The Supreme Cat Show is organised every year by the world's oldest cat registry, the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy, or GCCF, and takes place each November at the National Exhibition Centre

National Exhibition Centre

The National Exhibition Centre is an exhibition centre in Birmingham, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham International Airport and Birmingham International railway station. It has 20 interconnected halls, set in grounds of 628 acres making it the...

 (NEC), in Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, England. Special awards of UK Champion and Supreme Champion can be gained at this show only. A cat wins each show's Best In Show award.

History

The first Supreme Cat Show took place in 1976. Until then the GCCF itself did not organise cat shows, but licensed shows put on by the breed clubs and area clubs affiliated to it. The Supreme Cat Show was devised as a special show, only open to cats which had won an open class at another championship show under GCCF rules, much in the same way that Crufts

Crufts

Crufts is an annual international Championship conformation show for dogs organised and hosted by the Kennel Club, currently held every March at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England. It is the largest annual dog show in the world, as declared by Guinness World Records, and lasts...

 is only open to winning dogs. The show grew in size each year until it became big enough to be held at the NEC, which has been its home ever since.

Show structure

Unlike most other shows the GCCF’s Supreme Show has no miscellaneous or club classes; it does, however, have classes other shows do not have. There are four Adult Open classes for each championship status breed: Champion Male and Female classes for full Champions, the winners being eligible for Grand Challenge Certificates and Pre-Champion Male and Female classes for cats with one or two Certificates or who have qualified as kittens, competing for Challenge Certificates. The same applies to the neuter classes which are split into Premier and Pre-Premier classes for males and females.

Cats which are already Grand Champions do not compete in these classes but in special classes for Grand Champions, Imperial Grand Champions, UK Grand Champions and UK & Imperial Grand Champions only, the winner being eligible for a UK Grand Challenge Certificate. Grand Premiers, Imperial Grand Premiers, UK Grand Premiers and UK & Imperial Grand Premiers compete for a UK Grand Premier Certificate. In these classes several breeds may compete together. UK Grand Certificates are only awarded at the Supreme Show; two such Certificates from different judges give the cat the title of UK Grand Champion/Premier or UK & Imperial Grand Champion/Premier if it has additionally gained that title. There is no Reserve UK Grand Challenge/Premier Certificate.

Best of Breed winners at the Supreme Show do not get certificates but compete against the other BOB winners in their section for Best of Variety.

The seven Best of Variety Adults (Persian, Semi-Longhair, British, Foreign, Burmese, Oriental and Siamese) compete for Supreme Adult, the seven kittens for Supreme Kitten and the seven neuters for Supreme Neuter. The Supreme Adult and the Neuter can add the coveted word 'Supreme' to their title.

Finally, the Supreme Adult, Supreme Kitten and Supreme Neuter compete against each other for the honour of being judged Supreme Exhibit.

Non-pedigree cats

Non-pedigree cats are also permitted to enter the Supreme Cat Show. They also have to qualify for entry by having won an award at a previous show and compete to win the title of Supreme Non-pedigree Cat. Classes are also included for cross-breeds and 'Pedigree Pets'.

Supreme Best In Show winners

Year	Breed	Pedigree Name	Owner	Breeder	Section
2011	Black Smoke and White Cornish Rex Cornish Rex A Cornish Rex is a breed of domestic cat. The Cornish Rex has no hair except for down. Most breeds of cat have three different types of hair in their coats: the outer fur or "guard hairs", which is about 5 cm long in shorthairs and 10cm+ long in longhairs; a middle layer called the "awn hair";...	Champion Supreme UK & Imperial Grand Premier Crisan Camelott	Miss E M Hummerston	Mrs C A Thompson	Foreign
2010	Brown Classic Tabby Maine Coon Maine Coon The Maine Coon is a breed of domestic cat with a distinctive physical appearance and valuable hunting skills. It is one of the oldest natural breeds in North America, specifically native to the state of Maine, where it is the official State Cat....	Supreme Champion Julescoon Dexter	Mr & Mrs Gregson	Mr & Mrs Gregson	Semi-Longhair
2009	Brown Burmese Burmese (cat) The Burmese is a breed of domesticated cats split into two subgroups: the American Burmese and the British Burmese . Most modern Burmese are descendants of one female cat called Wong Mau, which was brought from Burma to America in 1930...	Supreme UK Imperial Grand Champion Mainman Kisschase	Ms J Mooney & Miss S Reid	Ms J Mooney & Miss S Reid	Burmese
2008	Tortie Tabby Maine Coon Maine Coon The Maine Coon is a breed of domestic cat with a distinctive physical appearance and valuable hunting skills. It is one of the oldest natural breeds in North America, specifically native to the state of Maine, where it is the official State Cat....	Supreme UK Imperial Grand Premier Dairymaine Sarnia Cherie	Miss S Rabey	Mrs J M Haynes	Semi-Longhair
2007	Cream Point Siamese Siamese (cat) The Siamese is one of the first distinctly recognized breeds of Oriental cat. The origins of the breed are unknown, but it is believed to be from Thailand. In Thailand, where they are one of several native breeds, they are called Wichian Mat...	Supreme UK & Imperial Grand Premier Tianlex Full Monty	Dr J H Muir-Taylor	Mrs P Cook	Siamese
2006	Black Smoke Devon Rex Devon Rex The Devon Rex is a breed of intelligent, short-haired cat that emerged in England during the 1960s. They are known for their slender bodies, wavy coat, and large ears, similar to the Cornish Rex.-Discovery and relations:...	Supreme UK & Imperial Grand Champion Grizabella Ohbladi Ohblada	Mr & Mrs J A Boucher	Mrs I Challis	Foreign
2005	Red Tabby Maine Coon Maine Coon The Maine Coon is a breed of domestic cat with a distinctive physical appearance and valuable hunting skills. It is one of the oldest natural breeds in North America, specifically native to the state of Maine, where it is the official State Cat....	Supreme UK & Imperial Grand Premier Dairymaine Chestaton	Mrs J M Haynes	Mrs J M Haynes	Semi-Longhair
2004	Orange-eyed White Persian	Grand Champion & Supreme UK Grand Premier Lindenlea Reachfor Thesky	Mrs J A Raffaelli	Miss G G Houston	Persian

Other Attractions

Numerous activities take place alongside the competition judging. There are children's activities, such as judging of soft toys, and a large range of stalls selling cat related items, such as cat food, toys, accessories, collectables, books, magazines etc. Various other cat organisations, such as the Feline Advisory Bureau and Cats Protection

Cats Protection

Cats Protection, formerly The Cats Protection League, is a UK charity dedicated to rescuing and rehoming stray, unwanted or homeless cats and educating people about cats and cat welfare. The organisation was founded as The Cats Protection League on May 16, 1927 at a meeting in Caxton Hall, London...

regularly have information stalls. There is also a large section of the show hall given over to Club Row, where various cat clubs affiliated to the GCCF have stalls where visitors to the show can come and meet the different breeds of cat and obtain information.

External links

• Supreme Cat Show Website
• Governing Council of the Cat Fancy