Agility Dog Association of Australia Ltd

The IFCS World Agility Championships 2010 from start to finish (14-16 May 2010, England) - by Team Captain, Cathy Slot

The 2010 IFCS World Agility Championships held at Clevedon UK was a fantastic event with Australia competing with a full team. The venue was phenomenal and the organisation was just as good.  Australia will be competing in 2012.

Post WAC arrival
The team arrived at its accommodation, the Bridge Inn in Yatton, (about 10 minutes drive from the competition stadium) on Thursday 6th and Friday 7th of May having flown in on a variety of flights from around the country. It was a smallish British pub with free wireless Internet in the bar area (so a common congregation point) as well as usual pub meals. We hired two 9-seater vehicles that the team used to get around in once we were all together.

On Saturday 8th May we attended a Kennel Club competition at Beacon. As we were yet to meet our host dogs, it had been decided, before leaving Australia, that the final handler/dog matching wouldn’t be done until we had all of the dogs together at the team practice on Monday 10th May, so a few team members competed. It was a bitterly cold day and the Aussies stood out like popsicles at the beach with no-one enjoying the windy, rainy conditions or the temperature of 5-6 degrees that lasted for most of the day.

The first team member “prize” (clear round 12-13 seconds under course time) went to Siegfried Clever running Amy Lawson’s Echo. Kate Bartels also went clear of course faults with Echo, just a little over time. Tracey Harrison-Hill and Ian Weston also got to have runs with Amy’s other loan dog, Fudge. Having just met their dogs they had only a few moments with them before heading straight into the ring to compete. All kept a great connection and did a great job, clear or not. A huge thank you to Amy for being such a great coach and great company during the day, and to Chris Baldwin and Heather Lee for lots of important insights into their dogs. At the end of the day the team brought “home” our first host dog (Chris Baldwin’s little dog Bear) to stay with us. I think it was nearly as heart wrenching for the team members as it was for Chris to say goodbye.

On Sunday 9th May the team headed off in different directions. Kriszty Cumming (supported by a few of us) headed up to Littleton for the Godmanchester Kennel Club show, while the rest of the teams headed of to a UK agility competition at Whitney. The Kennel Club show had seven rings running concurrently and was a sea of caravans (and fences, some nearly as good as some of the properties in my local neighbourhood <lol>). Kriszty competed in two events. The Grade 6-7 jumping was a very tough course for the first ever run with a dog you're not used to, but it provided invaluable feedback of how Shaka runs his courses. Unfortunately in Power and Speed Shaka popped out of the weave poles so she didn't get onto the speed portion of the course. Then we watched Nancy Faris run Shaka on the Agility course before bringing him back “home” with us. It was just great to see he was so laid back while waiting to compete but then totally focussed and driven once he gets to the start line. Our "corporate wardrobe" (Team Australia jackets and coats) did, once again, make us stand out a little. The temperature averaged around 6-7 degrees Celsius (and actually got to a high of 14 degrees on our way home), so was positively balmy compared to the previous day.

At the UK Agility competition (at Whitney) the team was amazed at the fantastically friendly and welcoming reception they received (with lots of people coming up and introducing themselves and saying g'day as soon as they arrived). A number of handlers had runs (including some NFC rounds) however Elsina and Sharyn met Siegfried's challenge by taking Kal to a 2nd in Steeplechase and 4th in Gamblers standard and Dodger to a 4th in Gamblers maxi (sorry not sure who handled which rounds).

Monday 10th May was the first main practice day for the team. All of our dogs came along, so everyone got met the remaining team dogs and a couple more came to stay with us. The session was held at Daybreak Training fields, located at a local farm a few minutes drive from where we were staying. Gemma Osmond (who runs the training school) was fabulous, bringing along her caravan (with heating and amenities), tea & coffee and also a bit of sunshine. Most of the dogs were run/shared by two handlers pending confirmation of final team matchings. This was a joint decision by Maria (Team Coach) and I (Team Captain). It was a big day, starting with simple sequences for the handlers to get to know the dogs and then progressing through to more complex sequences. The team did a phenomenal job. They received lots of positive comments from the host dog owners about how well they worked with the dogs, their positive attitude, their consistency of handling and the improvement(s) in the dogs during the day. Unfortunately late in the afternoon Tracey sustained a minor injury when she pulled her calf muscle.

Team Australia
"Team Australia" was announced on Tuesday 11th May:

Toy

Echo - Tracey Harrison-Hill


Honeyvale White Diamond (Buckra) - Kate Bartels


Lady of Luss (Megan) - Lisa Henshaw


Mini

Bear - Ian Weston


Fudge - Siegfried Clever
 

Tippy Tipex Tippy Tiptoes (Tip) - Nicole Ford


Midi

Flynns Little Sweetheart (Meg) - Denise Crook


Kal - Elsina Meyer


Shaka - Kriszty Cumming


Maxi

Cascades Fantastic Mr Sox (Sox) - Natalie Kirkwood


Dodger - Sharyn Palmer


The Hogwarts Express (Robert) - Joanne Lewohl

WAC Practice
Tuesday morning (May 11th) the team and host dogs headed back to Daybreak Training fields for a morning training session. The team then split, some staying at the hotel while Nat & Denise spent time with Sox (where his owners were camped at the Hand Stadium (WAC venue) and Maria, Siegfried, Kate, Lisa and I headed off to Semley (1.5 hours away) for an impromptu session with Amy's dogs.

On Wednesday morning, 12th May, I headed into the Hand Stadium for the running order draw and saw the surface for the first time (although I didn’t get to walk on it at that stage) whilst some of the team headed to Daybreak Training fields. We had an official practice session booked in the Stadium that afternoon and that was the first that Team Members and the dogs experienced the surface. It was described as sand and Vaseline, but really it was just like running on felt (in fact there appeared to be strips of material as part of the surface). It really seemed to have everything you could want in an Agility surface. Dogs and handlers found it easy to run on (soft but without sinking), it wasn’t slippery, didn’t affect dogs’ pads, and the surface held up really well to multiple dogs landing/striding into the same spot without being pushed aside. We paid for a one hour session and Maria had set a full Agility course for the team. For a number of the handlers this was the first full course they had run with their dogs so it was a critical element of their preparation. The dogs were just hooting around the place, so it was nice to see much of the training coming together for our team members and their dogs. At this point we still had a couple of glitches, Sox had done some damage to one of his pads at Monday’s session, so Nat was restricted to relationship building with him and Buckra was looking for his owner so he came to stay with Kate for the rest of the competition (thanks heaps to Beverly Horrobin for allowing Buckra to spend his first time ever away from her/his pack).

It's impossible to describe the fantastic support that we had from everyone in the UK. The host dog owners were just awesome, awesome, AWESOME. In particular not just for allowing us to run their dogs, but for allowing us to take some of the dogs to live with the team until the Worlds started. It was equally comforting to see that the dogs were settled and fitted in so well with their handlers. Also everyone associated with the WAC was so accommodating and helpful (and yes we did notice that the bag-packing significantly slowed/ stopped whilst our team dogs were in the arena) and thanks to the Canadian Team for their cheer of Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi as we finished our team training session. Our handlers walked out of the arena with goose bumps on their arms.

Thursday 13th May was team check-in and official practice (just a short 30 minute session) plus tour of the facility. We were the first team there so we got to lead the way. Fortunately Sox’s pad was healing nicely so he was cleared into the competition and Nat did a few jumping sequences with him in the arena. Kate had done some great work with Buckra since the day before so he did a few obstacles at a time for her without looking for Beverly.

And so the WAC begins....

Day 1 Friday 14th May
Friday 14th May started with the Opening Ceremony. Many (if not all) of the team members had a tear (or more) in their eye. In fact, there were lots of tears of joy throughout the day, but more of that later.....
Australia was the first country into the arena and it was just a privilege to be on the floor with the team. Because we were first, it took a little while to get into the swing of waving and smiling at everyone (we were all a bit serious). The team was on the floor with some exceptional Agility competitors from all around the world, and to hear the chants from the huge contingent of Aussie supporters was just great.

Team Jumping (Round 1)

Once that was done the organisers built the Team jumping course (it was designed by the UK judge, so had oooooodles of pull throughs). We had already nominated our team members based on the course layout we received earlier that morning - each country had a "pigeon hole" to get "mail" in. We nominated two teams (one with a Toy and two Midi dogs, the other with a Maxi and two mini dogs). The handlers nominated for the two teams had 15 minutes to walk the course. The Ring Manager (Paul Hinchley) said he would police/ensure that everyone exited the ring at the end of their walking time (no-one believed him). So it was hilariously when (to the music of "Who let the dogs out?") the ring party simply picked up a long piece of rope (that stretched the width of the arena) and just started walking down the course - everyone had no option but to walk in front of the rope and exit the course.

Our first dog to run was Sox with Natalie (Australia Team 1), and she walked into the ring to calls of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi” from all of the supporters (mmm I'm thinking they may have been ably led by Marion Allen <lol>). They went clear and my eyes welled up (as did Maria's, and I'm sure others) with pride at what a great job she did. Especially considering it had taken Nat a number of days to gain Sox’s confidence and trust (she made many trips, with other team members, to where he was staying to build that bond with him) and then he'd had the pad injury to recover from - in fact their first ever full course together was the Team Jumping!! Next to run was Ian Weston with Bear who also went clear (Australia Team 1). Unfortunately Siegfried (the final member of that team) got a little disoriented on course and was eliminated - it all happens so quickly out there. It didn't matter though, everyone did a phenomenal job and out of 17 teams only 2 didn't have an elimination (both the Russian teams). For Australia Team 2, Denise with Meg had a cracking run and went clear while, Elsina with Kal and Lisa with Megan missed out with Eliminations. Even so they were mid-field and not out of the running with 4 points, out of 235 or so, separating 7-9th places.

The only downside to a great start to the event was an awful fall by Dudley Fontaine (Team USA) on course. An ambulance was called in and Dudley taken off to hospital for treatment. She was able to get to the venue on Saturday (with arm in cast after a diagnosis of elbow dislocation) but what an awfully long way to come with your dog to have that happen.

At the end of the first round of the Team Competition, Australia 1 was placed 4th in the team event (Russia 2, Russia 1, Canada 1 then AUSTRALIA 1). Australia 2 was placed tenth.

Snooker (part of the All Round)

Toy - Lisa and Megan (Lady of Luss) scored a very creditable 35 points and Tracey Harrison-Hill with Echo 20 points but the star performer was Kate Bartels who had Buckra (Honeyvale White Diamond) run nicely with her.

Mini - Siegfried Clever and Fudge achieved 48 points (and 6th place), Ian Weston and Bear achieved 14 points and Nicole Ford and Tippy Tipex Tippy Tiptoes (Tip) had 1 point
Midi - Denise Crook and Flynns Little Sweetheart (Meg) achieved 42 points (just missing out on the final 7 to qualify), Kriszty Cumming with Shaka gained 22 points and Elsina Meyer and Kal scored 5 points.

Maxi - Natalie Kirkwood and Cascades Fantastic Mr Sox (Sox) also achieved 42 points and was even closer on getting the final 7 pointer (6th place), Sharyn Palmer with Dodger scored 38 points and Joanne Lewohl with The Hogwarts Express (Robert) gained 7 points.

Natalie and Denise had great runs with their dogs in Snooker (some tricky stuff in this one, doable but 3 x 7's were definitely out) both just missed out on their final 7 point "obstacle" which was a combination of hurdle, weave poles, hurdle. Denise’s Meg still had a couple of weave poles to go while Sox was taking off for the final hurdle when the timer went. Both narrowly missed out on qualifying but still had brilliant runs. If they'd managed to qualify Meg would have been on equal points with the 2nd-6th placed dogs (but in 7th place due to time). On the other hand, Natalie and Sox would have taken a podium position of Bronze!!!!! The other handlers mostly struggled with dogs taking an unplanned colour (or two) and having to revise their course plan "on the run" and that ultimately led to their downfall. With dogs of that speed and drive you have to have a plan ready and in motion. The whole house stopped and went quiet when Kate stepped into the ring with Buckra. Buckra had been a difficult dog and Kate had to draw on all of her dog training knowledge and skills to get this little dog onto the start line, let alone running courses (sssssshhhh don't tell the hotel that he slept in the bed). The 11 points on her result sheet do not do justice to the work done (he just took a tunnel on the way to another obstacle) and the exceptional result she achieved. The house erupted when she got through and over the finish hurdle.

Agility (part of the All Round Challenge)

Toy - Kate and Buckra no course faults and 0.688 time faults achieving 6th place (the whole crowd erupted), Lisa with Meg 5 faults in 45.442 seconds and Tracey with Echo were Eliminated.

Mini - Unfortunately all three Aussie teams in this class were eliminated. Nicole with Tip was sooooo close, having run a superb round, but just a little disoriented at the last turn.

Midi - Elsina with Kal ran clear (41.832s) and achieved 9th placing, Denise with Meg one fault (Meg just misjudged the dog-walk and slid off) and unfortunately Kriszty with Shaka eliminated.

Maxi - Sharyn with Dodger also ran clear (43.392s) and placed 5th, Natalie with Sox had two refusals plus some time faults (47.226s) and unfortunately Joanne with Robert was eliminated.

The Agility course was lovely (designed by the Dutch Judge Wim Bekendam). Elsina and Kal took out our best result for this round going clear. Denise and Meg were oh, so close to a clear round - don't think it would have put them on the podium but cost time and points for the All Round Challenge. Just a subtly difficult entry onto the dog-walk and Meg didn't quite read the angle and her sliding off then surprised Denise - but it was still a beautiful round. Over the three runs of the day, Meg and Denise just kept getting better. Sharyn Palmer with Dodger did a great run, going clear (I think Lucie, his owner, managed to stave off the tears). Nat with Sox got a couple of refusals (and then some time faults because of that), but still had a great effort, with a number of 'saves' to get through without elimination. Unfortunately Jo didn't quite have the same amount of luck, but still had a great run. Out of our mini dogs, Nic Ford was oh so close and just sent Tip over a hurdle instead of the Long Jump on the run home. Ian and Siegfried both E'd. For the Toy dogs, Lisa incurred one fault and Tracey and Echo were eliminated. When Kate walked the course her main strategy (if all went well) was to do obstacles 1-12 and then finish. Well she got to the start line, and the stadium went quiet (you could have heard a pin drop - most people, knew/had heard what a tough time they'd had). Once she got to 12 I breathed a sigh of relief and waited for her to head to the finish, but she didn't, she headed to the see-saw (she'd already told us that she'd never put Buckra over the see-saw in the time she'd been working with him), he did it like a pro and they both headed through the whole course. When they got through with no course faults the stadium erupted even more - it was the loudest round of the whole day - and she was beaming with a smile.

Day 2 Saturday 15th May
The first event of the day was the jumping round for the Individual Biathlon. - no medals hung on the individual round itself as it was the first round of a two round event. The Biathlon was scored time plus faults, so if you go really quickly you can make up for any errors and there were some seriously fast dogs (who also went clear), 27 seconds was the quickest time). This course (from the Dutch Judge) had some really tricky elements (I knew that standing on the outside because everyone was trying to be in the same place during the course walking <lol>).

Biathlon Jumping

Toy - Lisa with Megan, no course faults in a time of 37.669s (9th placing), Tracey with Echo, also no course faults in a time of 40.549s (12th placing) while Buckra, unfortunately, flicked wrong course on his run with Kate so an E for them

Mini - Siegfried with Fudge, clear in a time of 31.723s, Nic with Tip also went clear round in a time of 33.187s while Ian with Bear had to retire due to injury (Bear just stopped and was limping after a hurdle - no apparent cause of the injury - see below)

Midi - Denise with Meg picked up one course fault in a time of 33.718s (9th place) while Kriszty with Shaka and Elsina with Kal both had good runs but eliminated

Maxi - Jo with Robert, Nat with Sox and Sharyn with Dodger all eliminated

Bear (Ian's dog) just stopped mid course and was limping, so he took her off. We saw appropriate medical personnel and the consensus was she didn't have a major injury but they were unsure how long it would take to resolve. Of course Ian rang Bear's owner (Chris) and talked with her and we then waited to see how things progressed. We decided to pull her from gamblers (she wasn't in the team event anyway) and see what impact that had. By the end of the day, she was happily walking around and looked a lot better. We decided to see how Bear felt the next morning after a bit of massage (and TLC) from Ian. There was not one person here at the WAC who could have been more helpful, whether it was dog training advice, help with admin stuff or helping Bear to recover, it really was inspiring to be a part of the Australian team.

This course, based on actual final results doesn't appear to be our finest hour however there were some great achievements (and in some cases saves) for everyone. The most spectacular run was a Russian competitor who fell over on course and still managed to direct her dog to the tunnel, then get up while it was in the tunnel and still finished in 29 (or so) seconds.

Gamblers (part of the All Round Challenge)

The Second course of the day was Gamblers. This was judged quite differently to ADAA with the point values different (4 points for the a-frame, 5 points for dog walk and weave poles) and in the opening sequence there was a bonus joker with the points nominated by the Judge (3 points extra for doing the distance challenge including a see-saw). The bonus for getting the gamble was 15 or 5 points (not a doubling like we normally have). The points depended on which side the dog approached the entry of a pipe tunnel in the Gamble, with the 15 point entry being more difficult than the 5, much to the detriment of many handlers. None of our team members managed to get the Gamble, and a few even strategically chose to give it a miss and go straight to the finish, the rest gave it their best shot.

Toy - Tracey with Echo 24 points, Lisa with Megan 22 points and Kate with Buckra 19 points.

Mini - Nicole with Tip 28 points, -Siegfried with Fudge 24 points and Ian with Bear didn't run.

Midi - Denise with Meg 34 points, Kriszty with Shaka 25 points and Elsina with Kal 24 points.

Maxi - Nat with Sox 33 points, Jo with Robert 25 points and Sharyn with Dodger 22 points (mmmmmm Dodger decided that after a week of doing weave poles for Sharyn he might not do so today.... she decided that wasn't going to happen <g>).

Most of the gold medals to this point (Jumping & Snooker) had gone to the Russians, Brit's, Canadians and US. It was great to see one go to Japan in Gamblers. Even more so as Hsiao Tanabe has been to all of the WAC's that I've been to (Spain in 2004, Belgium in 2008, and judged in Spain) so it was great to see him win with his corgi.

Our Aussie flag blow up "pointing finger" became a part of official proceedings as the Ring Manager (Paul Hinchley) used that to indicate whether or not dogs had achieved the gamble successfully in time. We are very spoilt in Australia, whilst there was an electronic start and finish, there was no automatic horn, the whistle blows for gamblers (and snooker for that matter) were done manually by a person with a stopwatch.

Team Agility (Round 2)

“Australia 1” slipped down the rankings after incurring 2 eliminations. Australia 2 had no eliminations but just a couple of course faults between the three dogs, so they moved up. Actual dogs were nominated each day for each round of the team events, as long as the team height composition didn't change, changes could be made. Saturday’s runs were done by Nic and Tip, Siegfried and Fudge, Sharyn and Dodger (for Australia 1) and Lisa and Megan, Elsina and Kal and Denise and Meg (for Australia 2). The medal ceremonies were just awesome. With the blaring music and handlers and dogs going for their victory laps, everyone joined in the spirit of it all.

Final Day Sunday 16th May
The final day saw the final 3 events, Jumping for the All Round Challenge, the Team Relay and the Agility for the Biathlon.

Jumping (part of the All Round)
Toy - Lisa with Megan and Tracey with Echo both eliminated and Kate with Buckra (woooohooo) gained a clear round within course time (38.112s, 8th placing)

Mini - Siegfried with Fudge were clear in a time of 33.166s (10th placing), Nic with Tip had one fault in a time of 36.468s (13th placing) and Ian with Bear eliminated, but it was great to see them back in the ring after Saturday's problems

Midi - Denise with Meg went clear in a time of 30.496s (6th place), Kriszty with Shaka E'd and Elsina with Kal picked up one fault in a time of 38.855s (14th place)

Maxi - Jo with Robert , Nat with Sox and Sharyn with Dodger all had good runs but unfortunately eliminated

Team Relay
Australia Team 2 ran well and with just 5 faults in their final run moved up the ranking to achieve a very creditable 5th place - just ahead of Great Britain's highest placing team by a slim 4 points (467.399 vs 471.589). So we were very chuffed by that. Russia took out both Gold and Silver with their teams, with Canada 2 in third (and Canada 1 in fourth). Unfortunately our other team had two E's in the final relay so were well down in the placing.

Biathlon Agility
Toy - Lisa with Megan had one fault in a time of 52.043s while Tracey with Echo and Kate with Buckra both eliminated. Buckra just cut behind Kate into a tunnel, but was running very nicely for her.

Mini - Siegfried with Fudge went clear in a time of 45.724s, Nic with Tip and Ian with Bear both eliminated.

Midi - Denise with Meg, Kriszty with Shaka and Elsina with Kal all E'd.

Maxi - Jo with Robert, Nat with Sox and Sharyn with Dodger all E'd.

Siegfried was just "hitting his straps with Fudge" on Sunday as was Lisa with Megan but in general I think the effect of the long trip and the days of training had drained our dogs and handlers by the time the last event on Sunday came around, and the number of E's above reflect that. So, no podium finishes for the Australians, and the Russians took out every Gold in the All Round, but nice to see Chelsea Marriner from New Zealand with her host dog take out the Gold Medal in the individual Jumping round.

All Round Challenge Results
At the end of the 4 individual events, agility, jumping, gamblers and snooker were:

Toy - Kate and Buckra took out a very creditable 11th place with Lisa and Megan finishing 13th.
Mini - Siegfried and Fudge 14th place.
Midi - Denise and Meg were placed 8th overall.
Maxi - Nat and Sox achieved the best Australian Maxi result, finishing in 18th place.

Biathlon Results
At the end of the 2 individual events, Jumping and Agility:

Toy - Lisa with Megan 10th place and Tracey with Echo placed 14th.
Mini - Siegfried with Fudge 6th placing overall and Nicole with Tip 14th place overall.
Midi - Denise with Meg placed 15th overall.
Maxi - no placing.

In Conclusion
On the final day of competition the team presented our host dog owners with an Australian Team Bag embroidered with their dog's name as a thank you gift and each handler added personal gifts as well. We can't thank these amazing people enough for their generosity and kindness in the period prior to, and during, the WAC. They were unbelievable and there were lots of tears during the thank you’s and as we said our goodbyes.

Thanks to Maria for coaching the team and being there for every handler at the end of every run over the three days – she did an amazing job. I know that it was great to have her at the Team Manager meetings to make sure we covered all of the aspects that affected our team, and handlers really appreciated having her work with them on course to develop the best strategies possible for our host dogs.

I would also like to publicly thank and recognise Allison Britton. She did an amazing job helping the team - ranging from driving one of our team vehicles, to videoing/photography, holding dogs, helping handlers (Allison tagged with Kate for a number of the days), doing food/drinks runs and just being an integral part of our team. Thanks Allison, we couldn't have done it without you.

The Australian contingent (Team Members and supporters) were a credit to ADAA and Australia, in particular their team spirit that was inclusive of everyone who was associated with the Australian team. I know that many wonderful relationships were built with many people while they were in the UK and that Australian agility gained a gained a new respect on the world stage. The next IFCS World Agility Championships will be held in the USA in 2012.

Acknowledgements & thanks
Without the help of many people it would not have been possible for the team to travel to the WAC to compete.

Thank you to all of our host dog owners:

Toy Dogs
Echo (Amy Lawson)
Honeyvale White Diamond ‘Buckra’ (Beverly Horrobin)
Lady of Luss ‘Megan’ (Jean Young)

Mini Dogs
Bear (Chris Baldwin)
Fudge (Amy Lawson)
Tippy tipex tippy tiptoes ‘Tip’ (Heather Lee)

Midi Dogs
Flynns Little Sweetheart ‘Meg’ (Bob Sharpe)
Kal (Ros Etheridge)
Shaka (Nancy Faris)

Maxi Dogs
Cascades Fantastic Mr Sox ‘Sox’ (Thelma Wigginton)
Dodger (Lucie Hinchley)
The Hogwarts Express ‘Robert’ (Virginia Harry)

Thanks to Tace Allen-Hunt & Dr Pete Van Dongen for unbelievable help with the dogs during the WAC. You guys were awesome.

And thanks also to the organising team for the IFCS WAC for being so supportive to the Aussies. With special thanks to Mark Laker, Paul Hinchley, Iris Richards, Ros Etheridge, Lucie Hinchley and Virginia Harry.

With essential help from the following during the trip itself:

Allison Britton – for spending her whole WAC experience helping the team.
Wayne Stutz – for being the driver of our second team vehicle.
Gemma Osmond – for providing her Daybreak Dog Training facility and equipment for team training, and for such wonderful support.
Our team of supporters who did “record-keeping” and videoing for us, but most importantly were the most vocal group at the WAC. You guys rocked.

Our Supporters in the UK:

Neville & Marion Allen, Tandy Allen, Del Aravandino, Mike & Sharon Dungey, Frank Fitzpatrick, Andrew & Ben Ford, Anne Lacy-Herbert, Gillian Self, Wayne Stutz & Jenny Elms, Steve & Nicola Thompson, Michel & Kym Warren, Michelle Weston, Judy Cumming, David Kirkwood, Justine & Dijanah Bartels

Before leaving Australia:

Tanya Clarke – Go Tours Travel – for organising all of the team travel arrangements.
Greg Derrett – UK Agility – for putting us in touch with all of the host dog owners and also helping out with a variety of arrangements.
Marion Allen – for organising all of the team clothing.
Moreton Bay Regional Council – for recognising the efforts of Sharyn, Ian and Kate in being selected to compete at the WAC.
Ipswich City Council – for recognising Natalie in being selected to compete at the WAC.

Whilst many of the fundraising events for the team were coordinated by team members, all of the activities required a lot of help. Thank you to the following who took a leading role:

Agility Dog Club of Queensland Inc, Marion Allen, Neville Allen, Don Anderson, Sharon Bartels, Marion Bland, Leanne Davis, Steve Drinkwater, Eden Hill Dog Fellowship, Penny Mead, Alison Muddle, Damian Noud, Karen Noud, Amanda Pacher, Parramatta International Canine Sports Club Inc, Pine Agility Dog Sports Club Inc, Nicola Read, Stacy Richards, SunCoast FunDogs Agility Club Inc, Mal Williams, Wollondilly Dog Club and Liz Yuill

For their generous donations and support:

Bearded Collie Club of NSW, Allison Britton, Caltex, Siegfried Clever, Comfee Creatures, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Eric Broadbent Veterinary Surgery, Eukanuba, Rob & Jan Giger, Hendersons' Country Meats, Julianne Hoey, House of Carpets Caboolture, Jim Hull & Lisa Henshaw, Jo Lewohl, Pawfect Stitch, Pet Barn Morayfield, Pine Agility Dog Sports Club Inc, Prestige Pets, Silver Eagle, Anne Trubshaw, Vets All Natural and Yunde Canine Enterprises and, of course, all of the ADAA members and Australian Agility community who supported the events and fundraising activities run by the team.

And last, but by no means least, the ADAA Board of Directors who had the vision to send a team to the WAC and provide the support needed for the vision to become reality:

Marion Allen, Steve Drinkwater, Jeanette Durante, Natalie Kirkwood, Penny Mead, Tony Redwood, Nicola Read and Cathy Slot

Visit the IFCS WAC 2010 website

Fundraising for Team Australia at WAC 2010

View the ADAA webpage on the lead up to WAC 2010

View the WAC 2008 Report

View the WAC 2004 Report

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