Agility Dog Association of Australia Ltd

From the ADAA Chair ... May 2009

It was an absolute pleasure to judge Agility at ADAA’s Dogmania 2009 – Canine Sports Carnival. There was one fantastic run after another, from up and coming dogs as well as some of those who have been around for a bit longer. The atmosphere was lots of fun and Saturday’s local markets at the showgrounds saw an influx of general public taking an interest in all of the events. The event even saw its first international judge in Uwe Stolpe (SV) from Germany officiating for the IPO working Trial held by Brisbane Sporting Dog Club. Other events over the weekend were the National Championships for Canine Disc held by Brisbane and Region K9 Disc Club and the Short Course 3 Sheep Trials presented by SunCoast FunDogs Agility Club. Special thanks to major event sponsors Polapaws Australian Pet Treats and Vet-n-Pet Direct. Without their generosity events such as this would not be possible. Finally huge thanks to Marion Allen and her team of terrific volunteers who put the event together on behalf of ADAA.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and members of ADAA and the Australian Agility community, I would like to congratulate the following for submitting their Expressions of Interest to be a member of the Team to represent Australia at the 2010 IFCS World Agility Championships to be held in the UK.

Coach (in alphabetical order by surname):
Marion Allen , Tracey Harrison-Hill, Nat Kirkwood, Elsina Meyer, Sharyn Palmer, Maria Thiry, Mal Williams

Handler (in alphabetical order by surname):
Neville Allen, Ros Atyeo, Kate Bartels, Megan Bell-Jones, Wendy Blakeston, Marion Bland, Siegfried Clever, Peter Clyne, Denise Crook, Kriszty Cumming, Leanne Davis, Nicole Ford, Tracey Harrison-Hill, Lisa Henshaw, Nat Kirkwood, Joanne Lewohl, Merrilee McGee, Elsina Meyer, Damian Noud, Karen Noud, Amanda Pacher, Sharyn Palmer, Brian Platts, Nicola Read, Stacy Richards, Ashley Roach, Maria Thiry, Thomas Weir, Ian Weston

Late entries for the Macksville June Double Header Weekend to be held 6-7 June 2009 close on 22 May 2009. The schedule is available and there are six Open A and two Advanced events on both days (Saturday and Sunday). I can only encourage as many members as possible to come along and join in supporting our WAC contenders as well as those trying out for the World Dog Games. At this stage, we have entries from Western Australia, Queensland, NSW and Victoria. So it’s definitely looking like it will be an exciting weekend but offering a full compliment of Open courses for the weekend that should satiate everyone’s Agility appetite.

I would like to congratulate the members of TOADS (Townsville Outdoor Agility Dog Sports) on their demo and competition weekend. TOADS and PATS members worked together (in association with their competition Judges) to change some competition dates around with Alison Muddle judging for TOADS on Friday 8 May and Saturday 9 May, so that the club could then entertain the general public on Sunday 10 May, hopefully with the prospect of a few members to join their dedicated bunch. Great job everyone!

ADAA’s first ever competition in Western Australia will be held at the end of month at Gosnells. I think the phrase “go big or go home” probably exemplifies it as we are starting with a Triple Header over a long weekend. Welcome to all of our new ADAA members from the west. Thanks to Mal Williams for joining me to officiate, and to Penny Mead for graciously and generously paying her own way over there to help out for the weekend (on top of taking all of the entries!). Also thanks to Nic Ford and Anne Lacey-Herbert from the west, for bringing that side of the logistics all together.

A reminder that the early entries for ADAA’s Queensland Training Camp on 20 - 21 June 2009, close on 31 May, so take the opportunity now to fill in and post your registration. There are lots of fantastic classes available with many of the volunteer instructors from all of our South East Queensland clubs.

The Board would like to thank all members who made submissions for Agility Regulation changes. Every submission was discussed at our recent Board meeting and many of the suggestions will be implemented with the next Edition of the Regulations. Some of the broader decision made are that there will be an expansion of the Pairs/Team events within the Combined Programme, revised titles/classes within the International and Regular Programmes, an additional Junior Achievement award, together with changes to some of the Elimination/Dismissal rules. From an equipment perspective construction of Weave Poles will be standardised. Members will be provided with a more specific précis of the changes as soon as possible, once all of the details are finalised and a commencement date has been approved by the Board.

May you enjoy your training with your dog and achieve your goals.

Cathy Slot
ADAA Chair

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