GA manages the naming of all greyhounds on behalf of its member controlling bodies. From time to time, GA reviews its Greyhound Naming Policy to ensure greyhounds are named in accordance with member and participant needs.
GA will always work co-operatively with participants to meet desired name choices. To help do that, GA will refer to its GA Greyhound Naming Policies which provides a set criteria against which all decisions are made on the suitability and availability of names that have been applied for. The policy also acts as a reference guide for participants when applying for a greyhound name.
The last update was undertaken in 2003. A draft updated policy 2018 can be viewed here with proposed changes shown in red text.

This updated draft Policy seeks to:

• Reinforce the importance of careful greyhound name selection to support regulatory performance.
• Remove ambiguities in the current policy.
• Confirm, for the benefit of participants, GA and GA member responsibilities in the naming of greyhounds.
• Reinforce, for the benefit of participants, that it is unacceptable for participants to apply for names that are rude, vulgar and/or offensive and that action may be taken against those that offend.
• Avoid naming greyhounds that cannot be differentiated by a race caller. For example, ‘know way’ and ‘no way’, are different and so may be accepted by the database used but will now not be accepted by GA or the controlling body. Other examples include where the plural of a name appears to differentiate itself from a name already in use but sound the same when used at the track and in for applications for names that are incorrectly spelled, for example ‘wae’ vs ‘way’.

GA is providing an opportunity for participants to have their say on the revised draft GA Greyhound Naming Policy.  Feedback is open until 15 August 2018 and should be submitted by email to [email protected]

DRAFT Greyhound Naming Policy