JUDGES COMMENTS
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Thankyou once again to Jo for inviting me back to Canvey Island to complete my second days judging of levels 1 and 4.A big Thankyou to my lovely scribe,Danielle Orford,for putting up with me for 2 whole days.
The weather remained cold and showery throughout the day.A white dog was used prior to all searches commencing.COVID guidelines were adhered to.
LEVEL 1
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VEhicle
We had 13 teams competing at this level.I concealed the cloves scent in the electrical
compartment of the towbar.Excellent display by all of the teams.Super fast times by Wendy and Winnie and Tammy and Super in 7 seconds,closely followed by Pamela and Rupert and Debbie and Magic in 8 seconds.

TAbles and chairs
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These were set up in a square pattern and the scent was placed underneath the 3rd chair to the right,away from the start line.A good show all round with 12 of the 13 teams being successful.Pamela and Rupert leading the way in some 12 seconds.

EXTERIOR
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I laid out some 12 items for this search,on a secure grass patch to the rear of the building.All of the teams elected to be informed of the nominated 3 items,which were a dust pan and brush,a kettle and a watering can,which contained the scent within the spout.10 of the 13 teams were successful in their quest.Nice searching and quick times set by,Tammie and Super and Kelly and Az in 6 and 14 seconds respectively.

BOXES AND LUGGAGE
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A mixture of 12 boxes and luggage were placed out within the hall.I placed the scent in the buckle of a suitcase strap.11 teams were successful here.Some lovely patient handling shown by the majority,and a special mention goes to,Debbie and Magic,Debbie and Bauer,Karen and Jet,Nikki and Theo,Kelly and AZ and last but not least,Margaret and Time.
Overall,on the day,some lovely teamwork shown by all.I’m sure many of the teams will progress through the levels with ease..I wish you all success in the future.
My congratulations go to the eventual rosette winners,1st..Debbie and Magic..2nd..Debbie and Bauer..3rd..Kelly and AZ…4th..Wendy and Winnie…(1st and 2nd places decided on time,both having achieved maximum 100)..(3rd and 4th also decided on time,both having achieved 99.9 marks.).
A very close fought trial with only 0.2 separating the top 5 dogs…

Moving onto the afternoon level 4 trial following a quick lunch break.
We had 4 team competing.

VEHICLE SEARCH
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The normal format of 3 vehicles were used.One of the vehicles contained both scents,gun oil in the front passenger wheel,and cloves in the rear passenger wheel,this vehicle was lined up broadside to the other two.2 of the teams were successful in finding both, the others finding 1.

EXTERIOR
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14 items were placed out on the secure grass patch at the rear of the building.The cloves scent was concealed in a wicker basket,this was placed at its furthest away point from the start line,to the right,the gun oil scent was hidden in the bottom of a hoover pipe and sited immediately left of the start.Distraction scents of tea and toothpaste were concealed in 2 of the other items.All 4 teams were successful and good handling shown all round.

BOXES AND LUGGAGE
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14 items were used in this search.The cloves scent was hidden in the Velcro handle of pink bag,the gun oil,in the zip compartment of a black suitcase.The distractions scents of toothpaste and tea,were hidden in another suitcase and a white box.No problems encountered by any of the teams in finding both scents.Nice controlled handling by shown by all.A quick time of 27 seconds set by Sue and Tuva.

TABLES CHAIRS AND PERIMETER
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This proved to be the most difficult search of the day, with only Karen and Gunner finding both hidden scents,the others identifying only one.The gun oil was placed in a plastic pipe,on the left wall of the perimeter.The cloves scent underneath a chair to the far right of the table/chairs set up.A distraction of tea was placed underneath one of the tables and toothpaste in a cupboard on the right perimeter wall.It was a pleasure to watch Karen stand back and let Gunner work,which he did with confidence,finding both scents in some 31 seconds.This team has come on leaps and bounds since I first saw them,some 16 months previous,achieving a clean sweep here in a total time of,2 mins 50 seconds.
Well done to all 4 teams in qualifying,you all had your individual moments of glory on the day.
I look forward to meeting up again with some,if not all of you,at sometime in the not to distant future.