Show Desk · Sieger show secretary
The judge speaks.The certificate arrivesthe same day.
Show Desk is show secretary software for German-style breed shows — Sieger shows, SE evaluations, and breed surveys. It records the judge’s spoken critique ringside, transcribes it live, and emails the official critique certificate to the owner before they leave the grounds.
The critique is the whole point of the show — and it’s the last thing owners get
At a German-style show, every dog is critiqued aloud by the judge and the critique is recorded in writing for the exhibitor. That written critique is not a souvenir: under ADRK rules, judge reports rated V or SG are required documents for a Körung — the breed survey that approves a dog for breeding.
Yet at most shows the critique still travels by hand: a ring secretary writes longhand while the judge dictates, the sheets are collected, deciphered, retyped, and mailed — weeks later, if at all. A lost or illegible critique can cost a dog its breeding paperwork.
60+
critiques dictated by a judge on a typical show day
V / SG
the judge-report ratings the ADRK Körordnung requires for a breed survey
Same day
when Show Desk delivers the signed certificate instead
What is Show Desk?
Show Desk is a critique secretary for German-style breed shows. It replaces the handwritten ring paperwork at Sieger shows, SE (Standard Evaluation) events, ZTP-style suitability tests, and breed surveys. The judge dictates exactly as they always have; Show Desk captures the audio, transcribes it live, and produces the official documents — critique certificates, SE forms, award certificates, and placements — from one roster.
It is built ringside-first: recording works with no internet connection and syncs when coverage returns, because show grounds lose Wi-Fi and the paperwork cannot.
See it in action
From the first bark to the last certificate — in under a minute
Real footage from the live demo: the steward records ringside, the transcript writes itself, the secretary approves, and the owner has the certificate before they leave the grounds.
Ringside on any phone
One tap starts the critique — live transcription while the judge speaks, offline queue when the Wi-Fi drops.
Review → certificate
The narrative arrives pre-filled from speech-to-text. Approve & release emails the TNRK certificate.
Placements & reports
Division-safe places 1–4 per day, class, and sex — and every document per dog, ready to print.
How Show Desk works
Step 1
Speak
The judge critiques the dog aloud, as at any Sieger show. Show Desk records at ringside and transcribes the dictation live, dog by dog, keyed to the armband number. No connection? The recording queues on the device and syncs later.
“Correct medium size, strong and typey head, dark eye, scissor bite complete…”
“…very good angulation, moves with powerful drive — vorzüglich.”
Live transcription · offline queue ready
Step 2
Review
The show secretary sees each transcript as an editable draft — narrative, Formwert rating, and placement — beside the dog's catalog entry. Approve it, and the draft becomes the official critique. SE evaluations flow into the same queue.
Rex vom Blacksage · #101
Pending reviewNarrative (draft)
Step 3
Deliver
On release, Show Desk generates the signed critique certificate as a PDF and emails it to the owner on file — the same document, the same day, for every dog in the catalog. Placements, awards, and SE forms print from the same screen.
To: owner@kennel.com
Your critique certificate — Rex vom Blacksage
critique-certificate.pdf
Signed · Youth Class I — Male
Everything a show secretary produces, from one roster
Ringside critique recording
Live speech-to-text while the judge dictates, with the full audio kept as backup. Every recording is tied to an armband, a class, and a day.
SE and breed survey forms
The complete Standard Evaluation on a tablet: measurements, bite, behavior, gun-sureness, and final result, seeded from the catalog so nothing is typed twice.
Formwert ratings and placements
Official rating codes — V, SG, G and the rest — with placements 1–4 kept in separate pools per class, sex, and show day, the way the format requires.
Official PDFs
Critique certificates, SE forms, award certificates, and judge-report drafts, generated from the approved record and rendered for signature.
Owner delivery
Approved critiques are emailed to the owner in the catalog automatically, with delivery status tracked and retry built in.
The catalog as the source of truth
Import the roster once from CSV — armband, dog, registration number, class, sex, owner, email — and every document above draws from it.
Built for rings that lose Wi-Fi
Show grounds are barns, fields, and fairground halls. Show Desk assumes the connection will drop: recordings and SE drafts queue on the device, the queue is visible and recallable, and everything syncs when coverage returns. The judge never waits on a signal bar.
The paper trail, before and after
| Handwritten ring paperwork | Show Desk | |
|---|---|---|
| Critique capture | Ring secretary writes longhand while the judge dictates | Live transcription of the judge's own words, audio retained |
| Legibility | Depends on handwriting and weather | Typed, reviewed, and signed |
| Owner receives critique | Weeks later by mail, or never | Emailed the same day |
| SE forms | Filled by hand from scratch | Seeded from the catalog, completed on a tablet |
| Placements | Reconciled on paper across class, sex, and day | Enforced pools — one rank per class, sex, and day |
| Körung documentation | Owner must keep and resubmit paper originals | A permanent record, reprintable on demand |
| Lost paperwork | Gone | Nothing to lose |
Who uses Show Desk?
Clubs and show organizers
Run the whole event — catalog, critiques, SE, placements, awards, owner delivery — without recruiting a team of volunteers who can decipher dictation in two languages.
Judges
Dictate exactly as always. Every word is kept, transcribed, and turned into a legible report that carries the judge's name well.
Show secretaries
Stop retyping. Review drafts instead of deciphering sheets, and finish the show's paperwork before the show ends.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Sieger show?
A Sieger show is a German-style conformation show. Dogs are presented naturally rather than hand-stacked, every dog is critiqued aloud by the judge, and each receives a written critique and a rating (such as V or SG) plus a placement of 1–4 within its class. Titles such as Sieger and Siegerin go to the top-rated adults.
What is a Richterbericht?
A Richterbericht is the judge's written report on a dog — the critique. It describes the dog's conformation, movement, and temperament against the breed standard. Under ADRK rules, judge reports with V or SG ratings are required documents when a dog is presented for a Körung (breed survey).
What does a rating like V1 mean?
The letter is the rating and the number is the placement — they are separate. V (vorzüglich) means the judge rated the dog Excellent against the standard; the 1 means it also placed first in its class that day. Many dogs at one show can earn a V rating, but only four place.
What is an SE (Standard Evaluation)?
An SE is a structured evaluation of a single dog: measurements such as height, weight, and chest depth; bite and dentition; temperament and gun-sureness; and a final pass or fail with a Formwert rating. Show Desk captures the full SE form digitally, seeded from the show catalog.
Does the judge have to change how they work?
No. The judge dictates the critique aloud exactly as at any German-style show. Show Desk records and transcribes at ringside; the review and paperwork happen at the secretary's desk. Judges already dictate — historically into a ring secretary's notebook or a pocket recorder.
Does it work without internet?
Yes. Recording and SE capture work fully offline. Recordings queue on the device with the live transcript attached and sync automatically when the connection returns. Show grounds lose Wi-Fi routinely; the paperwork survives it.
How do owners get their critiques?
By email, the same day. When the secretary approves and releases a critique, Show Desk generates the official certificate PDF and sends it to the owner's address from the show catalog, with delivery tracked and a retry if an address bounces.
Which formats does it support?
Show Desk is built for German-style events: Sieger shows, SE evaluations, and breed-survey-style paperwork, with ADRK-style classes, rating codes, and titles. Placements are kept in separate pools per class, sex, and show day.
Is critique data public?
No. Critiques belong to the club and the owner. Nothing is published without the club's release and the owner's consent; results pages are opt-in.
How do we get started?
Try the live demo and bring your last show's catalog. Run it end to end — import, ringside recording, review, and delivery — so your committee sees the actual workflow before committing to anything.
Run your next show on Show Desk
Bring your catalog. Run the whole weekend — from CSV import to the last certificate in the last owner’s inbox.
Judges and club officers: ask about the judge program.