PA weekend Flyball results...

[TheRedQueen]

not a great tourney for us...only one team out of four placed...DUI got third in their division. But the nice thing was...each team got toys, regardless of placement...so the dogs were happy. The theme was "Viva Las Flyball"...complete with Elvis! The toys were card suits...very cute.

Inara got her ONYX plaque, and Xander got his Grand Champion 40K plaque...now I have to find space on the walls!

We had a great time on Sat. night playing "Human Flyball"...even though I "fouled in the ring" (according to the judges)...when I fell and muttered "F*CK". The videos should be up soon....so I'll post some links.

[katiek0417]

LOL...I can't wait to see this!!!! I hope the Human Flyball is on video!!!

Congrats to Xander and Inara...(and Cy sends out a very special congrats kiss to Inara)

[TheRedQueen]

LOL...I can't wait to see this!!!! I hope the Human Flyball is on video!!!

Congrats to Xander and Inara...(and Cy sends out a very special congrats kiss to Inara)

Oh yes, the Human Flyball is the only thing we taped...should be fun to watch. It was hard to do...we all realized how hard it was to coordinate your body...we have a new respect for the dogs on the box!

X and I say thanks...they earned the titles last fall, and just got the plaques this weekend...they're on their way to the next titles now...luckily Xander just gets engraved plates for his plaque now...no more things to hang on the wall!

[katiek0417]

This is going to sound stupid, but how do titles in Flyball work? I mean, how does the dog earn a title? It's mostly a team sport...so does the dog have to exceed a certain speed? Does the whole team have to win?

[TheRedQueen]

This is going to sound stupid, but how do titles in Flyball work? I mean, how does the dog earn a title? It's mostly a team sport...so does the dog have to exceed a certain speed? Does the whole team have to win?

It's a team effort...based on total team time.

You have four dogs racing. Any time under 24 seconds is 25 points (for each dog in that heat). 24-28 gets 5 points. 28-32 gets 1 point. Anything over 32 seconds gets 0 points.

With a normal weekend of racing, with 40 heats...there is a possibility of earning 1,000 points for one team. But the team would have to run really clean. I've seen two teams do that in all of my career. We average around 700-800 for our good teams that we put together...which is why consistency is so valued...as much as speed.

So depending on how many tournaments you go to, and how good the team is, a dog can make upwards of 10,000 points in a year. In 2006, with lots of traveling...Xander came in #12 for points for the year, of all dogs in NAFA...with 14,670 points.

Ripley started racing in 1999, and retired last year, 2007, with 10,000 points. He got shuffled around a lot.

Xander has been racing since the end of 2002...in 6 years he's gotten over 40,000 points. Our team was still new in the beginning, so it was a slow start.

Inara started in the fall of 2005, and has earned over 20,000 points. She's been on good teams for a while now...and proves herself time and again.

Sawyer started in the summer of 2006, and has over 10,000 points.

Also, the dogs can double run at tournaments...so they can possibly double their points in any given tournament...but not every dog can maintain speed/consistency over a double racing weekend. Xander is proven to be able to do it (not as much as he gets older)...and Inara can, but emotionally it takes a toll on her.