Exhibitors want a variety of judges and the only way to do that is to fly different judges in. Some areas in the U.S. don't have that problem but in northern New England licensed ARBA judges are scarce and few live close enough to Maine to drive or want to put in an extra two days for driving when they have full time jobs to juggle. Can't blame them, we all do the best we can. Though Maine being the "Vacationland" State should be an incentive for a judge wanting to spend some wonderful summertime days with us. We've had some judges come up and spend a week sightseeing and enjoying Maine. It helps out both ways as they get a couple of hotel nights and gas or airfare for free, the rest is up to them. So if any judges out there would like to come up to Maine, contact me.
Even with the higher airfares, there are missed, delayed and canceled flights causing panic for any club's show secretary, so we appreciate the local judges that will drive up with a day's notice, if they aren't judging already.
Most Maine shows are pre-entry shows with deadlines of Wed. or Thurs. so that is helpful to know the number of animals to be judged ahead of time. I can't remember the last time a judge was canceled due to low entry numbers, more often we need an extra judge for unexpected high entries.
Clubs have done a couple of things in the past that were innovative but didn't continue with them. One club pre-sold "books" of entry tickets at a discount. Such as $3.00 entries could be bought in a book of say 10 for $25.00. This is a great way to help a club financially with the pre-expenses before a show. Another club gave one free entry for every 10 animals entered. This could potentially drum up an extra rabbit or two from those exhibitors wanting to hit the freebie minimum.
It would be interesting to hear what some other clubs charge for entry fees, how they make their judge's arrangements, pre-entry or day of entry shows and any helpful hints pertaining to these subjects. So let me hear from you!