New Zealand Flygility Dog Association

The Secretary: Allan Rohde, 117 Whangarata Road, Tuakau. Ph 09-236 9850

Email: mark.iii@clear.net.nz

TOURNAMENT COMPETITION RULES, TITLES AND REGULATIONS

(To apply from August 2007)

1. Amateur Competition

The NZFDA encourages amateur competition. Individuals or teams that accept money or other compensation for flygility competition or demonstrations may not compete in NZFDA competition. They may, however, accept money for expenses, or prize money or trophies, uniforms or equipment that identifies a sponsor or the host club.

2. Flygility’s Character

Flygility is a dog sport using some features taken from other dog sports but there is a need for skill in negotiating courses with a variety of obstacles and changes of direction. Accuracy is more important than speed.

3. Competition Character

3.1 Flygility is essentially a team knock-out competition where two teams compete simultaneously over separate courses that are as close to identical as possible. The best of three runs decides which team proceeds to the next heat.

3.2 A double elimination knockout draw must be used for all events being held at the tournament where the number of entrants is less than eight but shall not be used for events where the number of entrants is eight or greater.

4. Teams

4.1 There can be different team types:

a. One handler with one dog is an Individual Team;

b. Two handlers each with a dog is a Pairs Team;

c. Three handlers each with a dog is a Threesome Team;

d. Four handlers each with a dog is a Foursome Team.

4.2 The Management may decide to form teams in one class of the tournament by random selection of team members. Points for heat winners will still be credited in such classes.

4.3 It is the responsibility of the organisers to ensure a Box-loader is available for each Knockout race. A team may request a specific box loader.

4.4 At an official Flygility Tournament the Management may offer Knock-Out competition for any or all of these team types if there are four or more teams of the same type submitting entries.

5 Naming of Teams

Each team will have a name or designation registered with the NZFDA and the name of member or members (dog and handler) will be specified in the entry form for each official Tournament. A handler may run more than one dog in the same team or enter in more than one team in the same knock-out class. Should two teams with the same handler in each be drawn in the same race, then that handler must use a substitute handler for one of the dogs in that race.

6 Reserve Dogs

Each team, including an Individual team, may have one dog (and handler) as a reserve which may be used at the team's discretion or in the case of injury. Reserves may be used as substitutes at the end of any run during a heat. A reserve may be reserve for more than one team, subject to the level at which the team competes.

7 Substitute Runner

Any team may have one person to run in the place of any handler for re-run purposes. The handler intending to use this provision must advise BOTH judges of his/her intention before the round starts. The Substitute Runner will stand back from the start/finish line and clear of returning dogs. If called into action by the handler, he/she will take the dog by the collar from the handler immediately prior to the re-run.

8 Competition Rules

There will be five levels of competition:

a. Beginners: At this level the course will be straight and will include only Basic Equipment (refer paragraph 9). Dogs may not compete at this level if they have accumulated 20 points;

b. Intermediate: In addition to the Basic Equipment, the ramp with hoops (refer paragraph 9) may be included and one change of direction is permissible but only by way of the bendy tunnel (refer paragraph 9). The change of direction will not be less than 150 degrees (ie, referring to a clock face, running from 6 towards 12, the change cannot be greater than turning right to 1 or left to 11). All dogs may compete at this level.

c. Open: The weaving poles (refer paragraph 9) may be included and there may be two changes of direction with or without use of the bendy tunnel. Any single change of direction will not be less than 120 degrees (clock face, running from 6 to 12, the change cannot be greater than turning right to 2 or left to 10.) unless the bendy tunnel is used as the corner, in which case, the corner can be as sharp as 90 degrees. All dogs may compete at this level. Points awarded will be open points.

d. Advanced: The only limitation on the complexity of this level of competition is the equipment available, the practicality of setting out two equal courses and, of course, the safety of the dogs. Dogs may not compete at this level until they have accumulated 20 points. Points awarded will be advanced points.

e. Novelty Class: The Management may choose to offer novelty classes. Points for heat winners in this type of class will NOT be credited towards titles.

9. Flygility Equipment

9.1 The Association's policy is to keep equipment costs to a minimum, consistent with safety, spectacle value, storage and transport. Agility equipment may be used so long as its dimensions meet the minimum measurements required for flygility. With all measurements, unless otherwise stated, there will be a 10mm difference permitted, up or down, thus recognizing construction and timber shrinkage factors.

9.2 Team Equipment:

a. Flybox:

i. The tournament organisers shall supply flybox’s and have a spare box’s immediately available if required. Once the event has commenced, flyboxes can only be replaced if they malfunction. Competitors will be given the opportunity to practice on the flyboxes prior to the tournament commencing.

ii. All boxes are to have a pedal-release mechanism. To preserve the spectator appeal of the sport, dog skill levels and equal competition the box design must allow for a distance not less than 200mm between the top edge of the pressure pad and the centre of the ball-cup, at the point in the box's action where the ball leaves the cup, this being measured as a straight line. A ball, when released from the flybox, must have a free unobstructed flight of not less than 600mm. All flyball boxes used for tournaments are to be of a standard design. The operating pedal shall cover the full face of the box and no more, with a 10mm undersize allowance and the pressure required to be operate it be no more than 2kg gently placed on the top edge of the pedal with the pedal in a horizontal position. (load the box, raise the front of the box so that the pedal is horizontal and prop it up. Check the weight required to trigger box).

iii. In the interests of dog safety the flybox will have no sharp projections which the dog could land on after leaping for the ball. If the ball cup is exposed and able to strike the dog, the cup's edge must not project above the ball, or the cup must be made of a flexible material such as rubber.

iv. Boxes shall be inspected by a panel of the Tournament's judges and shall not be allowed if, in the opinion of the majority of the judges, the box has been constructed or altered in a manner which provides an unfair advantage to any one team or it was likely to cause injury to a dog.

v. If a box malfunctions during a round the judge will immediately stop the round. The organisers will replace the faulty box with its stand-by box and the round will be started again.

b. Balls and ball containers: The organisers will supply balls and four containers, one for each end of the course. Sizes of ball other than the tennis ball may be used for different sized dogs, the responsibility being with the dog-handler and box-loader.

9.3 Host Club Equipment: It will be the host club's responsibility to provide, for the duration of the Tournament, two sets of course equipment. Teams are asked to co-operate by loaning equipment.

9.4 Basic Equipment:

a. Flyball pattern jumps, being the first and last obstacles in every course. (Mini height 200mm, Midi 300mm, Maxi 400mm.) There shall be 600mm between the vertical posts or panels of the jumps which will be 600mm high and may be painted in colours of the owner's or sponsor's choice. The jump heights will be set according to the height of the smallest dog in that team.

b. Agility hurdles - with wings preferred but not mandatory. (Mini height not higher than 200mm, Midi 380mm, Maxi 460mm. Hurdle heights for the whole team will be set according to the height of the smallest dog in that team. Bars preferably 40mm outside diam. and length 1m - 1.2m. The number of bars will be at the Judge's discretion.

c. Long jump: This will consist of four boards, 150mm wide, the longest 1500mm long, the others reduced in length to allow them, with 25mm legs fitted, to slot inside each other (ie, second longest board 1450, third longest 1400 and shortest 1350mm). The longest two boards will have legs giving maximum height at the top edge of the sloping board, of 300mm and the bottom edge of the board 230mm. The two shortest boards will be, at the top of the slope 250mm high and at the bottom 180mm. The two highest boards will be central, their sloping faces looking away from each other. The shortest two boards will be placed with their lower edges the correct distance apart for the smallest dog in the team. All four boards will be evenly spaced to fill the distance gap. (Mini 750mm, Midi 1000 and Maxi 1300). On each side of the long jump, at mid-point , a vertical marker - hurdle upright or hurdle-wing, will be placed, close to the end of the boards. The sloping faces of the boards will be painted white or of one colour clearly visible to dogs.

d. Bendy tunnel: Diameter Minimum 600mm , Maximum 750mm with a maximum difference of 50mm between the diameters of the tunnels in each lane. Minimum length 3.0m Maximum - 4.0m but this can be easily adjusted as the tunnel can be concertined.

e. Poles and rope for start/finish line: Two flexible poles, at least 1.5 metres in length and a rope, at least 8 metres in length, must be available to define the start line unless a painted line is used.

f. Judges flags: Each Judge will be provided with two flags, one checkered and one Red, at least 300mm square on a short handle. The Red flag will signal a re-run. The checkered flag will signal that the team has finished.

9.5 Additional Equipment:

a. Ramp: Two planks, 300mm wide and 2.4m long with slats no further apart than 350mm, securely attached to a support allowing the highest point of the ramp to be 600mm from the ground. At each end of the ramp there may, at the judge’s discretion, be a hoop. These are 25mm x 150mm x 900mm boards supporting a hooped length of stiff hose giving an opening 600mm wide at the base and 700mm high. These are pegged to the ground at the base of the ramps. Where it is not possible to peg the hoops the ends of the ramps are to be placed on top of the hoops' bases.

b. Weaving poles: A bank of 6 poles will be used. To ensure the obstacle presents the same difficulty for all sizes of dogs the rigid plastic water pipe poles will have an inside diameter of not less than 30mm or an outside diameter of not less than 34mm. The 10mm dispensation for equipment sizes will not apply to the poles except as regards their length, which will be 900mm and the distance between the poles, which will be 600mm.

10. Judges

10.1 At the discretion of the Affiliated Group running the Tournament there may be two line Judges or Three line Judges:

a. The Judge who designed the course will be the Course Judge and act as th