I have done the work of a trial secretary a few times in my life. One of the biggest problems is deciphering the entry form. I remember the dog’s name was especially challenging since the spelling is not always obvious. Fortunately the AKC and UKC have provided fillable PDF entry forms that you can fill out and save with your static information. You can also use services like Oaklines.com but in my opinion that is just another userid/password to remember and another place your personal information can be compromised.
I have links to the AKC and UKC forms under the Files section. I also have a modified versions of the AKC form that adds a fifth day and a comment field next to the Fees field. The comment field prints in red and can be used to advise the Trial Secretary of something. The most recent version will compute your total fees and cleans up the middle of the form and removes all the tiny check boxes.
Just about any PDF entry form can be filled out on your computer using the Acrobat Reader “Fill and Sign” feature.
I use the following method (with the most recent automated entry form, Adobe Reader is used for manipulating the forms).
- I have a folder called “Entry Forms” and a sub folder for each year.
- The name of each entry form is something like mmdd-club-dogname.pdf (mmdd is the first day of the trial set and leading zeroes are used in the month and day if necessary). This keeps the file list sorted by trial date.
- The entry form is filled out with the owner’s and dog’s default information (everything after the entry fee enclosed) and a “save as” is done to put in the appropriate folder as 0000-dogname.pdf so it sorts to the top of the file list.
- To generate the entry form, I load the 0000-dogname.pdf and enter the club name, the first date of the trial, the per run entry fees, and check the classes entered. The total fees are automatically calculated.
- Do a “save as” to save with a different name (an entry for a trial set starting November 22 would have looked like: 1122-usdtc-James.pdf). This step is not necessary but it does give you something to check if the Trial Confirmation is in error. Also, if you need to make a change, you can load the entry form, make the change, print and save.
- Then you print the entry form, sign the entry form, write the check (and sign the check) and mail. If you have multiple dogs, you repeat the process as often as necessary and then write a bigger check and mail.
- The whole “Entry Forms” folder is in a cloud storage so I can access it with my phone or tablet when we are on the road.
- When you get a new title, you can pull up the 0000-dogname file, change the titles and the level entered and then save the document. If you change your address or email, change each of the 0000-dogname files (don’t forget to check the new address or email box).
- When I start making entries for the next trial year, I create a new folder and copy the 0000-dogname files to the folder.