Young handlers compete in Junior Handling on both days at Messukeskus.
Finnish Championship event
The Finnish Championship event in Junior Handling is held on Saturday 18th December. The competition is open for 10–17 year olds. In the competition, the young handler's ability to show the dog as typically for its breed as possible is judged, as well as the handler’s ability to highlight the best features of the dog.
The winner of the Finnish Championship event gets a ticket to the Finnish Championship final in Junior Handling. The contestants of the Finnish Championship final must be Finnish citizens and members of the Finnish Kennel Club. Thereby, a foreign winner of the Finnish Championship event can be the Best Junior Handler of the Day, but he or she may not participate in the Finnish Championship final.
Some Finnish Championship events planned for 2021 had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. The Finnish Kennel Club’s Board decided in September that the last Finnish Championship event before the final is held in connection with Helsinki Winner dog show, and all remaining tickets to the final are awarded there.
This last Finnish Championship event is held without dividing the contestants into age groups. The five best junior handlers are placed, places one to four earn a ticket to the final competition and the fifth place is a reserve spot. The contestants of the Finnish Championship final must be Finnish citizens and members of the Finnish Kennel Club. If one of the four contestants does not meet the criteria, the one that was placed fifth will earn a spot in the final.
Saturday's Junior Handling competition is judged by Audur Sigurgeirsdottir, Iceland.
The Finnish Championship final in Junior Handling is held on Sunday 19th December. All winners of Finnish Championship events in 2021 participate in the final. Contestants in the Finnish Championship final must be Finnish citizens and members of the Finnish Kennel Club.
The Finnish Championship final in Junior Handling is judged by Alice Varchi, Italy.
