| Flyball is the fastest growing
team dog sport in North America. It has something for everybody: the fun of competing as a
team with other handlers and dogs, titles to be earned by the dogs, and the thrill of a
close race, but best of all, any dog can compete. Flyball got its
start in the 1980s in the Toronto-Detroit area. A few small tournaments were held in
conjunction with area dog shows and then, in 1983, the first official flyball tournament
was held. The North American Flyball Association (NAFA) was quickly formed to standardize
rules, register the racing dogs, keep records of the tournaments, and guide the further
development of the sport. At its inception, NAFA consisted of 12 teams from Michigan and
Ontario. Today, there are 500 registered teams and over 11,000 registered dogs.
Each racing team is made up of a minimum of four dogs with a maximum of
six dogs; however, only four dogs can run in a heat. Each team also likes to have a
"height dog" included on the roster because jump heights are set four inches
lower than the height at the withers of the shortest dog on the team. The minimum height
is 8" and the maximum height is 16.
Flyball races match two teams of four dogs, racing side-by-side over a
51 foot long course. Each dog must run in relay fashion over the four jumps, trigger the
flyball box, retrieve the ball that is released, and return back over the jumps. The next
dog is then released to run the course but he may not cross the start/finish line until
the preceeding dog has crossed the start/finish line. The ideal that most teams strive for
is both dogs passing nose-to-nose at the start/finish line. The first team to have all
four of their dogs finish the course without errors wins the heat. In today’s age or
racing, many teams can run all four dogs through the course in under 20 seconds. The NAFA
record is 15.88 seconds.
Flyball tournaments are divided into divisions so that teams of like
speed race each other. Once they obtain their competition racing number (CRN), any dog is
eligible to compete and earn NAFA titles. The titles are earned by a point system that is
based on the speed of the team’s run in each heat. Most races are comprised of
anywhere from 3-5 heats. The winning team of each race also earns points toward tournament
placements.
To check out the flyball Gordons and find more information on flyball,
visit the NAFA web site at www.flyball.org and http://nafadb.flyball.org/breedlist.htm.
Scroll down and click on the breed name. The best web site for flyball trivia, team
locator, record holders, training tips and equipment is the original flyball web site: www.flyballdogs.com. If it’s not contained
somewhere in this site, you probably don’t need to know it!
Champion Chaparral U Hit The Jackpot JH NA AD DCH CGC
"Keno" (Heather Smith)
|
