Let’s start with the biggest organization for rabbits. Every rabbit breeder, fancier, or exhibitor (who lives in the areas served) should be a member of ARBA. Here’s what you get for your money:
- A nifty handbook on raising rabbits and cavies
- A quarterly magazine
- The ability to register qualified rabbits
- The ability to grand rabbits
- The option of getting Best In Show Certificates
- The option of attending the ARBA National Convention
- The right to vote for officers and changes to the constitution
- The potential to serve as an officer, director, or state representative
But beyond that, by supporting the very existence of ARBA, we get trained judges, a registration system, standards to breed toward, rules and regulations to show by, and set criteria for what constitutes a grand champion. Sure, those who don’t join ARBA can still show their rabbits and benefit from the trained judges, standards, rules & regulations, and can even claim to have Grand Champions by virtue of collecting legs (even if they don’t actually send them in and support the system by paying their GC fees).
ARBA, by the way, is the authority on who officially owns which rabbits. There’s no official record for juniors, but registered seniors have their owners listed. Rabbits must be shown in the names of the owners. So, if an adult is listed as the owner or one of the owners, that rabbit may not be shown by a youth. If one person owns a rabbit, it should not be shown by a co-op. The rabbit’s registration, if the rabbit is registered, is documentation of the official owner of the rabbit.
Some co-ops avoid the problem by not registering their rabbits, I’m told. That’s definitely their option. My choice is to support all of the clubs and programs that I benefit so much from. Of course, I’m a registrar, so of course I’m biased in favor of registering rabbits!
But joining ARBA is just the beginning. The next step is to join the national specialty club for your breed. I think it’s important to understand the relationship between ARBA and these national specialty clubs. They are chartered through ARBA. The specialty clubs must follow ARBA rules first and then may make other rules not in conflict with ARBA rules.
Here’s what you get when you join a specialty club:
- A nifty handbook on raising your specific breed (this is true of Holland lops, but I can’t vouch for every breed)
- The right to participate in the national sweeps contest for your breed
- The right to vote for officers and changes to the constitution
- The potential to serve as an officer or director
So, thus far we know that ARBA Convention, registrations, and grand champions are ARBA things. National breed sweepstakes fall into the domain of the national specialty club.
Next you want to join a regional all-breed club. Usually, that is a state association. But ARBA also charters circuits. A state association is pretty easy to figure out – it covers the local clubs within a state (or commonwealth, as in the case of Virginia). A circuit operates pretty much the same way, but the member clubs may cross state lines. There aren’t many circuits. There is one in the NC/SC region – Footnotes Show Circuit.
The state association or show circuit may also run a sweepstakes competition of its own. Some have newsletters. The same rights about voting and serving apply here, too. In addition, state associations may have royalty programs, youth judging contests, annual banquets, and other special activities not normally associated with local clubs.
State associations and show circuits are chartered through ARBA. They must follow ARBA rules first and then may make other rules that do not conflict with ARBA rules. Local clubs may be members of the state associations and purchase sanctions from them in order to participate in the sweepstakes contest. When state associations or circuits have shows, look for the ARBA sanction to make sure that legs are available for all breeds. Look for the specialty club sanction to make sure that sweepstakes points are available, if you are interested in that sort of thing.
Next, we have regional specialty clubs. These are chartered through ARBA as well. These clubs sponsor National shows for their breed and specialty shows, often in conjunction with an all-breed show sponsored by an all-breed club. Occasionally, you will find stand-alone specialty shows. In our region, the Triple Crown is an example. This year, two specialty clubs will come together to have three Netherland Dwarf specialty shows and three Holland Lop specialty shows on one day, with no all-breed show. Sometimes, a specialty club will sponsor for an all-breed show judges who are very skilled in their breed to make showing for their members more worthwhile. So you want to join your regional specialty club. There are lots of benefits.
Local clubs are where the rubber hits the road. Local clubs are the worker ants of the rabbit club animal kingdom. They often work silently in tiny ways but manage to get an awful lot done. Without local clubs, those shows I go to virtually every week would not exist. So by joining a local club, and being active, you are saying that you are willing to roll up your sleeves and do your part to make all of this work.
Local clubs host local shows, purchasing sanctions from ARBA so that they can issue legs and BIS awards. They purchase sanctions from National clubs (normally not all of them, so check the catalog for which are sanctioned) so that points may be awarded for national breed sweepstakes contests. They often purchase sanctions for their state association or regional show circuit to participate in those sweeps contests as well.
Many local clubs publish newsletters. Some have Yahoo! Groups. Some meet monthly. Most do all of the work that they do with just a few active members.
Luckily, none of these memberships cost much. You probably spend that much on raffle tickets at just one or two shows. But what you get for your membership fees is invaluable. And what you can accomplish by joining and being an active member is immeasurable. Join today.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
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