Simply put, Flyball is a relay race between two teams of dogs. It is a sport for all dogs, regardless of their breed, shape or size. The History of Flyball:
The sport of Flyball started in California back in the 1970s. While the precise origins of the sport are still unclear, legend has it that the whole thing started when a man named Herbert Wagner invented the first spring-loaded box to shoot a
tennis ball for his dogs. Wagner was a professional dog trainer and he originally invented the game of Flyball as a reward for his Obedience students. They used to play Flyball as part of their graduation ceremonies. But the sport was so much fun that word began to get out and the next thing Wagner knew, he was invited to perform on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. When folks around the country saw Flyball on TV they wanted to get involved too. Soon afterwards dog trainers and dog clubs were making and using Flyball Boxes. The sport especially took off in Canada and the Great Lakes states. Folks there started having local tournaments and competitions and the popularity of Flyball grew. In the early 80's the sport became so popular that the North American Flyball Association (NAFA®) was formed and became the worldwide authority for Flyball. Over the years the popularity of Flyball has continued to grow. NAFA® now has over 900 Flyball clubs with more than 10,000 registered Flyball dogs. The sport is played not only in the U.S. and Canada, but also in Australia, Japan, England, Belgium and other countries around the world. In early 2005, the United Flyball League International Inc. (U-FLITM), was founded as an alternative to NAFA rules and sanctioning. Under U-FLI, ball boxes are allowed to be larger, jump heights have been lowered to six (6) inches minimum and twelve (12) inches maximum, single and pairs racing are allowed and dogs are allowed to compete on other teams (pick-up teams) to earn title points. The Course:
The course consists of a starting line, four hurdles spaced ten (10) feet apart, and a box. The first hurdle is six (6) feet from the start line and the box is fifteen (15) feet from the last hurdle for a fifty-one (51) foot overall length. The hurdle height is dependent upon the height of the smallest dog (the "height dog") on the team. Racing side by side, four dogs per team, the dogs jump the hurdles trigger a spring loaded box that shoots out a ball, catch the ball and run back over the four hurdles to the start/finish line. When the first dog crosses the start/finish line the next dog goes. This is repeated until all four dogs have run. The team having the fastest time, with all four dogs crossing the start/finish line, wins the heat. If a dog makes an error during its run it must re-run the course for the team’s time to count. The world's fastest time is 14.854 seconds set on the 25th of April 2010, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA by Touch N Go of Las Vegas, Nevada.
We are a group of people who enjoy each others company and playing Flyball with our our dogs. We are open to commited members! What is Flyball?
