This is a proposal warranting discussion by the NDAL Board of Governors.
The NDAL Secretary has prepared a summary analysis of each of the four NDAL leagues for each of the first three quarterly series in 2016. You can download that summary (an Excel file) HERE.
The opportunity presents itself to compete for the Dog Agility Championship of the World. In a play-off between the top four league teams. The Board should provide input to determine what shape that competition might take. The simple approach would be to designate one of the games or courses from January 2017 (which would additionally be a league game for the 1st quarter series of 2017). The team with the highest score in that competition would win the first ever Dog Agility Championship of the world.
As of this date, the winning clubs in each of the four leagues for first three series of the year were:
50×50 ~ Sit, Stay, ‘N Play in Stroudsburg, PA
50×70 ~ Clermont County All Breed All Stars in Milford, OH
60×90 ~ Clermont County All Breed All Stars in Milford, OH
36×85 ~ Wicked West Australians in Banjup, Western Australia
One club has won two leagues. In order to find a fourth, “wildcard” team we look for the team with the lowest percentage differential from the winning team of each league. As of this date the Wildcard team would be: AQ4U’s Fast & Furryous in Louisville, KY.
Logistical Hurdles
The leagues of the NDAL are based on two elements: Size of the working space and the intended level of challenge. For the Dog Agility Championship of the World the NDAL Board must settle on each of these elements.
The 50×70 might be the ideal. Clearly Sit, Stay, ‘n Play will be at a disadvantage here because the 50×50 league was created specifically to match their available working space. We need to hear from Sit, Stay, ‘n Play to find out if they can find a suitable venue for this competition. There is an excellent agility facility within about 50 miles of their site.
Top Dog 2016
A summary of individual dogs in league play is underway. The Board needs to discuss. Qualifying shall be based on LPP earned in 2016 league competition. Furthermore, this gives us an excellent opportunity to recognize dogs by their measured jump height. Consequently the Top Dog Agility Champion will be seeded with 16 dogs; four in each of our four measured heights.
Open Invitation
Qualification for the Dog Agility Championship of the World is based on earned LPP by each team in 2016. We will invite new teams to and individual to compete and register their scores in that competition. But only the finalist clubs will be eligible for the win.
In the Open Invitation the NDAL will require: 1) Dogs to be registered; 2) a recording fee; 3) YouTube recording for each performance.
Invitation to Game Masters
If you would like to try your hand at designing league courses for the NDAL, please contact our League Secretary: Houston.Bud@gmail.com.
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Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Bud Houston Houston.Bud@gmail.com. The web store is up and running. www.dogagility.org/newstore. You’ll find in the web store The Joker’s Notebook, an invaluable reference for teaching an agility dog (and his handler) to work a distance apart.
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