OPAWZ Pet Expo Spring 2023 - Creative Grooming Contest Rules & Guidelines

Contest Date & Time

Friday, April 7

11am-2pm: work on finishing touches
2-3pm: judge & announce winners

Entry Fee

$75

Sign-up Deadline

March 31 (first come, first serve basis)

Prizes

  • 1st Place - $500 cash
  • 2nd Place - $300 cash
  • 3rd place - $100 OPAWZ gift card

Equipment Provided at Contest Venue

  • Grooming tables

Please note: the creative grooming contest entry fee does not include the entry fee to Pet Expo. 

Contest Procedures:

Before the contest:

  • Please pre-dye your dog. There will be no washing stations available at the contest venue.

At the contest:

  • Contestants will be assigned grooming tables where they can work on finishing touches including:
    • Trimming and razoring 
    • Styling with hair products
    • Applying temporary colors (should you require an outlet for airbrush, please notify OPAWZ asap)
    • Applying embellishments such as glitter, rhinestones, etc.
  • All of the finishing work is to be worked on from 11am - 2pm
  • Judging will begin at 2pm

Judging process:

  • The groomers will be showing off their work to the audience one by one, where they will talk about their work
  • If your design calls for it, you may also dress up and bring additional personal accessories
  • Each groomer’s presentation will be allotted a maximum of 5 minutes (may be subject to change depending on final number of participants)

Please refer to the contest rules & guidelines below for more detailed information about the contest details.

Should you want to drop out of the contest, please notify OPAWZ no later than March 15th to receive a refund. Refunds will not be processed after March 15th.

* Some contest criteria may be subject to change. OPAWZ will notify participants ASAP if it happens.

Contest Rules & Guidelines

  • Open to all contestants
  • Focused on creative colouring & coat sculpting/trimming
  • Groomers demonstrating quality grooming techniques, utilizing safe application of OPAWZ color, accessories and contestant costumes and presentations
  • Dogs are to be pre-groomed and finished up at the contest venue with products that the contestants bring
  • Time will be allotted for decoration and application of products prior to presentations at designated time and place

Acceptable breeds

  • All purebred and mixed breeds of dogs are accepted
  • Any additional costumes and/or accessories must not hinder the dog’s ease of movement.
  • Glues should be water-soluble and non-toxic.
  • Use of duct tape, carpet tape or any other substance that pulls on the skin or hair to remove, is prohibited.
  • Large or heavy objects placed on the dog are prohibited.
  • Participants will show their work on the stage.
  • Tables provided must be protected from glue, glitter, colour, etc.
  • Lights cannot be dimmed during performance.
  • Smoke, confetti, streamers or explosive items are strictly prohibited.

Technical Finish

  • Correct usage of OPAWZ products: color result is even and properly saturated.
  • Overall decorative application.
  • Quality of scissoring finish.
  • Clean clip lines.

Well-executed design

  • Easily recognizable design
  • Shows originality of concept
  • Unique use of colour

Difficulty

  • Intricacy of design
  • Overall amount of work completed during the competition’s allotted time