Westminster 2017 from the Exhibitor’s Perspective

If we admit it, I think that we are all guilty of being somewhat resistant to change. Any change in our life requires adjustment and compromise. This year’s Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show was produced by Fox Sports for the first time, and televised on the FS1 Network. This was the first year of a 10-year deal between Fox and WKC. This year was also Gail Miller Bisher’s first year as David Frei’s replacement as Westminster’s Director of Communications. So, there were many changes to this year’s broadcast.

Another change exhibitors experienced this year was the ring surface. New carpet was used in the breed rings at the Pier and in the group ring at the Garden. Unfortunately, the new carpet gave many dogs and humans some trouble. Many exhibitors had bloody knees and several dogs experienced raw pads which resulted in an inability for them to move at their best. Some described it to me as kneeling on a Brillo© pad or razor blades, and I saw photos of some pretty ugly looking canine paws. To Westminster’s credit, when they heard of the problem, they did try to address it by getting towels from Purina for people to kneel on in the group ring Tuesday evening. Unfortunately, that did not help the dogs. There is no doubt Westminster had good intentions – we all remember how slippery the green carpet was in years past – and it is unfortunate that it ended up being a negative experience for a good part of the exhibitor community. To ensure that Westminster Kennel Club is aware of the exhibitor’s concerns, folks may want to direct an email to the communications folks at WKC at

http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/contact-communications/

Please try to be objective and remember that those who work with Westminster Kennel Club work very hard to put on the show. It is a huge undertaking and their intentions are good. It is never easy to put on a show of this magnitude without having some issues that need to be addressed and corrected for the next event.

There are many different products out there that could be used in the rings. While some of these products are expensive, this may be a sponsorship opportunity that would enable WKC to secure a top of the line product.

The breed competition streaming was challenging. Again, this was FS1’s first year as the production partner and one would expect bugs that need to be worked out. The remote camera operation caused poor viewing in many of the rings, and frankly, I am not sure that camera operators were educated at all on what they were shooting and the proper way to shoot a show dog in the ring. I am certain that those that were operating the cameras do a terrific job shooting basketball games and hockey games, but as we all know, our sport is a different animal (no pun intended). A training session on what to look for, and how to shoot it may make a world of difference here. In addition there was a great deal of signal dropping and interruption causing great frustration for the folks at home who were trying to watch via the live feed. It was also difficult for some people to access due to the steps required to access the live feed. Many people at the show did not have their account number for their cable or satellite service, which I am told was required. I put myself in the position of the production team: I am sure the vast majority, if not all of them, have never attended a dog show before. How overwhelming would this be?

The evening production on night one was problematic. For those in the fancy, the feedback I received was that folks were disappointed and in some cases insulted. Not displaying dog’s registered names was the primary complaint, with lack of knowledge on the part of the broadcasters being right up there. Handlers and dogs were confused which was disappointing to many. For any broadcaster, doing commentary for a 3.5 hour live broadcast would be challenging. There are bound to be mistakes and you are going to get crucified by someone for each error. That being said, we all want to maintain the prestige of the Westminster Kennel Club dog show and continue exhibitor enthusiasm for the show. After all, without the exhibitors, there will be no dog show, and with no dog show, there will be no broadcast and no community outreach. We can help encourage that the broadcast team do their homework, get to know the show dog community a bit, and perhaps offer assistance and positive feedback. We might suggest to Westminster and FS1 that having a show immediately following the WKC broadcast where the hosts and guests make fun of the dogs and exhibitors may not be the best idea. I am sure they thought it was funny, but their comments certainly don’t encourage participation in our sport.

To everyone’s credit, with feedback from the first night, night two was much improved. FS1 and WKC heard many complaints and addressed as many of the issues as they could: Dogs’ registered names were displayed, and it seemed that more caution was exercised on the part of the broadcasters, and folks at home watching felt much better about that night’s commentary. There were still inaccuracies (and always will be), but it was a marked improvement over night one. The spotlight entrance in the BIS ring for the 7 group winners was greatly missed by all and I am sure that if we had a night three, with feedback, WKC would have corrected this omission. I think we, as seasoned participants in the sport, can offer ideas that will help this event be better for fanciers and spectators. I think those at Westminster would welcome this feedback. Remember, this was the first year of a totally new regime, and with change comes trial and error. I am sure that Westminster Kennel Club wants nothing more than to hear from the fancy and work with FS1 to improve upon this year’s broadcast and production.

We, as dog fanciers, exhibitors and breeders are the heartbeat of Westminster and should offer constructive, positive suggestions to improve upon FS1’s initial effort.

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Posted by admin on Feb 20 2017. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.