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General Rules and Regulations for the UKC Merit Club™ Program
Merit Club Sire Nomination. To be eligible for the UKC Merit Club Sire status during any calendar year (January 1 – December 31), a dog must be:
• Nominated to the UKC Merit Club™ during that calendar year; • DNA profiled and on record with UKC. Merit Club Sires may be nominated anytime during the calendar year for which they are applying by paying the Merit Club Sire fee listed below. A list of nominated Merit Club Sires will be published monthly by UKC in BLOODLINES magazine. Merit Club Sire status is not a permanent status, it must be updated annually to ensure eligibility. To be eligible for Merit Club Sire status, a dog must be DNA profiled and on record with UKC. Sire nominations received that do not show as being UKC DNA profiled will be considered as “pending.” The nomination will not be complete until DNA information is in the database at UKC. A list of Merit Club sires that are pending DNA Profiling will be published monthly by UKC in BLOODLINES. These dogs will be shown at the end of the Merit Club list under a title of Merit Club Sires – Pending DNA. UKC reserves the right to any Merit Club Sire nomination if the nomination fee submitted is less than the amount due in accordance with the Merit Club Sire fee schedule listed below. Individuals who submit a Merit Club Sire nomination with insufficient payment shall be notified by mail and given 30 days to pay the balance. If payment is received within 30 days of notification, Merit Club Sire status shall be granted to the dog in question as of the date the nomination was originally received. Once a Merit Club Sire is nominated into the Merit Club, no portion of the nomination fee is refundable, except that a Merit Club Sire that dies without producing a UKC-registered litter during the calendar year for which he was nominated. The registered owner must return the UKC Registration Certificate for the nominated sire marked “Deceased” and the date of death and a written request for a refund, including the owner’s signature(s) prior to receiving a refund of the nomination fee. Refunds will only be issued at the close of the calendar year. Merit Club Sire Nomination Deadline and Fee Schedule.
• If a Merit Club Sire nomination is postmarked on or after January 1 but through June 30 of the calendar year, the nomination fee is $150. • If a Merit Club Sire nomination is postmarked on or after July 1 but through December 31 of the calendar year, the nomination fee is $200. *Note: For the year of 2007 only, all UKC Merit Club Sires may nominate for $100, regardless of the date nominated. Merit Club Litter Nomination. After a female produces a litter by a Merit Club Sire, the registered owner of the litter, or any other individual, may nominate the litter for the Merit Club Program by paying the appropriate nomination litter fee in accordance with the Litter Fee Schedule listed below. One Application for Permanent Nomination, for each puppy in the litter, will be mailed to the litter owner. If the litter is not nominated, the individual pups will not be eligible to compete for cash rewards. Litter nomination and permanent nomination of all pups can be requested at the same time. This is done to ensure the breeder that all pups are paid up and eligible to earn Merit Club money. Permanent registration of the pups is not required for this option, however, the entire litter not just a portion of the litter, must be permanently nominated if choosing this option. The same nomination fees apply as if each nomination were being processed individually. Litters can be nominated while their sire is listed as Pending DNA. When the sire’s DNA Profile is on record at UKC, all litters shown a Pending DNA will be processed. All pups born in the Merit Club calendar year will be eligible for nomination. UKC reserves the right to deny the eligibility of any nominated litter if the nomination fee submitted is less than the amount due in accordance with the Litter Nomination Fee Schedule listed below. Individuals who submit a litter nomination with insufficient payment shall be notified by mail and given 30 days to pay the balance. If payment is received within 30 days of notification, litter nomination status shall be granted to the litter in question as of the date the nomination was originally received. Once a litter is nominated into the Merit Club no portion of the litter nomination fee is refundable. No litter may be nominated after one year of age. Litter Nomination Deadlines and Fee Schedule.
• If a Merit Club litter nomination is postmarked after six months of age, but before one year of age, the nomination is $20 per pup and the whole litter must be nominated. Permanent Nomination. The owner, co-owner, or any other individual of an eligible dog must permanently nominate the dog on or before the dog reaches twenty-fourth months of age by paying the appropriate Permanent Nomination fee in accordance with the Permanent Nomination Fee Schedule listed below. Dogs are not eligible for Championship points and/or legs associated with Merit Club Points until that particular dog is Permanently Nominated and Permanently Registered. UKC reserves the right to deny any Permanent Nomination if the nomination fee submitted is less than the amount due in accordance with the Permanent Nomination Fee Schedule listed below. Any person who submits a Permanent Nominations with insufficient payment shall be notified by mail and given 30 days to pay the balance. If payment is received within 30 days of notification, permanent nomination status shall be granted to the dog in question as of the date the nomination was originally received. Once a dog is permanently nominated in the Merit Club, no portion of the nomination fee is refundable. No dog may be permanently nominated after its twenty-fourth month birthday. Permanent Nomination Deadlines and Fee Schedule.
• If a permanent nomination is postmarked after the dog is sixth months of age, but before twelve months of age, the permanent nomination fee is $50.00. • If a permanent nomination is postmarked after the dog is twelve months of age, but before eighteen months of age, the permanent nomination fee is $100.00. • If a permanent nomination is postmarked after the dog is eighteen months of age, but before twenty-four months of age, the permanent nomination fee is $200.00. Determination of Dates. The nomination becomes effective as of the postmark date as evidenced by the date stamp on the envelope. This date will determine the nomination fees owed in accordance with the appropriate fee schedule for the nominations of Merit Club Sires, litters and permanently nominated dogs. Fees. All fees are payable in US Funds. A fee of $25 will be assessed for checks returned to UKC as unpaid for any reason. No further business will be transacted with United Kennel Club until the check and fee(s) are paid with a money order or credit card payment. Only MasterCard and Visa are accepted.
Premium Money and Tier breed designation. All fees collected during the calendar year from Merit Club Sire Nominations, Litter Nominations, and Permanent Nominations shall constitute the Tier’s Merit Club Premium Money, except that UKC may deduct the accumulated cost of administering the Merit Club program (not to exceed 10%) from the gross proceeds. Tiers shall be comprised of the following breed(s):
• Tier 2. The American Hairless Terrier, Jack Russell Terrier, Rat Terrier, Russell Terrier, and Toy Fox Terrier breeds. • Tier 3. The balance of UKC recognized breeds not listed in Tier 1 and Tier 2. Note: A new breed recognized by UKC will be eligible to participate in the Merit Club the first full calendar year after the breed’s recognition, except in the case where recognition is given on January 1. How to Earn Merit Club Points. Dogs must be permanently nominated and permanently registered on or before the day of the event to be eligible for Championship points and/or legs required for Merit Club points. Points and/or legs earned on a Temporary Listing number will not qualify for Merit Club Points. Merit Club Points are earned by obtaining the degrees on the table in this brochure as issued by the United Kennel Club. Points will be earned in accordance with the degree earned date on file at UKC. Points for a degree may be earned only once. The dog must be UKC permanently registered when it earns Merit Club points as seen in this brochure. Eligible programs for each tier. Each dog eligible for the UKC Merit Club may earn UKC Merit Club Points at UKC-licensed events in accordance with the Tier chart below: • Tier 1. Agility Trials, Conformation Shows, Dog Sport Trials, Obedience Trials and Weight Pulls. • Tier 2. Agility Trials, Conformation Shows, Dog Sport Trials, Obedience Trials, Terrier Races and Weight Pulls. • Tier 3. Agility Trials, Conformation Shows, Dog Sport Trials, Obedience Trials and Weight Pulls. Payout of Premium Money. At the end of the calendar year, UKC will calculate the value of a single Merit Club point by dividing the total amount of Premium Money by the total number of Merit Club Points earned by all eligible dogs in the Tier during the calendar year. UKC will pay the following percentages from the Tier’s Merit Club fund:
• To the owner(s) of a litter, as recorded by UKC, twenty percent (20%) of the value of all Merit Club points earned by eligible dogs of that Tier from the nominated litter during that calendar year. • To the owner(s) of Permanently Nominated Dog, as recorded by UKC as of December 31 of the calendar year, sixty percent (60%) of the value of all Merit Club points earned by an eligible dog of that Tier during that calendar year. Calculation of winnings will be based on the official event records of the UKC as of January 31 following the completion of the calendar year in which the points were earned. Subsequent correction of event results, for any reason, will not affect calculation of winnings. All winnings are subject to Internal Revenue Service rules and regulations pertaining to withholding of tax and the reporting of earnings. Any payout checks which are less than $10 will not be issued, and those monies reverted back to the Merit Club program. UKC is required by Federal Law to obtain Social Security numbers for individuals receiving monies exceeding the amount of $600.00. For tax purposes, W-9’s will be sent to the payees by January 31 of the year following the Merit Club Payout. The tentative payout date will be March 15th of each year. Note: First premium payout will be in 2009 for points earned in the years of 2007 and 2008. Payouts after that time will be distributed yearly. Barred Or Suspended Individuals. If the owner or co-owner of a UKC Registered dog is barred or suspended from UKC, he/she shall be ineligible to participate in the Merit Club Program for the entire period of the barment or suspension. All Merit Club Points earned by a dog owned or co-owned by a person who is barred or suspended during any calendar year shall be forfeited. In the event such a dog is sold to an owner or co-owner who are eligible to participate in this program, the dog will remain ineligible to earn Merit club points until January 1 of the year following the suspension or barment of the previous owner(s). Any monies earned by barred or suspended individuals will be reverted back to the Merit Club Fund. For rules regarding UKC-licensed events, eligibility of competing dogs, and degrees earned, refer to the current edition of the UKC Official Rulebook for each event. Dispute Resolution. All disputes arising out of the application or interpretation of any rules or conditions of the UKC Merit Club will be decided by the United Kennel Club, Inc. UKC Reserved Powers. UKC reserves the right to alter the conditions of all or part of the Merit Club, in its sole discretion, determines to ensure fairness and equality to all participants. Further, at its sole discretion, UKC may cancel the Merit Club program at any time and refund money if it deems participation is insufficient to justify continuing the program. UKC reserves the right to randomly DNA profile any dog(s) in the Merit Club to assure accuracy of payments and records. Ineligible Participants. An entrant is ineligible to participate in the Merit Club where prohibited by law because of legal resident, sites of approved UKC Licensed events, or any other basis, and all of the prohibited portion of earned points or purse money will be disregarded in calculations for an earned portion of the UKC Merit Club. United Kennel Club, Inc. 100 E Kilgore RD Kalamazoo MI 49002-5584 (269) 343-9020 www.ukcdogs.com |
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