Regional Invitationals | International Invitationals

Each year the ASFA will sanction a series of lure field trials, the purpose of which shall be to promote and further test those hounds that have attained a certain number of points toward their ASFA Field Championship, and those hounds that are ASFA Field Champions or Lure Coursers of Merit of record. These lure field trials consist of the ASFA International Invitational and a series of Regional Invitationals, held in the various ASFA regions. Information regarding the ASFA International Invitational is available from the Corresponding Secretary.

Regional Invitational Policies
(As approved by the Board of Directors, March 2002)

Requesting permission
The club submits a request to its Regional Director at least 4 months prior to the proposed date. This request should include:

• Name of the club
• Proposed date
• Location of trial and description of grounds
• Entry fee
• Additional activities (if any)

Date
A date that has already been approved by the Scheduling Chairman for a trial in that region, or is a priority date in effect for a club, cannot be used unless the club(s) holding the date notifies Scheduling, in writing, that it will relinquish the date for the Regional Invitational. The club(s) relinquishing the date would retain priority for the following year. After a date has been approved for the Regional Invitational, no other trial shall be held in the region on the same date. A Regional Invitational may be held any time from January to December, but there shall be only one each year in each region.

Entry limits
There shall be no entry limits without prior approval from the Regional Director.
Location and grounds. The trial must be held within the regional boundaries. The grounds must be adequate to accommodate a large trial for the region. Course lengths must be within rule specifications (500 yards or more), but a length in excess of 750 yards is recommended. The grass must be a length that allows the lure operator clear visibility of the lure. Consideration should also be given to accessibility, lodging, refreshments and rest room facilities.

Entry fees
Minimum entry fee is $10.00 for pre-entries; if late entries are accepted, minimum is $15.00.

Additional Activities
Activities such as banquets, seminars, dog shows, awards, etc., (if offered) should be listed.

Eligibility
Any hound that has earned at least one ASFA point, or equivalent point in its country of residence, or is a Field Champion of record, is eligible to enter. Proof of non-ASFA title and non-ASFA points for hounds should be in the form of a photocopy of the certificate, or page of formal printing, and included with the entry. An eligible hound may be entered in any number of Regional Invitationals. Miscellaneous Class breeds are eligible to compete in Regional Invitationals.

FAN publication
One full page will be available for each Regional Invitational provided the host club submits ad copy at least 90 days before the trial. Two full pages (including photos) will be made available after the trial. The article and photos should be submitted as soon as possible after the trial to ensure timely publication. There is no charge to the host club for these publications.

Per capita fees to ASFA
A per capita fee of $5.00 per hound will be forwarded to the Records Coordinator with the trial results.

Rosettes and Trophies
ASFA provides rosettes for all placements and ASFA medallions for each Best of Breed winner; the host club must request these from the Regional Director at least 60 days before the trial. The host club may offer additional trophies at the club's own expense or through donations.

General
The premium list shall include both host club and ASFA Officers and Board Members. Judges should be regularly licensed for the breeds that they judge. Equipment provided by the host club should be adequate to handle a large entry for the region. A veterinarian should be on call or at the trial site.
Each year, the Regional Director will review all proposals received from clubs requesting to host a Regional Invitational. The Regional Director shall notify, in writing, the Scheduling Chairman and each club that submitted a proposal after the decision is made.
All additional requirements and exceptions to the ASFA rulebook relating to Regional Invitationals are noted; all ASFA rules shall apply to Regional Invitationals. The ASFA Board of Directors must approve exceptions to any of the above policies.
Consult the ASFA Corresponding Secretary or your Regional Director for more information.

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International Invitational Policies
(As approved by the Board of Directors, March 2002)

The chair of the Invitationals Committee shall submit a copy of the current I.I. guidelines to FAN for publication in each March/April issue.
Each year the ASFA will sanction the International Invitational, the purpose of which shall be to promote and further test those hounds that have attained a certain number of points toward their Field Championship and hounds that have earned the Field Champion or Lure Courser of Merit titles.
Each year, the Regional Directors will review all proposals received from clubs requesting to host an International Invitational and present their recommendation to the Board of Directors. After a decision has been made, the Corresponding Secretary shall notify the Scheduling Chairman and each club that submitted a proposal of the decision. The appropriate Regional Director shall serve as a liaison between the host club and ASFA Board.

Requesting permission
The club submits a request to the ASFA Corresponding Secretary two years in advance of the International in question. This request should include:

• Name of the Club
• Proposed date
• Approximate location of trial and description of the grounds
• Entry fee
• Additional activities (if any)

Date
International Invitational priority dates will be the 3rd weekend of the year (January) or the 22nd weekend (end of May or beginning of June) following the AKC Corresponding Date Table, unless the 22nd weekend is Memorial Day weekend. In such cases, the spring date shall be on the 23rd weekend.
The International Invitational may be held at any time from January to December except that any club with a corresponding priority date in effect at the time of scheduling the International Invitational must agree, in writing to the Scheduling Chairman, to relinquish the date for the holding of this event. Any club relinquishing the date would retain priority for the following year. During the interim, trials may be held on the 3rd and 22nd weekend (as above) if not used for the International Invitational, but no club shall hold priority on either date until such time as this special policy is ratified or discontinued.
No other trial shall be held on the same weekend within 1,000 miles of the International Invitational. Both Saturday and Sunday will be reserved for the event.

Grounds
The grounds must be adequate to accommodate an entry of 300 or more hounds. Course lengths must be within rule specifications (500 yards or more), but a length in excess of 750 yards is recommended. The grass must be a length that allows the lure operator clear visibility of the lure. Consideration should also be given to accessibility, lodging, refreshments and rest room facilities.

Evaluating proposals
The following system will be used by the Regional Directors when evaluating proposals.

Location Sections are defined as:

WEST - Regions 1, 2, 3 and 10;
CENTRAL - Regions 4, 5 and 6;
EAST - Regions 7, 8 and 9

Rotation schedule calendar

Any club may submit a proposal to hold the International Invitational. This proposal should be submitted by April 1st, two years before the trial date in question. The host club will be chosen with consideration to the following, listed in order of importance.

• appropriate section of the country for that year
• the club deemed most likely to host the highest quality event
• timely receipt of proposal

If no viable proposal is received from the section with priority before October 1st, two calendar years before the International Invitational in question, all properly submitted proposals received by October 1st will be reviewed with consideration to the following, listed in order of importance.

• the proposal that appears to be likely to result in the highest quality event
• the region that has hosted an International Invitational least recently
• club status (member, longevity, etc.)

The Scheduling Chairman, Records Coordinator, Membership Chairman and the respective Regional Director shall be asked for comments regarding the potential host club and field committee before a final decision is reached. The host club will be approved by the Board of Directors, following the order of preference stated above, no later than December 1st, two calendar years before the event in question, if possible, and each club that submitted a proposal shall be advised of the decision.

Entry limits
As this event is to promote competition of exceptional hounds, the entry shall not be limited and shall be open to all hounds eligible to compete. The ASFA Board of Directors must specifically approve any entry limitation.
Entry fees. Minimum entry fee is $15.00 for pre-entries; if late entries are accepted, minimum is $20.00.

Additional activities
Activities such as banquets, seminars, dog shows, awards, etc. (if offered) should be listed.

Eligibility
Any hound that has earned at least 20 ASFA points, or equivalent points in its country of residence, or is a Field Champion of record, or has placed in a Regional Invitational is eligible to enter. Proof of non-ASFA title and non-ASFA points for hounds should be in the form of a photocopy of the certificate, or page of formal printing, and included with the entry. For a Miscellaneous breed to be eligible, the entry must have one first placement, or two second placements, with competition in the Miscellaneous Class.

FAN publication
Two full pages will be available for announcing each International Invitational provided the host club submits ad copy to the editor at least 90 days before the trial. Three full pages (including photos) will be made available after the trial. The article and photos of each Best of Breed, Best in International Invitational and winner of the Gillette Stake should be submitted as soon as possible after the trial to insure timely publication.
The host club may also circulate the premium list with FAN provided the club submits a copy of the premium list to the editor within the deadlines to ensure timely distribution.
There is no charge to the host club for these publications.

General
The sample premium list should be mailed to the Scheduling Chairman and the Regional Director at least 120 days before the trial and should include both host club and ASFA Officers and Board Members. The approved premium list shall be sent to each club delegate, each judge for the event, and all ASFA Board Members, either by individual mailing or through distribution with FAN (see above). Judges shall be fully licensed for the breed(s) that they judge. Equipment provided by the host club should be adequate to handle an entry of 300 or more hounds per day. The host club is encouraged to recruit lure operators and other members of the field committee and judges from outside the area, whenever possible. A veterinarian should be on call or at the trial site.
The ASFA Treasurer shall be a member of all International Invitational finance committees.

The ASFA Treasurer will remit to the International Invitational committee $1,000 for International Invitational judge's expenses. In addition, a loan up to $1,000 is available from ASFA for start up costs and will be repaid in full by the host club. This money is available up to one year prior to the date of the International Invitational.

After the trial
Within a reasonable time after the International Invitational, the field secretary shall forward the following to the ASFA Corresponding Secretary:

• a copy of the premium lists
• catalog (if any)
• a completed and signed I.I. Perpetual Trophy Return Agreement for each perpetual trophy winner.

The Corresponding Secretary shall forward the return agreements to the next International Invitational field secretary; the other information shall be forwarded upon request.
Three sets of International Invitational banners will be passed on to each International Invitational. The trial chair will be responsible for getting the banners to the next year's field trial chair.

Per capita fees to ASFA
A per capita fee of $6.00 per hound will be forwarded to the Records Coordinator with the trial results.
All additional requirements and exceptions to the ASFA rulebook relating to International Invitational are noted; all other ASFA rules shall apply to International Invitational. The ASFA Board of Directors must approve exceptions to any of the previously listed policies.
Consult the ASFA Corresponding Secretary or your Regional Director for more information.

Rosettes and trophies
ASFA provides rosettes and enameled pins for all placements. ASFA provides medals for each Flight, Stake, Best of Breed, Breeder Stake, Kennel Stake, Gillette Stake, and Best in International Invitational winner. The host club must request these from the Regional Director at least 90 days before the trial. In addition, the following perpetual trophies are awarded each year to each breed winner:

• Lyle Gillette Memorial Trophy will be awarded to the Gillette stake winner on Saturday.
  • The Gillette Stake is a premier event held annually at the International Invitational. This competition is to showcase form and function in our finest sighthounds and to honor the father of the sport of lure coursing in America, Lyle Gillette.
    Eligibility
    Entry shall be open to hounds that have achieved all of the following:
    1. AKC or foreign bench championship, and
    2. ASFA Field Championship, and
    3. 20 or more ASFA points during the 12-month period prior to the closing date of the International Invitational.
  • Entry
    Each hound must be entered in either the Field Champion or Veteran stake on Saturday of the International Invitational. The field secretary must receive a special entry form for the Gillette stake by the closing date of regular entries. There is no additional fee for an entry in this stake.
  • Competition
    The Gillette stake competition will be run on Saturday, following the same procedures as a regular Best in Field. The eligible hound in each breed that receives the highest, qualifying, combined score during regular competition on Saturday will be randomly drawn to run in the Gillette Stake. Ties within a breed, if any, will be run off or forfeited prior to the draw.
    The hound receiving the highest score in this one course (more only if required by a tie) shall be the winner of the Gillette Stake.
    Judges. One or two judges shall be selected from the ASFA all-breed licensed judges present. The judge(s) need not be published in advance.
  • Awards
    The name of each year's winning hound shall be engraved on the perpetual Lyle Gillette Memorial Trophy, and an ASFA medallion shall be awarded to the winner.
    Decisions. The field chairman shall be responsible for all and any decisions regarding this stake, not specifically covered above, unless the chairman has a hound eligible to compete in this stake. Then, the field secretary shall make all decisions. If the secretary also has a hound eligible to compete, the field committee shall make decisions.
    
• The American Whippet Club Perpetual Trophy is awarded to the Whippet representing the breed in the Gillette Stake.
• Best In International Invitational. The President's Cup, donated by Arnold Ross, will be awarded to the equivalent of a Best in Field winner on Sunday.

  NOTE: When awarding these trophies, please refer to the I.I. Perpetual Trophy information sheet for assistance in their presentation.
  No awards other than the above trophies shall be offered at any International Invitational.
  The host club at each I.I. is responsible for obtaining a completed and signed I.I. Perpetual Trophy Return Agreement from each individual who takes possession of a perpetual trophy.* The completed forms shall be forwarded to the Corresponding Secretary. The host club is responsible for contacting the previous year's winner of each trophy and arranging for the trophies to be on the trial site.
  * A $100 fine will be imposed and all points and placements will be held on all hounds owned by an individual who does not return an I.I. Perpetual Trophy.