Hayward 2008
| The Bay Racers always put on an excellent tournament in Hayward, and this year was no exception. This was a two ring NAFA tournament at UC Hayward with a breathtaking view of the bay. The weather was perfect, Saturday topped out around 80 degrees, and it was warmer Sunday, maybe around 90. Both days the tournament ended before 4 PM I believe. We took three teams to Hayward, 12 dogs total. Barbara captained for the Screaming Eagles and the Patriots, and Bob Ekin captained for Airborne. How did we do? Saturday: The Screaming Eagles were in Regular Division 3, Airborne was in Regular Division 2, and the Patriots were in Multi Breed Division 2. Our strategy and our goal was to run all-out, and try to place in each division. The Eagles and Airborne each placed 1st in their division (the Eagles won 20 out of a possible 24 heats), the Patriots did not place. A note regarding the Airborne team: Going into the last race of the day against Mad Dogs, Airborne had 14.5 wins (.5 win due to a tied heat earlier in the day). Mad Dogs had 11 wins going into that race. Airborne needed at least one heat to win 1st place. Mad Dogs won the first three heats, and Airborne won the last, giving them 1st place. If we had lost all four heats, we would have lost by 1/2 a heat. It was close. Sunday: Two of the teams ran in different divisions. The Screaming Eagles remained in Division 3, but Airborne was moved to Division 1, and the Patriots were moved to Multi Breed Division 1. I'll explain why in a minute. The Screaming Eagles placed 1st in their division again, the Patriots placed 3rd in their division, and Airborne did not place. I have to mention that even though Airborne did not place on Sunday, they ran excellently. They acquired 600 points out of a possible 625. They were running five races at five heats per race on Sunday. If a team comes in at under 24 seconds per heat they win 25 points. These points accumulate into titles. Anyway, what Airborne did was win 25 points for every single heat they ran except one. They basically ran fast and error free. This was Melanie and Chloe's first tournament since our own last year. On Saturday, Chloe had it dialed in by the end of two races, and ran great the rest of the weekend. Melanie did a great job handling! (pictures to follow...) |
