The sport NCA runs, how its trials work, and where its next events are.
The Newfoundland Club of America (NCA) held the first approved US draft test in 1985. Draft sits inside NCA's broader Working Dog Program alongside water rescue, and tests run under Draft Test Regulations maintained by the NCA Working Dog Committee — revised October 2025, effective November 1, 2025. NCA tests are open only to purebred Newfoundlands at least 18 months old.
NCA runs the program for Newfoundlands. Its tests emphasize realistic rescue scenarios that reflect the breed's historical work in the North Atlantic — towing boats, retrieving lines, bringing victims back to shore. The program runs an optional Beginner division (BWD) and three main divisions — Water Dog (WD), Water Rescue Dog (WRD), and Water Rescue Dog Excellent (WRDX). Each main division is six exercises, judged pass/fail by two judges at a single test; a title requires passing every exercise, with no aggregate score. Tests are open to purebred Newfoundlands six months and older and are run by regional NCA clubs under the national Working Dog Committee's regulations (Version 6, effective February 2026).
