RSG Flyball Club Philosophy

We are a competitive Flyball team committed to running our dogs at sanctioned tournaments and training them as required for the ultimate aim of enjoyment of the sport by both dogs and members of the team. Our goals include the following:

• All dogs and team members have fun while training or racing in a tournament;
• All dogs have the opportunity to run in races at tournaments and take part in
  any other activities involving the team;
• Any concern for winning tournaments, or for establishing new team racing
  records is secondary after the first two goals have been achieved;
• Competitive winning will be gained via training existing team dogs and/or
  young dogs owned by established team members rather than by importing
  new "fast" dogs or replacing existing team members;
• NAFA points, certificates, and pins, do not represent goals in and for themselves,
  but as incidental rewards of pursuing the team’s primary goals;

That the fulfillment of these goals shall be brought about by the proper functioning of a democratic team structure in which each member contributes to all discussions and team initiatives.

What is Flyball?

Flyball is a team sport for dogs, invented in California in the late 1970's. Legend has it that Herbert Wagner first showed it on the Johnny Carson Show to millions of Americans. Quickly enthusiasm built for the sport with dog trainers and dog clubs were making and using Flyball 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 4 dogs per team. The course is made up 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 hops on a spring loaded box that shoots out a tennis ball with all four paws. The dog grabs the ball and then runs back over the 4 jumps. When the dog crosses the starting line the next dog goes. The first team to have all 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, 5" below the shoulder height of the shortest dog. 7" is the minimum height and 14" is the maximum height.

Titles

The dogs earn points towards flyball titles based on the teams time:

• less than 32 secs: Each dog receives 1 point
• less than 28 secs: Each dog receives 5 points
• less than 24 secs: Each dog receives 25 points

The titles the dogs can earn are: