Classes, Points, & Titles
The inner workings of a show are important to know. Points are earned depending on how many mice are entered in a class. Titles are acquired by points accumulated.
Classes
When a mouse is entered into a show, it is entered according to its variety, section, and class. Variety pertains to coat type. Section pertains to groups under varieties such as, Kitten, Bred By, Self, Marked, etc. Class is the color of the mouse under classification, such as, Black, Merle, Broken, Siamese, etc.
How you determine where to place your mouse in a show is you first look at the mouse's variety. For example, say you have a Satin Longhair Siamese. When determining what class to enter your mouse, you must first look at the mouse's coat type. Your mouse is a Satin Longhair, so you will be showing under the Satin Longhair Variety. Now that you've determined what variety to show under, you must now figure what which section your mouse will be in. Since your mouse is Siamese, it will show under the Pointed Section.
Once entered, if you win against all the Satin Longhair Siamese mice entered, you will go on to compete for section. In Section, your mouse will compete against all Satin Longhair Pointed mice. If your mouse wins its section, it will be judged according to the mice in the rest of its variety. In Variety, your mouse will be judged against all the Satin Longhair mice. All Variety winners go on to compete for Best In Show.
In the event, that there are fewer than 5 mice entered in the Satin Longhair, Satin Rex, and Satin Texel classes, then these mice will be grouped together with their standard equivalent. For example, if there are 4 mice entered in the Satin Rex Variety, then these 4 mice will show under the Rex Variety.
Points
Points are acquired by the number of mice a mouse beats during regular competition. Points are not awarded for Pet Classes. The following chart indicates how many points are earned by the number of mice defeated in a competition:
Points Earned Class Section Variety Best In Show
2 - 10 Entries 1 points 2 point 3 points 4 points
10 - 20 Entries 2 points 3 points 4 points 5 points
20+ Entries 3 points 4 points 5 points 6 points
When your mouse beats other mice, it does not win their points, and the number of entries pertains to all mice beat out of the competition thus far.
For example, say you are going to a show and there are 3 Standard Black, 2 Standard Chocolate, 1 Standard Dove, and 1 Standard Cream entered into classes. Let's say you have a Standard Black. Your mouse is judged against the other 2 Black mice in its class first. No points are awarded for winning your class.
Your Standard Black goes on to compete against the Chocolate mouse that won out of its class, the Dove, and the Cream (as there were no mice for the Dove and Cream to compete against, they automatically win their class). If your Standard Black wins its Section, then it is just beat 6 entries, since it beat all the mice in its class and beat other class winners, so therefore it beat all mice that those entries beat in their class. So a Standard Self Section win has just earned your mouse 1 points towards a title.
Since you have won your section, your Standard Black goes on to compete for Best of Variety. Let's say there were 7 entries in the Standard (one of which is your mouse), 4 in Marked, 0 in Tan/Fox, 1 in Ticked, 4 in Pointed, and 2 in AOCP. That’s a total of 18 entries, that result in 5 mice (since none were entered in Tan/Fox) competing for Best of Variety. If your Standard Black wins Best of Variety, it now has 3 points since it beat 17 entries.
You do not have 4 points (1 point + 3 points), you have 3 points. If your mouse had not won Best of Variety, it would still have 1 points. The points are added up by number of entries beat, the more entries you beat, the more points you have.
Now, its time to move on to compete for Best In Show. Even if your Standard Black mouse does not win Best In Show, it still has 3 points. There were 18 total entries in Standard, which is the Section your mouse is representing, and your mouse has already beat all other entries in this Section. Say the total number of entries for each section in this show were 18 in Standard, 10 in Satin, 13 in Longhair, 7 in Satin Longhair, 5 in Rex, 5 in Satin Rex, 5 in Texel and Satin Texel (these were grouped because there were less than 5 entries in Satin Texel), 5 in Fuzzy, 0 in Hairless, 1 in Kitten, and 2 in Unstandardized. That makes for a total of 71 entries for this show (most shows will not have this many). So if your mouse wins the esteemed title of Best In Show, then it has won 5 points, making your mouse a Champion!
Exceptions are made on how points are earned for the Kitten, Unstandardized, Fuzzy, and Hairless. These Varieties are not broken down by Section or Class, so to determine points for a win in these areas, tally the total number of mice beat in these Varieties, and look for the points earned under Variety. For example, if there are 5 mice entered in Fuzzy, then your mouse wins 2 points. If there is 1 entry in Kitten, then it earns 0 points. If there are 15 entries in Unstandardized, then your mouse wins 3 points.
Titles
Titles are earned by points accumulated. A mouse must earn so many points before it can achieve a title. The higher the title, the more points a mouse has earned. Pet class winners can also earn a title, but they do not accumulate by points. See below for the title equivalent to your mouse's current points:
Reserve Champion (RCh.) 3 points
Champion (Ch.) 5 points
Grand Champion (GCh.) 10 points
Supreme Grand Champion (SCh.) 15 points
Pet Champion (PCh.) 3+ Pet Class Wins
MAMA will track your mouse's points and issue certificates as titles are accumulated.
- Allison Hamilton. Used with permission.