SACC Steward's Forum
and Stewards
SACC RULES GOVERNING THE STEWARDS' FORUM AND STEWARDS
1. OBJECTS AND FUNCTIONS
1.1 To protect the Interest of Stewards
1.2 To educate members of the Forum.
1.3 To organize workshops or Stewards courses.
1.4 To encourage members to develop their skills in stewarding.
1.5 To promote good relations between Stewards, Exhibitors, Judges and Show Officials.
1.6 To produce a training manual.
2. STRUCTURE
There shall be a Stewards' Forum in each of the following centres:
2.1 Johannesburg
2.2 Durban
2.3 Port Elizabeth
2.4 Cape Town
3. ELIGIBLE FOR MEMBERSHIP
3.1 Any person interested in Stewarding at Cat Shows shall register as a member.
3.2 Any person over the age of 14 years may register as a member.
3.3 A fully paid up member of a Cat Club associated to SACC.
4. MEMBERSHIP FEE
An annual membership fee of R10.00 is payable on/or before January 1st. Payment to be effected directly to the Secretary of the Stewards' Forum, of that region.
5. STEWARDS
Stewards will be divided into three (3) sections depending on their qualifications and experience, namely:
5.1 Trainee
5.2 Junior Steward (minimum age of 16)
5.3 Senior Steward (minimum age of 18)
6. COMMITTEE
6.1 Member Stewards shall elect a Chairperson and Secretary from amongst themselves.
6.2 The Secretary will be responsible for all communication between the Forum and other Offices of SACC and its members. The Secretary shall be in control of all income and expenditure and account annually to the members.
7. VOTING/MEETINGS
7.1 All members shall have 1 vote.
7.2 In the event of an equal number of votes no person shall have a deciding vote.
7.3 The Committee shall meet from time to time by giving notice to all members.
7.4 The business of the Forum shall be conducted in writing, by fax, telephone or e-mail.
8. DISCIPLINE/REPRESENTATION
The members of The Stewards Forum are subject to the Rules of SACC and submit themselves to the disciplinary Rules as set out in the Constitution of SACC.
9. HEAD STEWARDS
9.1 Head Stewards shall report any complaint to the Show Manager concerned and submit a written report to the Committee of the Forum in the event of any complaint.
10. DRESS
10.1 Stewards shall wear a white covering (coat, jacket, shirt) that must be buttoned up while cats are being handled.
10.2 No strong smelling perfume, after shave or deodorant may be worn; some cat react negatively to strong scents.
10.3 Tinkling bangles, long earrings, etc. shall not be worn as they can become entangles in claws or startle nervous cats.
10.4 Long hair must be tied back from the face.
11. RULES OF STEWARDING ETHICS
11.1 Stewards shall not talk or comment to a judge busy judging an exhibit. Questions may only be asked after the judge has finished writing his/her book or finished a class.
11.2 Stewards shall not pass the judge's opinion on an exhibit on to the owner of that cat or other exhibitors.
11.3 Stewards shall refrain from speaking to judges while Supreme Classes or Best in Show Classes are being judged.
11.4 A Steward shall not take a nervous or fractious cat out of a cage for another Steward if that cat belongs to him/her, a member of the same household or a family member in the first degree.
12. DUTIES
12.1 Stewards shall arrive at the time stipulated by the Show Manager to complete the vetting in and benching of their own cats before the bulk of exhibitors arrive so that waiting in queue to vet in their cats does not delay the starting of their duties.
12.2 Stewards shall report to the Head Steward or Show Manager in order to have their judges/duties assigned to them.
12.3 After their judges have completed judging, Stewards shall be available throughout the course of the day for duties such as giving water to exhibits, cleaning litter trays, placing rosettes on cages and handling or fetching cats for Best in Show judging.
12.4 If the Steward knows or has bred a cat in a class, or has knowledge of who owns a cat in a class, the Steward should act with the utmost diplomacy so that the judge would be totally unaware of the situation.
12.5 Failure to comply with the wishes and or requests of the Show Manager may result in a written reprimand via the Stewards' Forum.
13. PROPOSALS TO GC OF SACC
13.1 In the event of any proposals, recommendation or amendment of a rule relating to Stewards matters, the Secretary shall forward these proposals to all other Stewards' Forums for their voting.
13.2 The weight of these opinions shall form the basis for an annual poll (in questionaire form) prepared by the Secretary.
13.3 At least 50% of all members from the various Stewards' Forums must have responded.
13.4 The Secretary of each Stewards' Forum shall forward those results from the polls to the Secretary of SACC to be included in the Agenda of the Annual General Meeting of GC of SACC for voting.