choose whether or not to negotiate all obstacles

The numbering of obstacles is optional and will be left up to show management. 

Some suggested optional youth (non-point) classes include the following:

Sub Junior (obstacle, companion, and showmanship, but not pack)
Non Breeder Halter
Female Halter
Juvenile Male Halter (less than 12 months of age)
Pack Model
Performance Model
Youth Team Challenge

The committee agreed to table discussion for the moment to give time to consider other suggestions

The performance champion award will be determined by the best combined score from 3 classes. Obstacle and companion will be required classes. The third class may be either showmanship or pack. If the youth participates in all four classes, the scores from the obstacle and companion class will always be used, and the third class will be the highest score from either the showmanship or pack class. In the case of a tie, the obstacle class score will be the tiebreaker. The second tiebreaking score, if needed, will be the companion class. 

Youth Sportsmanship will be an optional award at shows this year. After this year, a year-end Youth Sportsmanship award will be given. Requirements for the award will be determined.

It is the general consensus of the committee that there should be some mandatory obstacles for youth because we are working with children and therefore some structure may be needed. The youth committee will choose approximately 3 or 4 mandatory obstacles from the list of obstacles the performance committee formulates. Will discuss further when the list is available.

Upon motion by Tabbethia Haubold, seconded by Debbie Shellabarger, the meeting adjourned at 9:55 p.m. 

Respectfully submitted by Kelly Gisch.