Revised 6-5-21. Draft Revision 3-15-22

Approved by BOT 6-4-22

Purpose: The purpose of this document is to provide a guide to conducting drawings for all NGSPA trials. The first section is a recapitulation of the formal NGSPA Running Rules which relate to drawings. The relevant portions have been placed in order for ease of reference. The second section describes accepted customs and practices regarding drawings. These are not rules, but guidelines and generally describe best practices for conducting a drawing. The main purpose of this revision was to clarify best practices regarding drawings of bitches in season.

NGPSA Running Rules and Regulations

Chapter I.

Section 5.

A stake must be drawn by lot and numbered in the order drawn, in a place open to the public, no later than the night before the stake will run.

Section 6.

Dogs shall not be substituted after the draw except as set forth in Section 7.

Section 7.

Braces shall be run as drawn except with the prior consent of the judges and handlers, whose consent must not be given for the purpose of accommodating owners, handlers, or dogs that are not available when reached in the regular order of the draw.

(A)           Should there be a bye in the stake, the judges may, at their discretion, order it to be run alone or with a dog selected by them for the purpose. Provided, however, that if a dog from any regularly drawn full brace should be withdrawn, fail to appear, or be disqualified, the bye dog shall be named by the judges to run with the dog remaining in that particular brace provided reasonable notice can be given to the handler, the bye moved up to fill the vacancy caused by the absent dog. In the event there is no bye or reasonable notice cannot be provided to the handler of the bye dog, then such dog losing its bracemate, as previously contemplated, must be run in its regular order of drawing, either alone or with a dog as a running mate that is satisfactory to the judges. In the event there be two withdrawals from different braces, the bracemates of such withdrawn dogs may be run together where the first vacancy occurs, or in their regular order, at the discretion of the judges. This same rule applies if there be four or any even number of dogs withdrawn from the stake.

(B)           All stakes should be so arranged that if at all possible, no more than one bye dog is drawn or run. Except where there is an uneven number of starters in a stake, no bye should ordinarily occur. For example, in the event the drawing by lot has two dogs handled by the same person remaining as the last in the stake, the bracing is rearranged with the last previous dog drawn not so handled, changing places with the first drawn of the final two dogs.

Section 8.

No entry shall be accepted after the stake is drawn.

Section 9.

No more than one brace of dogs shall run on a course, or any part of a course, at the same time, irrespective of whether the dogs are in the same stake or in different stakes.

Section 10.

Stakes should run only on recognized game birds whose flight has not been impaired by caging, hobbling, wing clipping, brailing, or in any other manner.

Section 11.

Bitches in season shall not be permitted to run in one-course trials unless they can be run in the last brace of the day. In multiple-course trials, they may start only if, in the opinion of the judges, it can be accomplished under conditions that will ensure absolute fairness to other entries.

Section 12.

Wins will not be recorded, or if recorded, will be canceled if made at a trial or in a stake not conforming to the above requirements.

Section 13.

It is recommended that courses contain sufficient bird cover and suitable objectives to induce intelligent searching by the dogs. Birdfields, if used, should be of adequate size to permit a dog to hunt without excessive hacking and should have cover sufficient to hold birds. A variety of cover and objectives is desirable. Five (5) acres is suggested as a minimum area for a bird field.

Chapter 2. Article I:

NGSPA Filed Trial Rules (selected portions relevant to drawings for championships)

Section 2. Drawing and Bracing

Drawings will be for the order of running only and not for any particular course. Drawings shall be conducted in accordance with the Guidelines on Drawings for Championships approved by the Board of Trustees of the NGSPA, which may be amended by the Board from time to time, and which shall be posted to the NGSPA’s website or otherwise published by the NGSPA.  The duty to have a dog at the time and place where he is to start rests solely upon the owner or handler. A dog or handler who is absent from the designated starting place may be disqualified at the discretion of the judges.

Section 3. Payment of Entry Fees

Any owner who refuses to pay an entry fee for his dog is subject to being barred from competition in member club trials.

Section 4. Objectionable Entries; Bitches in Season

Objectionable entries will not be allowed to start if the following conditions prevail:

(a)            The dog is not qualified to be entered in the stake.

(b)            Dogs afflicted with any disease that the Stake Manager may regard as contagious will not be permitted to start or to be handled in close proximity to other entries.

(c)             Bitches in season will not be permitted to start unless, in the opinion of the judges, it can be accomplished under conditions that ensure absolute fairness to other entries, and in no circumstances will they be permitted to be kenneled or transported near the starters. 

(d)            Objection to entries will be given consideration by the Stake Manager prior to the running.

Accepted Customs And Practices

1. Postponement and Completion of the Drawing.

            The drawing must be conducted and completed no later than the night before the stake is run. The Minimum Requirements are clear on when the drawing for a stake must be held and completed. The AFTCA Guidelines say that a drawing may be postponed with the consent of all present, so long as the drawing is conducted no later than the night before the stake is run. Failure to hold and complete the drawing the night before the stake is to run the risk of cancellation of all placements in the stake, as stated in the Minimum Requirements.

2. Overlapping of Important Events; Accommodations for Handlers or Dogs.

            If it appears that one or more dogs that have been entered may not be present to run if regularly drawn, due to the fact that they are actually competing in another important event, amateur or open, the drawing of the dogs whose arrival is so delayed may be handled as follows: viz. the drawing slips bearing the names of such dogs shall be set aside until such time as a sufficient number of dogs have been drawn in the regular course to absorb the time reasonably necessary, in the opinion of the officials conducting the drawing, to enable delayed dogs to arrive on the grounds. At that point in the drawing, the entry slips of the dogs in question shall be placed in the drawing receptacle and commingled with the remaining slips and the drawing continued. Under no circumstances shall the start of the running of such a stake be delayed pending the arrival of late dogs. For the purposes of this Guideline, “important events” shall include the following: (1) another Championship with heats of an hour or more sanctioned by the NGSPA or any other American Field organization, (2) any of the GSPCA sanctioned National Championships, (3) or any of the AKC Pointing Breed National Championships.

            This Guideline is intended to apply where unexpectedly large entries, bad weather delaying completion, or similar unexpected events have occurred in the running of the prior event, and does not apply where the stakes, as advertised, would be expected to conflict.

3. Drawing Dogs to Run Twice on the Same Day.

            A dog entered in two or more stakes in Championship with stakes of an hour or more in length, should not be drawn to run twice in the same day unless drawing the dog to run the following day in the second (or successive) stake would cause the completion of such stake to be delayed. The drawings should be handled by drawing the first stake normally, and then during the drawing of the second or successive stake, the dog should be withheld from the drawing until sufficient braces have been drawn to allow the particular dog to run the following day, then the dog’s name should be placed back in the drawing receptacle and drawn normally by lot.

4. Drawing Handlers to Run in Successive Braces.

            On some occasions, a particular handler may have sufficient dogs in a stake that the handler may be required to handle dogs in numerous successive braces. In these instances, stake management is allowed to alter the drawing so that, to the extent practical, a handler is not required to handle a dog in more than two successive braces. However, stake management is allowed to require a handler to handle dogs in multiple successive braces if, in the ordinary course, to do otherwise would delay completion of the stake.

5. Drawing Bitches in Season.

The AFTCA Minimum Requirements as they relate to Drawing of Bitches in Season are not followed by the NGSPA, because they do not allow bitches in season to run under any conditions. The NGSPA has adopted rules that enable bitches in season to be run without causing any issues of unfairness or any other problems. These rules are presented in PART 1 above. The guidelines below are best practices and are intended to assist the field trial committee in conducting a fair and organized drawing. Note: The NGSPA Running Rules shall take precedence where they conflict with the AFTCA rules.

  • Bitches in season must be declared before the drawing begins. The person conducting the drawing should always ask if there are any bitches in season.
  • Bitches in season must be braced with another bitch or run as a bye-dog if no bitch is available.
  • Single Course Trials. No new stake may begin if bitches in season have previously been run that same day; therefore, the bitch in season should be dropped to the last brace of a full day before the first dog is drawn. The last bitch drawn will be dropped down to run with the bitch in season.
  • Multiple Course Trials With Less Than Three Continuous Courses. Use the same drawing procedure as Single Course Trials.
  • Trials With Three Or Six Courses. There are two drawing options.
    • If the morning braces do not run on the same course, and the afternoon braces do not run on the same course. The drawing may be conducted in the normal manner as long as the BIS is drawn with another bitch. If the BIS is drawn with a male then the BIS is dropped to the next brace and braced with the next female that is drawn. If there are no undrawn bitches the male drawn as a bracemate will be swapped with the last bitch drawn. If there is a bye-dog in the stake the bitch in season may be run in place as the bye-dog.
    • The drawing may be conducted in the same manner as that of a Single Course Trial.
  • The drawing must still be conducted in a random manner as far as is possible. The bitch in season should be dropped to the last brace of a full day before the first dog is drawn. The first bitch drawn should be dropped down to run with the bitch in season. This ensures there will be a bitch available to run in the last brace. Or the bitches may be put into a separate hat and the first bitch drawn will run with the bitch in season, and then the remaining bitches will be merged into one hat with the males.
  • If a bitch comes into season after the drawing, it is possible for it to be run if it can be dropped down to the last brace in such a manner that the bitch in season requirements are met, and that the owner or handler of any dogs affected approve of the move. Otherwise, the bitch must be scratched.
  • At the will of the field trial chairman, any bitch declared to be in season may be checked by a knowledgeable official for verification.
  • Proximity avoidance of males should be uppermost in the mind of the field trial committee. If a dog wagon is used then a specific, marked kennel should be set aside for the use of the bitch in season, and its neighboring kennels should be empty or occupied by bitches.

6. Making Accommodations for Particular Dogs or Handlers

            The purpose of the drawing established by the Minimum Requirements and by custom and practice in field trialing is to place all competitors on an even footing at the beginning of the drawing. It is well recognized that such things as choice of course in multiple courses and wild bird trials, time of day, or the particular day a dog may run in the case of stakes running over a period of several days, can affect performances. It is the purpose of the Minimum Requirements and these Guidelines to make clear that to the extent these factors may have an influence, they are to be determined by the “luck of the draw” and the normal running of the stake, and not by sharp practice, favoritism, or even well-intentioned but misguided efforts. It is not uncommon that handlers or owners present sympathetic cases for accommodation by the organizing group. Organizing groups are often motivated to maximize entries and to this end may wish to accommodate handlers so they can attend. However, failure to follow the Minimum Requirements and these Guidelines may result in wins for the particular stake being canceled, or even the entire trial voided. The organizing group has the responsibility to protect the integrity of the event. Knowing this, handlers and owners may choose to enter dogs in a particular stake, or not.

7. The Timing of Drawings and the Payment of Entry Fees

The By-Laws and Running rules reproduced above are clear regarding the normal situations when drawings take place the night before the stake in a Championship. This section covers drawings that do not follow the normal pattern.

  • Entry fees are due and payable immediately after the drawing. If a dog is withdrawn after the drawing for any reason, the entry fee is still due and payable. It is up to the Field Trial Chairman whether to forgive the entry fee for dogs withdrawn for a valid medical reason.
  • There can be no dogs entered after the closing date for any reason.
  • Entry fees are due for all dogs drawn.
  • Any entered dog may be withdrawn for any reason up until the drawing occurs and without penalty. No entry fees will be due.
  • The closing date and drawing date must be specified in the ad for the Championship.