World Cat Congress Members

The Southern African Cat Council

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History

The organized South African cat fancy originated in 1945 with an organization called the Associated Cat Clubs of South Africa.

In the 1990’s it was felt that the structure and constitution of this organization needed an overhaul to make it more democratic. The necessary planning and investigations were done over a period of some two years. In October 1996, an updated constitution with a new structure (e.g. in which breeders were granted more power with respect to matters such as breed standards) was accepted. With that came a name change to The Southern Africa Cat Council (SACC).

Regretfully, however, at that time a small group of members were dissatisfied with these changes, and subsequently broke away to start a new organization early in 1997. SACC is nevertheless still the largest cat fancy in South Africa.

The structure of SACC

SACC consists of its member clubs, which are spread all over the country. A number of breed groups are also affiliated to the organization, as well as the SA Council of Cat Judges and some Show Managers Forums and Stewards Forums. The components of SACC are explained in more detail in section 3 below.

The highest body in SACC is its Governing Council. The management of the affairs of SACC vests in its Governing Council, which consists of the following:

  • The President of SACC
  • The Vice President of SACC
  • One delegate of each of the member clubs. The clubs delegates have voting rights on Governing Council level – each club has one vote.

Governing Council is supported by several structures:

  • the Sectary of Governing Council
  • the Treasurer of SACC.
  • the administration office (i.e. the SA Cat Register)
  • the Ethics Committee
  • These persons/bodies do not have voting rights within Governing Council.

In addition to the supporting bodies, there are also two advisory bodies to Governing Council:

  • The Breed Council (representing the breed groups)
  • SA Council of Cat Judges (represented in Governing Council by one delegate, without voting rights).

The components of the SACC structure

The Clubs

SACC has 8 member clubs, with a total membership of approximately 1300. All clubs host at least one show per year. They also organize other activities such as exhibitions to make the general public aware of pedigree cat breeding and showing. The club committees are elected by their members at the various annual general meetings.

The clubs are independent entities, but by their voluntary participation in SACC activities they submit themselves to certain responsibilities. As members of SACC, they are bound by the SACC Constitution and Rules.

Club details are listed below.

The Breed Council and various breed groups

The SACC breed groups encourage the breeding of quality cats and promote their respective breeds. Some breed groups also host shows under auspices of SACC member clubs.

The breed groups act as advisory bodies on breed standards to the Governing Council of SACC and also serve a broad educational purpose. The Breed Groups draft standards and channel opinions and suggestions from the individual breeders to the Governing Council of SACC through the Breed Council Secretary.

Breeders who meet specified criteria (related to experience in their breed as well as activity within the cat fancy) may vote on matters concerning their breed (e.g. changes to the Standard of Points). This voting takes place on Breed Council level.

At present, approximately 10 breed groups are affiliated to SACC.

The SA Council of Cat Judges and various judges panels

SACC has a total of 34 qualified judges, of which 21 are all-round judges. These judges are members of four panels, spread country-wide. The panels have regular meetings and workshops, and train new judges.

The panels are affiliated to an umbrella body, the SA Council of Cat Judges. It has a general meeting bi-annually, which also includes workshops on e.g. new breeds or contentious issues related to judging of specific breeds/colours. The Council is also an advisory body to the Governing Council of SACC, through one delegate to Governing Council.

The judges may also vote on Breed Council matters, e.g. changes to the Standard of Points. A judge may only vote on those breeds that he/she is qualified to judge.

The judges panels train new judges. For training purposes, the cat breeds are divided into seven groups: Persian/Exotic, Medium Hair breeds, Siamese/Oriental/Balinese/Mediumhair Oriental, and four groups of approximately ten Foreign breeds each (i.e Foreign-A, B, C and D).

Judges’ training consists of four phases: first the trainees attend a number of lectures and demonstrations, offered by experienced judges—often themselves breeders of the breeds concerned. This is followed by a written exam on the relevant Standard of Points, and thereafter a practical exam on the breeds concerned. Upon successful completion of these, the student becomes a probationer judge and may judge under the supervision of a qualified judge only. Once the probation period is completed to the satisfaction of the supervisory judges, the student becomes a fully qualified judge of that group breeds.

In recent years a number of SACC judges have had international judging exposure in the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and Zimbabwe.

The Ethics Committee

The Ethics Committee is responsible for developing and executing an effective disciplinary system for complaints filed against any person or organization who by their voluntary participation in SACC activities, subject themselves to its rules. The Ethics Committee is also the official body to investigate complaints concerning breeders, owners of cats and exhibitors.

All persons, organizations or groups of people who voluntarily participate in breeding, exhibiting at shows or any other SACC activity, subject themselves to the Disciplinary Rules and Procedures of the Ethics Committee.

The Show Managers Forums

The show managers in each region may co-operate within a show managers’ forum in order to co-ordinate show dates, advise each other, promote innovativeness and creativity in show management, etc. The decisions of the show managers’ forums are not binding on the clubs.

The Stewards Forums

The stewards in each region have the choice to form a stewards’ forum. The objectives of these forums are to recruit and train new stewards, and co-operate on matters that concern stewards.

The South African Cat Register – SACC’s central administration office

The South African Cat Register (SACR) registers breeders and catteries, kittens, stud males, and records transfer of ownership of cats/kittens. In order to register kittens with the SACR, a breeder must have registered a cattery, and must be a member of at least one SACC member club.

SACC has approximately 300 registered catteries. During the period July 2002 to June 2003, almost 2300 kittens were registered. During this period, members imported 63 cats. The most popular breeds are Persians and Siamese, followed by Burmese, Birman, and Maine Coon.

SACC publications and communication

The official mouthpiece of SACC is the SACC Gazette. The various clubs and breed groups also publish their own newsletters with club news, educational articles etc.

The SACATS email list has existed for a few years and has over 200 members. Anyone interested in the South African cat fancy may join the list. It has a web page at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sacats

Shows

SACC clubs host a total of 20 to 25 championship shows per year. These take place in the major cities, i.e. Johannesburg/Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Kimberley.

Like shows worldwide, SACC shows have also decreased in size in recent years. Many South African exhibitors will still remember shows of up to 800 cats, a mere 15 years ago. At present show entries are around 200 cats per show.

Cats may be judged more than once at a given show. At present the shows normally offer three to six “rings”/judging rounds.

Cats in SACC can achieve up to three titles: Champion/Premier, Grand Champion/Premier and Supreme Champion/Premier. In the Open classes, the cats compete in classes based on sex, breed, coat pattern and colour. Three Challenge Champion Certificates awarded by three different judges earn a cat the title of Champion. Thereafter it may compete in a Grand Challenge class (based on sex, breed, and in some cases coat pattern) for Grand Challenge Champion certificates. Six of these, awarded by six different judges, earn it the title of Grand Champion. It may then be entered in the Supreme Challenge class. Again, six Supreme Challenge Champion certificates earn it the title of Supreme Champion. Although the judges do not necessarily point-judge, the awards are approximately associated with 82, 87 and 92 percent, respectively.

SACC also awards the title of Distinguished Merit to sires and dams that consistently produce offspring of superior quality. These are based on the number of progeny earning titles.

The flagship event: SACC Cat of the Year

SACC has had a Cat of the Year competition since the 1980’s. The present format has been in place since 1993. Cats collect points throughout the show year (running from July to June of the following year) for show achievements. Based on these points, 28 entire adults and 28 neutered adults are selected to participate in a final judge-off event. On this day all points earned through-out the year fall away and the cats are judged in the two sections and placed against each other. In this way an Entire of the Year, Neuter of the Year, and out of these two the SACC Cat of the Year, are crowned. 11 Kittens and 5 Pets are also invited to this event to compete for the title of SACC Kitten of the Year and SACC Household Pet of the Year, they however do not compete for the overall title of SACC Cat of the Year.

Clubs

  • Gauteng
    • Cat Fanciers Club of SA (CFC)
    • Rand Cat Club (RCC)
    • Transvaal Cat Society (TCS)
  • Western Cape
    • All Breeds Cat Club (ABCC)
    • Western Province Cat Club (WPCC)
  • Kwazulu - Natal
    • Persian Cat Society (PCS)
  • Eastern Cape
    • Eastern Province Cat Club (EPCC)
  • Northern Cape - Free State
    • Northern Cape/Free State Cat Club (NCFS)