Agility Dog Association of Australia Ltd

From the ADAA Chair ... October 2006

All I can say is WOW!! The Grand Prix was a fabulous event (see the separate Grand Prix Report and Results). What is interesting is that each year the Grand Prix just gets better and better. I can’t count the number of times people came up to me and said that it was the best Grand Prix ever. Of course, the weather did help but it was more than that, the events ran smoothly and finished on time (a credit to Judges, Stewards and Competitors for keeping things moving), the prize table was fabulous and everyone cheered each other on. It really was a reflection of the 100’s of hours of work that went into organising the event. I am not going to list the Challenge and Medallion Stakes winners here as I think the Grand Prix deserves its own separate report.

Congratulations to Cassie Fishbourne, Alison Muddle, Damian Noud and Sharyn Palmer for being elevated to Level 1 Judges and special thanks to them for stepping up and sharing the load by judging at the Grand Prix. Congratulations also to Cathy Reade for being accepted as a Trainee Judge and we look forward to her (and three other NSW volunteers, currently finalising their applications) commencing training to share the load in NSW. If any other members are interested in participating please contact Natalie Kirkwood or Mal Williams.

A Member’s Forum was held at the Grand Prix prior to presentations on Sunday. A couple of discussion points were raised prior to the meeting – location of the Grand Prix and Easter Classic each year and information regarding decisions made by the Board of Directors. Those in attendance were given a précis of the process to formalise the Agility Regulations that commenced 1 July 2006 and it was noted that the outcome of many Board decisions are provided to members through the ADAA Chair report each month. It would be inappropriate for some information discussed at Board Meetings that relate to individuals or specific incidents to be disseminated and the general response was that this provided sufficient information and the members in attendance did not wish to receive additional detail. Of course, specific queries regarding the Association and suggestions/queries to the Board should be addressed to ADAA’s Secretary. The ADAA Board holds a Planning Meeting at the beginning of each calendar year at which 12 month and 5 year plans are set. The Board acknowledged that, due to the volunteer nature of the Association, some of the goals are not met in the timeframes hoped however some of the major goals set for the upcoming period were presented to members:

• Online competitions entries and payment facility and competition management programme for clubs/groups
• Trans Tasman competitions with New Zealand
• Team to go to the next IFCS World Championships (without dogs)
• Team to go to the following IFCS World Championships (with dogs)

As a consequence of some incidents at competitions, Members are reminded that harsh handling includes shouting and/or rushing at a dog from outside the ring, especially where the dog has left its handler (for whatever reason). Parents and other members are advised that this includes Junior handlers with other members’ dogs and every effort should be made to ensure that the dog is happy to work and train with the Junior prior to placing them in a situation where a dog may choose to leave them.

ADAA’s Annual General Meeting will be held on 11 November 2006, please refer to the separate notice (download the 11th AGM Notice as a PDF - 25kb).  A reminder that nominations for Regional Board positions (Queensland and New South Wales) close on 31 October 2006 (download the Job Description, Regional Representative as a PDF - 34kb). If you are interested please request a nomination form from the Secretary.

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

Cathy Slot
ADAA Chair

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