It was recently announced that starting in January of 2020 NADAC would be increasing it’s fees to clubs to $1.50 per run. We would also be increasing the fee to judges to $1.50 per run. There are a few reasons for these increases and we want to address them here.
The biggest reason for the increase is also the simplest, inflation. With NADAC having the same judge and run fees that we did in 1993 when we started, it’s made it more difficult in current times with everything else costing significantly more than it did in 1993. A decent example is that a gallon of milk cost $2.88 in 1993, with that same gallon of milk now costing around $3.50. Fuel has also increased from $1.11 in 1993, to around $2.50 in 2018.
The other reasons are mainly in regards to growth, and keeping exhibitors happy. A few examples:
- Starting in January of 2020 all judges will be designing their own course sets. This makes each weekend a little more unique, as handlers get to run courses specific to their judge, rather than a set that has been created by a course designer. With this change comes a LOT of extra work for the NADAC staff, as currently we can send out course sets without much review time needed, once we have to review anywhere between 14-30 course sets per weekend, that will require extra employees and a lot of extra time spent reviewing courses.
- Better response time for exhibitors, clubs and judges. We really pride ourselves on trying to get back to everyone as quickly as possible. That does not always happen with the current employee count, and during particular hectic times of our year it becomes very noticeable. During Championships for example it’s very common to not receive responses to emails for weeks because everyone in the office is preparing for the event and their simply isn’t enough time for both jobs to be done. This is where more employees would decrease response times for everyone in the venue.
- Award mailings currently happen every 6 months. This is because of postage costs, with each package typically costing anywhere between $2 to $15 per package. The cost of shipping prohibits us from sending them out more often. With the price increase we hope to increase the number of mailings to a monthly schedule. That way everyone can get their awards sooner.
- Title Certificates used to be sent out to everyone who had earned one. Sadly as prices for supplies and postage became more expensive and fees stayed the same this was discontinued, as well as the fact we didn’t have the employees to do it. After January we hope to bring back this program for our Associate Members by mailing their Title Certificates out monthly. Where currently they aren’t being sent at all, and only available for download and printing at home.
We know that no one wants to pay more to play with our dogs, and it’s something we’ve avoided doing for a very long time, even though it’s been talked about within NADAC for many years. Sadly the time has come where we must raise prices in order to stay competitive with the ever evolving world of dog sports and what they offer to their competitors.
The good news is that even with the price increase NADAC will still be one of the cheapest venues in regards to what is charged to clubs, which can then be passed on to the exhibitors.
We do plan on putting the extra $16-20 each competitor spends at a trial to good use and improve the venue for everyone in a way that makes the extra cost a minimal issue in comparison to the improvements you’ll receive.