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First CAFIB World Championship mobilizes 24 breeders, 66 owners and 443 Pure Filas from Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Spain.

The First World Championship of CAFIB - Fila Brasileiro Improvement Club, held in 2019, brought together a record of 443 dogs participating in six exhibitions in Brazil and two abroad, in Uruguay and Spain, surpassing in 10.2% the number of Filas (402) that competed in the Club's First South American Championship, held in 2018, in celebration to the 40 years of CAFIB's foundation, in six Brazilian cities and one in Canelones, Uruguay. That number could have been even higher, if all of the dogs registered, 479, had been on the track. Nine official Club judges judged these exhibitions. Of the seven categories under dispute in the World Championship, one was abroad: Cuba Fila Roots, from Sebastián Iglesias, of Del Talacasto Kennel (Roldán - Argentina), won the world title of Year's Breeder.

Although the World Championship had been established to take effect as of 2019, throughout its 41 years, CAFIB has held events, analyses and exhibitions in several countries, starting with a lecture and judgment by Dr. Paulo Santos Cruz, “father of the breed”, former president of CAFIB and Master of Breeding of the Club, in Germany, in 1983, at the invitation of the German judge Christopher Habig, of the Molossos Club of Germany; later, several in the United States, Spain and the Czech Republic, Belgium, Poland, Italy, Argentina and Uruguay.

To encourage the participation of more breeders and exhibitors in the dispute of the several championships, Itanhandu Kennel, belonging to Cintia and Gerson Junqueira de Barros, from Itanhandu (MG), both directors of CAFIB, who had been winning most of the trophies in recent years, decided not to compete this year, which helped arouse competition between kennels and exhibitors in 2019.

In the Phenotype and Temperament Analyses (AFT), conducted before each exhibition in 2019, CAFIB judges reviewed 131 animals, of which only nine (7.38% of the total) failed, all due to disqualifying temperament. None as a result of lack of typicality. In the previous year (2018), 134 dogs underwent the tests, of which 20 (14.92%) failed.

CONSOLIDATED NUMBERS

Expressive number of competitors participated in the disputes in the several categories of the 2019CAFIB World Championship:

Breeder of the Year - 24 kennels
Exhibitor of the Year - 66 dog owners
World Male Champion - 75 Male Filas
World Female Champion - 131 Female Filas
Temperament of the Year - 114 Filas (male and female)
Breeder of the Year - 29 Male Filas
Breeder of the Year - 46 Female Filas

Of these seven categories, the oldest is that of Breeder of the Year. It was instituted in 1982, out of inspiration of Dr. Paulo Santos Cruz, Master of Breeding at CAFIB, to value the breeder, for being the most important part of the development and genetic selection of the breed. With extensive dog experience, Santos Cruz was one of the pioneers in the preparation and achievement of courses on structure, movement, genetics and canine breeds, with explanatory handouts, within the scope of Brazilian cinophilia. At CAFIB, he used all this experience to carry out important and unprecedented technical pieces of work, such as the article that shook Brazilian and even worldwide cinophilia, entitled “How to distinguish a pure Fila from a mixedbreed” (O Fila, number 1, December 1978), the creation of the first visual pattern of Pure Fila, in 1979, with the invaluable work of the designer Marilda Mallet and the collaboration of members of the then Fila Brasileiro Improvement Commission - CAFIB, later on transformed into a Club (August 1979), the elaboration of the Pure Fila Brasileiro Standard (O Fila, number 8, July 1979) together with the board members, and the organization and writing of the Course on Fila Brasileiro (O Fila - number 14, January 1980, to number 35, of July / August 1982). Paulo Santos Cruz held important positions in several clubs and dog-related organizations in the country, having run the Santos Kennel Club for 18 years. In addition to CAFIB's Master of Breeding, he was also its president for two periods, from 1982 to 1984 and 1984 to 1986. On the occasion of the award of the first title of Best Breeder to Fazenda Malota Kennel, owned by Bernardete Soares de Oliveira, from Jundiaí, in November 1982, Dr. Paulo Santos Cruz made the following comments (O FILA, number 37):

“More than the individual awards at the exhibitions, this is the most important trophy instituted by CAFIB, because it aims, precisely, to reward the breeder whose products have obtained, at the exhibitions, the highest number of scores, which means to say that the kennel gave rise to good products, the result of a selection process, through technically correct mating.”

And he went on: “This trophy seeks to be an incentive for more and more breeders to try to breed correctly, following the mating guidelines provided by CAFIB, so that the number of phenotypically pure Filas, of good structure and with good temperament and nervous system, increases more and more."

HIGHLIGHTS ABROAD

Breeders, exhibitors and Filas from Uruguay, Argentina and Spain achieved relevant classifications in several categories of the 2019 World Championship, despite having participated in a single exhibition in their countries (Spain and Uruguay).

The best classification was in the Breeder of the Year category. Cuba Fila Roots, owned by Sebastián Iglesias, from Del Talacasto Kennel (Roldán - Argentina) won the world title in the category.

In the dispute for Breeder of the Year, Piedras de Afilar Kennel, owned by Daniel Balsas, from Canelones, Uruguay, was in sixth place; De Sotondo Kennel, owned by Octavio Rodrigues Alonso, from Aranda De Duero, Burgos, Spain was in 13^th place and Acaboclado Kennel, owned by Jaime Pérez, from Alicante, Spain was in 15 ^th

In the World Championship (Males), Jaguar Piedras de Afilar, owned by Nicolas Echeverrigaray, from Montevideo, Uruguay, was in 13^th place; and Bugre do Itanhandu, owned by Octavio Alonso, Spain, in 15^th.

In the World Champion (Females) category, Ianga V Guardiões do Caracu, owned by Octavio Alonso, Spain, was in 22^nd place; and Rainha do Acaboclado, owned by Adrián Eduardo Ortiz, from Elche, Spain, ranked 23^rd.

In Temperament of the Year, Ela do Borgheto, owned by Pablo Brando, from Canelones, Uruguay, and Ianga V Guardiões do Caracu, owned by Octavio Alonso, Spain tied in the 18^th place.

Exhibitor of the Year had the highlights of Octavio Alonso, Spain, in 7^th place; Daniel Balsas, Uruguay, in 16^th;Nicolas Echeverrigaray, Uruguay, in 19^th;Adrián Ortiz, Spain, in 23^rd;Pablo Brando, Uruguay, in 24^th; and Federico Rodrigues, Uruguay, in 25^th.

In the Breeder of the Year category, highlights for Sultão Piedras de Afilar, owned by Federico Rodrigues, Montevideo, Uruguay, in 17^th, and Neon Piedras de Afilar, owned by Daniel Balsas, Uruguay, in 21^st.

WORLD REPERCUSSION

The repercussions of this first CAFIB World Championship went far beyond the expectations of the Board, reaching breeders, owners, judges, admirers and those interested in the development of the Fila Brasileiro breed worldwide.

The results of the CAFIB exhibitions, which have been published for many years, with photos of the top three ranked in each of the 10 classes, have become a benchmark for quality, homogeneity and typicality and a true lesson in what the phenotype should be of the true pure Fila Brasileiro.

As a result of this disclosure, judges who judge the Fila Brasileiro breed around the world consult the CAFIB website to get acquainted with the results of the exhibitions, see the photos and identify the breed's visual pattern in practice. Several breeders also visit the Club's website to learn about the phenotypic characteristics of the Pure Fila and try to reproduce them in their respective breedings.

CAFIB recognizes, however, that not always the published photos, taken by non-professional collaborators, clearly express the phenotype of the portrayed dog. And this is explained by two factors:

1) at CAFIB, all dogs are presented by their owners, family members or employees - due to the Fila's own characteristics, CAFIB's exhibitions do not include the participation of professional handlers, who often, knowing the deficiencies of the dog (or dogs) presented, try to correct them in the presentation (stay), in an attempt to deceive the judge (sometimes, when the owner has some knowledge of professional presentation and fixes the dog, it is common for the CAFIB judge to ask that, after all the work of putting the animal in stay, the owner and the animal take a step forward, to disarm the staging, making the dog show itself as it really is, without artifice);

2) Fila is a difficult dog to be photographed by people who are not part of their daily life, due to the aversion to strangers, often mentioned by Dr. Paulo Santos Cruz. Especially in profile photos, because the dog always tries to turn his head or even his body to observe the photographer and his attitudes. Frontal shots, from a safe distance, are easier, as the Fila is more comfortable when facing his opponent.

With the availability of access to the photos published on its website, CAFIB has exercised an indisputable influence in most exhibitions held worldwide by other clubs, as the increase is evident, in recent years, in these shows, in the number of more typical Filas and closer to the visual pattern of CAFIB, developed by Paulo Santos Cruz and Marilda Mallet (illustrator) in 1978/1979, and also to the written pattern, from 1979. The visual pattern also counted on the collaboration of students from a course on Fila that Dr. Paulo then ministered in São Paulo, attended by Marilda Mallet and directors of the then Fila Brasileiro Improvement Commission (CAFIB), as will be reported below.

As for the CAFIB Standard, some clarifications are in place, in order to eliminate doubts arising from comments, analyses and exegeses that have been arising lately, based on erroneous information, used by people who do not seek to inform themselves correctly or are apparently malicious in the sense of not giving due credit to CAFIB. They insist on calling it the PSC Standard, using the shield of the name of Dr. Paulo Santos Cruz, who is no longer alive to challenge them and restore the truth.

These people, when referring to the 1978 PSC Standard, make at least two mistakes.

The first mistake is that the 1978 date is not linked to either the Visual Standard or the written standard. 1978 is the date of creation of the Fila Brasileiro Improvement Commission, CAFIB, which in the following year became a club - CAFIB. The Visual Standard of the Pure Fila Brasileiro (reproduced at the time by the Purina feed factory, in poster format) began to be developed in late 1978, during a course open to the general public on Fila Brasileiro, promoted by the Itamaraty Institute, in São Paulo, taught by Dr. Paulo Santos Cruz, in which plastic artist Marilda Mallet was registered, specialized in professionally portraying dogs, of various breeds. Also part of that class were some students who were already part of or who would come to be part of the Improvement Committee of the Fila Brasileiro and, later, the board of CAFIB, such as Airton Campbell, Américo Cardoso dos Santos Junior, Roberto Maruyama and Marília Penteado Maruyama, all owners and / or Fila breeders. During the classes, Marilda Mallet came up with the idea of drawing a Pure Fila, based on the teachings of Dr. Paulo and with the collaboration of all. Thus, in parallel with the classes, the visual pattern of the Pure Fila Brasileiro phenotype was being set up. All cooperated, giving their opinion on details of structure, typicality and artistic visualization of each part of the dog's body and the anatomical set of the ideal Fila. These details of the history of the CAFIB Standard and the Club became necessary here, in this retrospective, because some critics and analysts mentioned above insist on doubting the collective work of elaborating the visual and written standards of CAFIB, indisputable facts that are documented in the O Fila newspaper.

The second mistake is that the CAFIB Standard of the Pure Fila Brasileiro, as written, also dates from 1979 (O Fila, number 8, July 1979) and not 1978. It was the result of a collective work of the Fila Brasileiro Improvement Commission, at that time, already without the participation of representatives from the Clube Paulista do Fila Brasileiro (CPFB) and the Brasil Kennel Club (BKC), who had withdrawn from the Commission because they did not agree with the forwarding of the proposals (reopening of the Initial Registration, analysis of the stock of Filas, removal of crossbred dogs, cancellation of records at the BKC and CPFB of crossbred animals, among others). And, so that there is no doubt about the collective work of elaborating the CAFIB Standard, we translated the text published in the Summary section, in English, of the edition number 8, Year I, of O Fila, of July 1979 (see reproduction ):" In this issue we also publish (page 5) the new standard of Fila Brasileiro, prepared by CAFIB [our emphasis], with the objective of eliminating all crossbred and protecting the purebred. (...)This is the new standard that CAFIB will follow from now on." Therefore, this is not about a PSC standard, although CAFIB does not deny the fundamental technical work of Dr. Paulo Santos Cruz in the preparation of the basic text and the final text. After all, he was the great inspirer and the first and only Master of Breeding at CAFIB. Therefore, items containing definitions of important points of the standard, especially in the disqualifications for miscegenation, were added to the original draft of the PSC text, after the exchange of ideas and debates between CAFIB members, as well as suggestions from several members of the group about the wording and presentation of the final text. These are the facts, which do not allow contestation or interpretation.

WORLD CHAMPIONS AND THEIR VICES

Once the scores of the eight exhibitions held by CAFIB were computed, the results of the seven World Championship categories, which awarded participants from six cities in Brazil (four from Minas Gerais, one from Goiás and one from São Paulo) and one from Argentina, were as follows:

BREEDER OF THE YEAR: Guardiães do Caracu Kennel, owned by José Wilson Vilela (Campo Belo, MG) and Marcus Flávio Vilasboas Moreira (Nova Serrana, MG).

VICE BREEDER OF THE YEAR: Recanto do Livramento Kennel, owned by Leonardo, Laura and Rafael Monteiro (Cordisburgo, MG).

EXHIBITOR OF THE YEAR: José Wilson Vilela (Campo Belo, MG) and Marcus Flávio Vilasboas Moreira (Nova Serrana, MG), owner of Guardiães do Caracu Kennel.

VICE-EXHIBITOR OF THE YEAR: Leonardo, Laura and Rafael Monteiro, from the Recanto do Livramento Kennel (Cordisburgo, MG).

WORLD CHAMPION: Lyoto Fila Roots, owned by Alessandro Castro Bueno of Chão de Goiás Kennel (Aparecida de Goiânia, GO).

VICE-WORLD CHAMPION: Django do Chapéu Preto, by Wolney Almeida Santos (Guaratinguetá, SP).

WORLD CHAMPION (FEMALE): Gana Recando do Livramento, by Leonardo, Laura and Rafael Monteiro, from the Recanto do Livramento Kennel (Cordisburgo, MG).

VICE-WORLD CHAMPION (FEMALE): Olívia Guardiães do Caracu, by José Wilson Vilela (Campo Belo, MG) and Marcus Flávio Vilasboas Moreira (Nova Serrana, MG), owned by Guardiães do Caracu Kennel.

TEMPERAMENT OF THE YEAR:Lyoto Fila Roots, owned by Alessandro Castro Bueno of Chão de Goiás Kennel (Aparecida de Goiânia, GO).

VICE-TEMPERAMENT OF THE YEAR: Django do Chapéu Preto, by Wolney Almeida Santos (Guaratinguetá, SP).

BREEDER OF THE YEAR: Anjo Portal dos Quatro Irmãos, by Leonardo, Laura and Rafael Monteiro, from the Recanto do Livramento Kennel (Cordisburgo, MG).

VICE-BREEDER OF THE YEAR: Kratos do Itanhandu, by Cíntia and Gérson Junqueira de Barros, owners of Itanhandu Kennel (Itanhandu, MG).

BREEDER OF THE YEAR: Cuba Fila Roots, by Sebastián Iglesias, from Del Talacasto Kennel (Roldán - Argentina).

VICE-BREEDER OF THE YEAR (FEMALE): Rosinha Acangussu das Gerais, by José Wilson Vilela (Campo Belo, MG) and Marcus Flávio Vilasboas Moreira (Nova Serrana, MG), owners of Guardiães do Caracu Kennel.

A BALANCE SHEET OF THE 8 EXHIBITIONS OF 2019

Last year, CAFIB once more broke the rule, set in a Board Meeting in 2013, to only hold a maximum of five exhibitions per year, so as not to overload the work of the General Secretary of the Club. The reason, this time, was very special. Joaquim Liberato Barroso, Quinzinho, suggested that CAFIB return to Valença, after 21 years, to hold the 5^th Exhibition in Valença and pay a just and deserved tribute to the 90 years of breeder Marília Barroso Pentagna, owner of Boa Sorte Kennel, who also completed 45 years of activity, which was promptly approved by the board, given the importance of the breeder and her kennel in the recent history of Fila Brasileiro and also CAFIB. With the inclusion of this exhibition, the number of events in 2019 increased to six in Brazil, in addition to the two abroad (Uruguay and Spain), totaling eight exhibitions in the year.

In the six exhibitions held in Brazil, the average number of dogs on the track was 64, with a record of 100 Filas at the 12^th Exhibition in Itanhandu (one dog less than in the 2018 exhibition). Abroad, we highlight the 3^rd Exhibition in Uruguay, which brought together 45 Filas from that country and Brazil, two more than in the 2018 exhibition. The two exhibitions abroad were held on the same day, November 23. With the return of the exhibition from Spain, the 2018 championship, which was South American, became the 2019 World Championship, the first officially held by CAFIB.

Below, we publish the general data for the eight exhibitions of the year.

ITANHANDU (MG) - April 7^th
109^th National Exhibition of Fila Brasileiro and 12^th Exhibition of Itanhandu
Judges: Mariana Campbell and Fabiano Nunes
Analysis (AFT): 29 dogs, two of which failed with rejected due to disqualifying temperament
Exhibition: 105 registered and 100 on the track

JACAREÍ (SP) - May 23
110^th National Exhibition of Fila Brasileiro and 6^th Exhibition of Jacareí
Judges: Giovane Eder Carvalho and Jonas Tadeu Iacovantuono
Analysis (AFT): 17, with two failing for disqualifying temperament
Exhibition: 74 registered and 71 on the track

TERESINA (PI) - July 7th
2^nd Fila Brasileiro Exhibition de Teresina
Judges: Mariana Campbell and Jonas Tadeu Iacovantuono
Analysis (AFT): 19 dogs, with two failing for disqualifying temperament
Exhibition: 32 registered and 29 on the track

PARÁ DE MINAS (MG) - August 18^th
2^nd Fila Brasileiro Exhibition de Pará de Minas
Judges: Luciano José de Almeida Gavião and Pedro Carlos Borotti
Analysis: 21 dogs, two of which failed due to temperament
Exhibition: 96 registered and 85 on the track

VALENÇA (RJ) - September 14^th
5^th Fila Brasileiro Exhibition de Valença
Judges: Américo Cardoso dos Santos Junior and Giovane Éder Carvalho
Analysis (AFT): 10 dogs, one failed due to temperament
Exhibition: 41 registered and 36 on the track

URUGUAY - November 23^rd
3^rd Fila Brasileiro Exhibition de Uruguay
Judges: Mariana Campbell and Fabiano Nunes
Analysis (AFT): 16 Filas, all approved
Exhibition: 48 registered and 45 on the track

SPAIN - November 23^rd
16^th Fila Brasileiro Exhibition de Spain
Judge: Jaime Pérez Marhuenda
Analysis (AFT): 3 Filas, all approved
Exhibition: 15 registered and 12 on the track

CRUZEIRO (SP) on December 8^th
111^st National Exhibition of Fila Brasileiro and 4^th Exhibition of Cruzeiro
Judges: Airton Campbell and Américo Cardoso dos Santos Junior
Analysis (AFT): 16 Filas, all approved
Exhibition: 68 registered and 65 on the track