Meeting + Show 2011 in Salzburg
10th Meeting and Anniversary/WAFDAL Winner Show from May 20th to 22nd, 2011, in Salzburg, Austria.
After the Dalmatian Club scheduled to host the WAFDAL Meeting had to cancel it at short notice, we received an inquiry in the fall of 2010: “Can the Austrian Dalmatian Club take over the organization of the WAFDAL
event on such short notice?” In the board, we unanimously agreed that if possible, we should take on this honor, especially since the ÖDaC is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2011. It seemed fitting to celebrate this milestone with a special exhibition and club winner show, in conjunction with the WAFDAL Event 2011, all held over one weekend. This way, we hoped to leave a lasting positive impression.
It all began with the invitation, which should be expressive. Naturally, the focal point is the Dalmatian, and it should have a strong connection to our country, the mountains, and the lakes. The well-known good Austrian cuisine must not be forgotten.
With the hotel in Anif, we made a fortunate choice. Everything here was just right: the garden, the dining rooms, the rooms, the staff. Even the thunderstorms were willing to wait until the evening. All of this perfectly embodied the Austrian flair.
On Thursday, the delegates arrived.
In the evening, the delegates gathered to chat and exchange news over good food and drinks.
At the congress/meeting, Dalmatian club representatives from 17 countries participated.
Ms. Denise Powell traveled all the way from America and shared interesting results with us about LUA Dalmatians (crossbreeding Dalmatians with Pointers for health purposes).
Our longtime WAFDAL President, Frans de Ridder, has resigned from his position due to his health issues, at his own request.
His tireless dedication to the Dalmatian breed moved the delegates to award him the title of Honorary President.
The current president is Tyge Greibrook from Norway.
He places emphasis on the health of the Dalmatian, as he has been the chairman of the WAFDAL Health Commission for many years.
The gala evening was the highlight of the meeting.
The table decoration and the sequence of dishes appeared in a very special splendor, which our president opened with appropriate words.
This evening left a lasting positive impression on the delegates, guests, and members.
On the following two days, the IHA Salzburg/ÖDaC Special Exhibition and the WAFDAL/40 Years ÖDaC Club Winner Show took place.
The selection of judges gave us a great deal of thought. We were able to secure the expertise of two internationally successful Dalmatian judges and breeders, namely, Ms. Aase Jakobsen from Norway and Ms. Irina Petrakova from Russia, to assess our dogs. The high number of entries confirmed this, as we received 79 registrations from 12 countries.
It was important for us to provide both the international exhibition on Saturday and the WAFDAL + 40 Years Dalmatian Club Show on Sunday with an appropriately festive setting. Therefore, we spared no effort and arranged for flowers in the rings, special seating for our guests, ribbons, trophies, trained ring stewards to assist both judges and exhibitors, specially crafted exhibitor gifts, and delicious rolls and champagne.
The taxi service we provided to our guests received special recognition. The overall feedback for this event was consistently positive.
Ursula Voitle and the team of the Austrian Dalmatian Club
