 Announcing
TICA NORTHEAST REGION JUNIOR ACHIEVERS (NEJA) CLUB
Gold Coast Feline Fanciers is the FIRST NE region club to hold
this special ring for our junior achievers.
Join NEJA - Printable NEJA Membership form
 INTRODUCTION:
The International Feline Showcase (TIFS), a TICA club located in
the South Central Region, first presented the concept of a Junior Achiever
program at the Semi-Annual meeting of TICA in Harlingen in February 2005.
The program was well received. A committee of members from several regions
was formed to look further into developing a TICA wide Junior program, and
regional junior achiever program liaisons were appointed by each regional
director.
OVERVIEW:
The Northeast Region Junior Achievers (NEJA) is not currently associated
with a regional club, but our hope is that soon we will have enough dedicated
Juniors to form their own club and elect officers so that they can put on
their own one- or two-day shows. NEJA will provide the opportunity for young
people between the ages of 7 and 18 to participate in the TICA experience
and learn about feline husbandry. NEJA will serve as the focal point for
the regional junior exhibitors until and once the JA program is instituted
TICA wide. NEJAs will be exposed to both competition and a continuing educational
process as they work their way through the Levels
of Achievement developed for the TICA Junior Achiever Program. NEJA desires
to promote sportsmanship, self confidence and foster an ever growing knowledge
base of feline husbandry, breeds, grooming, and show participation and production.
The TICA JA program has developed Six Levels of Achievement, which
the NEJA program will follow. The levels are: Junior Novice, Junior Intermediate,
Junior Advanced, Senior Novice, Senior Intermediate, and Senior Advanced.
Each level has its own list of requirements that must be completed to advance
to the next step. Each level also includes a personal project, list of questions
that the Junior member will be responsible to know, and a test. All this
information is posted on the Inter-Regional Collaborative Site for the TICA
Junior Achievers Program Website, which can be accessed through the TICA
website (clink on Junior Achievers under the Show category, or directly at:
http://www.justcats.org/TICAJA/TICAJuniorAchievers.html.
Each requirement also includes the information needed to qualify
for the TICA Junior Exhibitor Excellence Award, which is currently the only
organization wide sponsored recognition for juniors.
JUDGING
In the NEJA program, which follows the TICA wide JA program, the
cat is not judged. The Junior handler will be judged on the ability to handle
their cat, answer basic questions according to their age and Level of Achievement
about basic feline husbandry and their breed, presentation of their cat including
attitude of both during showing, grooming and basic TICA rules. Juniors should
present their cats in perfect condition, meticulous grooming and understand
how to present the best qualities of their cat to the judge. Although there
is not a written dress code, the NEJA’s should be neat and clean. The
purpose of the NEJA’s is to encourage youth to be interested in feline
competition, welfare and husbandry and TICA. NEJA hopes to inspire a better
understanding to participating youth in the workings of the JA program and
TICA. Our purpose is to mentor and encourage our youth to learn about showing
as an exhibitor, the responsibilities of a Junior club and TICA member and
to understand the planning and execution of a TICA show.
Your TICA Regional Liaison for the Junior Achiever Program is:
Sue Cherau suecherau@cox.net
Please feel free to contact Sue with questions regarding entry into
the program and participation in local club-sponsored JA Rings.
Join our Yahoo Group:
NE_JuniorAchievers for lots more information and discussion!
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