Background

The sport called junior showmanship (JRS) had its beginnings in the late 1920’s. In those early days dog shows were considered a "wealthy-man’s sport"and parents arrived at shows in chauffeur-driven limousines. The children who accompanied their parents quickly became bored causing disruptive problems on the show grounds. In response to this, the American Kennel Club (AKC) created children’s handling events to keep them busy. The judges were local officials, personalities and movie stars. Within a few years AKC replaced local citizens with professional handlers. In 1951 the name of the program was changed to Junior Showmanship. In 1971, the American Kennel Club recognized the virtues of Junior Handler competition and granted official recognition for the classes at AKC events.

The newly- named program required that the competitors be judged "only on the junior’s ability to present his dog quietly, proficiently and to its best advantage."Eligibility for juniors was divided into two classes, Novice and Open, which were further divided by age.

Novice	Open
Junior 9 & under 12	Junior 9 & under 12
Intermediate 12 & under 15	Intermediate 12 & under 15
Senior 15 & under 18	Senior 15 & under 18

The first report on the junior survey was called Part I, which was published in the October issue of Perspectives. A PowerPoint presentation given to the delegates in October and is available here.

The Junior Survey

In order to learn more about junior showmanship, a survey was launched that attracted more than 1,300 juniors who responded to a 50 question survey. The purpose of the survey was to identify factors related to success, dropout and continued participation in the sport as an adult. The median age of the respondents at the time of the survey was 39.

While not a part of the survey, it is important to know that AKC data for the years 2000 – 2013 (graph 1& 2) shows a slow downward drift of junior’s participation in the sport over the past 13 years. The entries and certificates awarded juniors by the AKC during this period suggest that several factors may be impacting the program.

The total number of distinct juniors who entered the program by year (Tables 3, 4, 5). Tables 1 and 2 confirm the direction of the program. Economic conditions may be a contributing factor but our survey data suggest that other factors may be involved.

Table 3. Distinct Juniors and Total Number of Entries

Year	Comp Type	Distinct Juniors	Total	Total Juniors Competitors
2000		JSHW	3,359	28,529
2001		JSHW	3,431	31,209
2002		JSHW	3,4334	31,718
2003		JSHW	3,463	31,581
2004		JSHW	3,427	29,273
2005		JSHW	3,649	30,384
2006		JSHW	3,682	35,477
2007		JSHW	3,550	35,408
2008		JSHW	3,524	32,034
2009		JSHW	2,985	30,164
2010		JSHW	2,810	29,368
2011		JSHW	2,497	27,071
2012		JSHW	2,361	25,840
2013		JSHW	2,151	23,780

Table 4. Number of Junior Enrolled by Year

Year	Junior Numbers Issued	Junior Recognition Certs Issued
2001	2607	259
2002	3015	275
2003	3058	315
2004	3184	341
2005	3109	388
2006	2877	502
2007	2699	480
2008	2269	446
2009	2352	369
2010	1982	399
2011	2322	358
2012	2298	387

Table 5. Number of Junior Entries

Year	Entry
2001	64
2002	65
2003	79
2004	?
2005	93
2006	142
2007	135
2008	136
2009	95
2010	123
2011	0148
2012	150
2013	148

Preliminary Findings

When asked about success the juniors defined success as winning. For purposes of this study, we defined success as JR’s who spent three or more years in the show ring and were between 15 and 18 years of age.Based on our survey, we noticed that one factor should have been given more attention. Table 6 shows that 49% of the support provided juniors did not involve a family member. This was not expected. The person who provides support to a junior including the all-important transportation to the dog show we call the volunteer.More will be said about this person later in this report and in the final report.

Table. 6 Supports of juniors

Support	Frequency	Percent
No family support	674	49.96
Family support	675	50.04
Other support	60	4.45
No other support	1289	95.55

The Breeder of Merit program (BOM) was another topic included in the survey. It was established in 2010, and for many juniors the BOM had not been established during the time they were juniors. However, 37% of the juniors indicted they were a BOM, which confirms their involvement as an adult after aging out.

Table 7. Breeder of Merit Program

Breeder of Merit Program	Frequency	Percent
Yes	206	37.39
No	345	62.61

The requirements for a BOM support our conclusion about continuation in the sport as an adult. BOM requirements include: register dogs you breed, use the health tests of your parent club and belong to a breed club.The responses are encouraging given the young age of this program.

A troubling statistic was the extreme difference in gender (85% girls, 15% boys) which in part can be explained by two social factors. The juniors responded that success was wining. Boys at this age who compete want instant success and are easily embarrassed when they lose to a girl. Girls on the other hand are more patient and are not as easily embarrassed. Discussions with 4-H representatives support these conclusions. We noted that boys at this age lack patience and are easily embarrassed causing them to drop out early if they do not win. Data provided by the Boy and Girl Scouts of America show 55% boys and 45% girls continue to participate in their programs. These differences cannot be explained by ethnicity (Table 8).

Table 8. Boy and Girl Scout Participation by Gender

Distribution of Ethnicity	Percentage
Caucasian	31
African-American	29
Hispanic/Latino	23
Multi-racial	5
Asian-American	3
American Indian or Alaska Native	3

If boys are to be recruited and retained, a better reward and recognition mechanism is needed. New categories other than "winner take all"should be considered. The sport of Junior Showmanship, as currently defined, is based on the traditional thinking of conformation shows where the format of ribbons and 1-4 placements are used to recognize success. Winning and losing is not an attractive reward system to many children of this age.

Preliminary Recommendations

At this time we are only prepared to make a few preliminary recommendations based on our data. One area needing attention is the emphasis that is placed on the volunteer who provides support to the junior.Input from 4H representatives and reports from the Boy and Girl Scouts of America indicate that the ideas used to attract and retain young people and their families need to include values related to the programs and opportunity to enhance skills and personal development.For example, what might be a compelling reason to a junior to become involved in the sport might be different for the adult volunteer who provides the regular and consistent support each show weekend. The adult sees opportunities for self-development, good sportsmanship, social skills, responsibility and time management as values they are likely to appreciate.

In this regard, several research papers about volunteers were reviewed. Wilson reported that people who put more importance on the intrinsic life goals (p 55) support the concept that “motives, values and beliefs” are critical components underlying volunteerism (p. 218). For example, volunteering for one’s church represents a belief system. He discusses the theory of "Human Capital"which includes education, work, and income (pp. 219-222) and explains that the "Level of education is the most consistent predictor of volunteering . . . [and that] education boosts volunteering because it heightens awareness of problems, increases empathy, and builds self-confidence . . . [and] educated people are more likely to be asked to volunteer"(as cited in Wilson, 2000, pp. 219-220).

One recommendation that might address the problem of boys dropping out early is to add credits for participant and increase the number of rewards, ribbons and titles.By adding a component for achievement. more children are likely to remain and less likely to dropout. Earning credits for participation rewards every junior who must prepare, practice, groom and be on time.Rewards and recognition for achievement have worked successfully for the Boy and Girl Scout programs which rely on Merit badges to motivate and drive their programs.

In the final report, Part III, suggestions and recommendations will be based on the data, input from 4H and Boy and Girls Scouts and other organizations interested in creating a fan base.

Reference

Wilson, John , 2000. Volunteering, Annual Review of Sociology, Vo. 26, (2000) pp. 215 -240