WHEN WAS THE CCAA STARTED?
The Cane Corso, like the Neapolitan Mastiff, was introduced to American shores by Michael Sottile Sr. As the story goes, in 1988, Sottile imported the first litter of Cane Corsos to the U.S. The following year, he brought a second litter; this second litter was a repeat breeding of the litter from the previous year. Sottile, while in search of Mastino Neapolitano in Italy, for years had heard stories of a lighter more athletic molosser. While in Sicily for a friend’s wedding, he happened upon a farmer on the side of the road working with cows. Prior to that encounter, he had only seen pictures of the breed. Sottile had made many trips to Italy over these years to make contacts with the Cane Corso club in Italy (the first edition of “Il Cane Corso” lists Sottile as the U.S. delegate to the SACC) and to visit with all the prominent Cane Corso breeders of the day.
While on one of his trips, Sottile videotaped the Empoli LIR open book certifications (subjects of unverifiable lineage enrolled into the Italian stud book based on their phonotypical characteristics). Sottile eventually registered this new breed of dog with the Federation of International Canines. In 1993, the International Cane Corso Federation was formed by Ed and Kris Hodas, along with Mark and Tracy Wilson, to serve as the parent breed club and registry for the Cane Corso. The Hodas and Wilson families also made a number of trips to Italy for the same reasons Sottile did, which was to cement relations with the SACC and to procure additional breeding stock. In the 2nd edition of “Il Cane Corso,” Mark Wilson is listed as U.S. delegate to the SACC. The Wilsons eventually faded from the Cane Corso landscape, leaving the club and registry to the Hodas family.
In late 1994, it was decided to split the club and registry. The Hodas family would maintain control of the registry, while the club would be reformatted to be more in-line with a typical AKC club, complete with elections, a constitution, Board of Directors and regional Vice Presidents. The ICCF also decided to reinstitute the original Sottile standard for the Cane Corso. A year or so earlier, Mark Wilson had decided to implement the ENCI standard. Soon thereafter, the ICCF and the SACC parted ways, thus cutting the U.S. off from ties to the Cane Corso’s country of origin. The strained relations with Italy lasted until 1999 when a new club in Italy, the Association of Italian Cane Corso, made its debut and extended an olive branch to the ICCF. The collaboration was beneficial to both clubs as they shared a common vision of what the Cane Corso was functionally, historically and practically. Also, an important source of knowledge was now available to the American Cane Corso lover.
Delegates from the AICC came to America to participate, give judging seminars and judge at the ICCF National Specialty in 2000 and 2001. ICCF delegates went to Italy in 2000, 2001 and 2003 to meet with the ENCI and participate in the AICC International Raduno. Eventually, due in no small part to the relationship between the AICC and the ICCF, the standard was changed to be more in-line with its European counterparts.
In 2003, the ICCF general membership voted to seek AKC recognition. To achieve that goal, various delegates worked diligently toward the goal of recognition. The name of the breed club had to be changed to Cane Corso Association of America. The constitution and standards had to undergo changes in order to meet AKC criteria. In July 2007, the breed was approved for the AKC Miscellaneous Class and received full recognition as of July of 2010.
Written by Mike Ertaskiran
DOES THE CCAA REGISTER DOGS?
No, the CCAA does NOT register dogs. The CCAA is a dog club that holds AKC events in conformation and performance venues. We are the National Parent Breed Club licensed by the American Kennel Club. As such, the CCAA follows all AKC rules. The CCAA exists to promote responsible ownership and outreach and to provide education to the general public, as well as AKC judges and aspiring AKC judges.
DO I HAVE TO BE A MEMBER OF THE CCAA TO ENTER CCAA EVENTS?
No, an exhibitor does NOT need be a member of any club to enter an AKC/CCAA show! You just need a dog that is registered with the AKC. To learn more about AKC events, look here: http://images.akc.org/pdf/Dog_Shows.pdf.
HOW ARE THE JUDGES CHOSEN TO JUDGE CCAA SPECIALTIES?
CCAA National Specialty Judges are chosen by the members of the CCAA. Each year, the National Specialty Judge is voted on by the membership.
Selection Process in Detail
Each year, current CCAA members are asked to submit up to 3 National Specialty Judge suggestions to the Judge's Selection Committee. The Judge's Selection Committee is comprised of 3 members who will not have any owned or co-owned dogs entered in the National Specialty or the Regional Specialty held in conjunction with the National Specialty. All suggestions will be reviewed by the Judge's Selection Committee. The Judge's Selection Committee will compile and present a list of judges for the membership to vote on. The judge receiving the most votes will judge the CCAA National Specialty and the judge with the second most votes will judge the CCAA Regional Specialty that is held in conjunction with the National Specialty. Judges for any other specialties held during the National Specialty cluster are selected by the host clubs. Judges for any supported entry shows held during the National Specialty cluster are selected by the host clubs.
If you are a member and have not received these emails regarding the selection of judges, please email the Events Director to be added to the distribution list. Please note, the selections typically take place between January and March for the following year.
Current CCAA National Specialty judge selection rules: Once a judge has judged the CCAA National Specialty, her or she may not judge another CCAA National Specialty for 3 years. Once a judge has judged a CCAA Regional Specialty that is held in conjunction with the CCAA National Specialty, he or she may not judge another CCAA Regional Specialty for 2 years, unless the judge is assigned by a host kennel club to judge a Regional Specialty.
The Cane Corso, like the Neapolitan Mastiff, was introduced to American shores by Michael Sottile Sr. As the story goes, in 1988, Sottile imported the first litter of Cane Corsos to the U.S. The following year, he brought a second litter; this second litter was a repeat breeding of the litter from the previous year. Sottile, while in search of Mastino Neapolitano in Italy, for years had heard stories of a lighter more athletic molosser. While in Sicily for a friend’s wedding, he happened upon a farmer on the side of the road working with cows. Prior to that encounter, he had only seen pictures of the breed. Sottile had made many trips to Italy over these years to make contacts with the Cane Corso club in Italy (the first edition of “Il Cane Corso” lists Sottile as the U.S. delegate to the SACC) and to visit with all the prominent Cane Corso breeders of the day.
While on one of his trips, Sottile videotaped the Empoli LIR open book certifications (subjects of unverifiable lineage enrolled into the Italian stud book based on their phonotypical characteristics). Sottile eventually registered this new breed of dog with the Federation of International Canines. In 1993, the International Cane Corso Federation was formed by Ed and Kris Hodas, along with Mark and Tracy Wilson, to serve as the parent breed club and registry for the Cane Corso. The Hodas and Wilson families also made a number of trips to Italy for the same reasons Sottile did, which was to cement relations with the SACC and to procure additional breeding stock. In the 2nd edition of “Il Cane Corso,” Mark Wilson is listed as U.S. delegate to the SACC. The Wilsons eventually faded from the Cane Corso landscape, leaving the club and registry to the Hodas family.
In late 1994, it was decided to split the club and registry. The Hodas family would maintain control of the registry, while the club would be reformatted to be more in-line with a typical AKC club, complete with elections, a constitution, Board of Directors and regional Vice Presidents. The ICCF also decided to reinstitute the original Sottile standard for the Cane Corso. A year or so earlier, Mark Wilson had decided to implement the ENCI standard. Soon thereafter, the ICCF and the SACC parted ways, thus cutting the U.S. off from ties to the Cane Corso’s country of origin. The strained relations with Italy lasted until 1999 when a new club in Italy, the Association of Italian Cane Corso, made its debut and extended an olive branch to the ICCF. The collaboration was beneficial to both clubs as they shared a common vision of what the Cane Corso was functionally, historically and practically. Also, an important source of knowledge was now available to the American Cane Corso lover.
Delegates from the AICC came to America to participate, give judging seminars and judge at the ICCF National Specialty in 2000 and 2001. ICCF delegates went to Italy in 2000, 2001 and 2003 to meet with the ENCI and participate in the AICC International Raduno. Eventually, due in no small part to the relationship between the AICC and the ICCF, the standard was changed to be more in-line with its European counterparts.
In 2003, the ICCF general membership voted to seek AKC recognition. To achieve that goal, various delegates worked diligently toward the goal of recognition. The name of the breed club had to be changed to Cane Corso Association of America. The constitution and standards had to undergo changes in order to meet AKC criteria. In July 2007, the breed was approved for the AKC Miscellaneous Class and received full recognition as of July of 2010.
Written by Mike Ertaskiran
DOES THE CCAA REGISTER DOGS?
No, the CCAA does NOT register dogs. The CCAA is a dog club that holds AKC events in conformation and performance venues. We are the National Parent Breed Club licensed by the American Kennel Club. As such, the CCAA follows all AKC rules. The CCAA exists to promote responsible ownership and outreach and to provide education to the general public, as well as AKC judges and aspiring AKC judges.
DO I HAVE TO BE A MEMBER OF THE CCAA TO ENTER CCAA EVENTS?
No, an exhibitor does NOT need be a member of any club to enter an AKC/CCAA show! You just need a dog that is registered with the AKC. To learn more about AKC events, look here: http://images.akc.org/pdf/Dog_Shows.pdf.
HOW ARE THE JUDGES CHOSEN TO JUDGE CCAA SPECIALTIES?
CCAA National Specialty Judges are chosen by the members of the CCAA. Each year, the National Specialty Judge is voted on by the membership.
Selection Process in Detail
Each year, current CCAA members are asked to submit up to 3 National Specialty Judge suggestions to the Judge's Selection Committee. The Judge's Selection Committee is comprised of 3 members who will not have any owned or co-owned dogs entered in the National Specialty or the Regional Specialty held in conjunction with the National Specialty. All suggestions will be reviewed by the Judge's Selection Committee. The Judge's Selection Committee will compile and present a list of judges for the membership to vote on. The judge receiving the most votes will judge the CCAA National Specialty and the judge with the second most votes will judge the CCAA Regional Specialty that is held in conjunction with the National Specialty. Judges for any other specialties held during the National Specialty cluster are selected by the host clubs. Judges for any supported entry shows held during the National Specialty cluster are selected by the host clubs.
If you are a member and have not received these emails regarding the selection of judges, please email the Events Director to be added to the distribution list. Please note, the selections typically take place between January and March for the following year.
Current CCAA National Specialty judge selection rules: Once a judge has judged the CCAA National Specialty, her or she may not judge another CCAA National Specialty for 3 years. Once a judge has judged a CCAA Regional Specialty that is held in conjunction with the CCAA National Specialty, he or she may not judge another CCAA Regional Specialty for 2 years, unless the judge is assigned by a host kennel club to judge a Regional Specialty.