I’ve already explained what’s changing about graduation points, but for those who want the short version of how graduation points will work in 2023:
- In a class with 16 dogs, 2nd place will get 1 graduation point. If there’s 31 dogs, 2nd place gets 2 points, and 3rd place gets 1. And so on and so on, every time the class size goes up by 15, there are more points on offer.
- 3 graduation points “counts” as one win to graduate to the next level – BUT you also need at least one 1st placing. You can move up to Senior with 2 wins and 3 points in Novice, or 1 win and 6 points. If you have 9 points but no wins, you’ll be staying put.
- Graduation points can only be earned if you go clear.
Today I’ll look at a few examples of how things would work, considering Novice classes from 2022. I’ve chosen to focus on Novice because this is usually the largest class which dogs can graduate out of, so the effects might be more significant here.
Real World Example #1 – Very Large Show
Let’s consider the Novice 500 classes at this year’s NZDAC. These had between 111 and 115 entries.
Second place would have earned 7 points, and third place would have earned 6 points. Remember that 3 points is equivalent to a win, but you still need at least one actual win to graduate. Any dog getting 2nd or 3rd in Novice 500 at this year’s NZDAC would have 6+ graduation points (2 win equivalents), and only require one win to move up to Senior. It’s actually possible for these dogs to move up to Senior with just 2 clear rounds in Novice – their placing at the NZDAC and their win.
Continue reading “The New Graduation Points Threshold in Practice”