|
Flyball is a team sport for dogs that was invented in
California in the late 70's. Legend has it that Herbert Wagner first
showed it on the Johnny Carson show to millions of Americans. Soon
afterwards dog trainers and dog clubs were making and using Fl ball
Boxes. In the early 80's the sport became so popular that the North
American Flyball Association (NAFA) was formed and they are the
worldwide authority for Flyball.
Flyball
is a relay race with 3 or 4 dogs on a team. The course consists of a
starting line, 4 hurdles spaced 10 feet apart and a box. The first
hurdle is 6 feet from the start line and the box is 15 feet from the
last hurdle for a 51 foot overall length. The dogs jump the hurdles
and steps on a spring loaded box that shoots out a tennis ball. The
dog catches the tennis ball and then runs back over the 4 hurdles.
When the dog crosses the starting line the next dog goes. The first
team to have all 3 or 4 dogs run without errors wins the heat.
Tournaments are usually organized in either a double elimination or
round robin format. Double elimination is usually best of 3 or best
of 5. Round robin is usually best 3 out of 5 and the first team to
win 3 heats receives 1 point towards their standing in the
tournament. The hurdles' height are dependent on the height of the
dogs in the team 4" below the shoulder height of the shortest dog.
7" is the minimum height and 14" is the maximum height. For
more detailed information see the
NAFA rulebook.
Flyball
is different from most other dog sports in that here a group of
handlers and dogs have to work together as a team to train their
dogs, have fun and succeed in competitions.
|
The dogs earn points towards Flyball titles based on the teams
time |
|
Time |
Points |
|
|
less than 32 secs |
1 |
|
|
less than 28 secs |
5 |
|
|
less than 24 secs |
25 |
|
|
The titles dogs can earn are |
|
Abbr |
Title |
Points |
Award |
|
FD |
Flyball Dog |
20 |
Certificate |
|
FDX |
Flyball Dog Excellent |
100 |
Certificate |
|
FDCh |
Flyball Dog Champion |
500 |
Certificate |
|
FDCh-S |
Flyball Dog Champion |
1,000 |
Certificate |
|
FDCh-G |
Flyball Dog Champion |
2,500 |
Certificate |
|
FM |
Flyball Master |
5,000 |
Pin |
|
FMX |
Flyball Master Excellent |
10,000 |
Pin |
|
FMCh |
Flyball Master Champion |
15,000 |
Pin |
|
ONYX |
ONYX Award |
20,000 |
Plaque |
|
FGDCh |
Flyball Grand Champion |
30,000 |
Plaque |
|
|
|
40,000 |
Pin & Plaque |
|
|
at each 10,000 from 50,000 to 90,000 |
Pin & Plate |
|
|
Hobbes Award |
100,000 |
Pin & Plaque |
See
the
NAFA rulebook for
team and regional titles
|
