AKC Dog Agility Community

04/16/2024

From the April 2024 AKC Board Minutes - Changes to Agility:

Agility Updates
The Board VOTED to approve several recommended changes to the Agility Regulations that are meant to expand opportunities for exhibitors, make an event run more efficiently, and update technical equipment requirements for safety and to reflect current course designs.

These changes will become effective on July 1, 2024. (See Regulation Changes in Appendix A.)
1. Chapter 1, Section 21 – Allow For Exhibition Only (FEO) in all classes.
2. Chapter 4, Section 7 – Reduce wheeling of Open courses to one time.
3. Chapter 6, Section 4 & 5 – Increase the course yardage allowed for 8- & 12-inch heights (and corresponding Preferred heights) for the Excellent and Master levels.
4. Chapter 6, Equipment Chart –
A. No longer require the Pause Table in the Excellent and Master Standard classes. (editorial note: This means the table will not be allowed in the Exc/Master level Standard Courses)
B. No longer require a “Bar” jump in any courses. This jump type has 2 bars on it.
C. Only allow one time use of the tire. Tires must have a straight approach to them and then on departure.
D. Allow the use of a Wall Jump in Excellent and Master classes to add obstacle variety.
5. Chapter 7, Sections 4 & 5 – Increase the course yardage allowed in Jumpers With Weaves at the Excellent and Master levels for all heights (and corresponding Preferred heights).
6. Chapter 7, Equipment Chart - Notes the same changes as shown in Item 4 – for the “Bar” Jump, Tire and Wall Jump

04/10/2024

For more information on becoming an AKC Agility Judge go to https://www.akc.org/sports/agility/judge-resources/agility-judging-requirements/

03/26/2024

03/20/2024

We are excited to announce that the 2025 National Agility Championships will be back in Tulsa, OK on March 13-16, 2025 at the Tulsa Expo Square https://www.exposquare.com/

We will have hotel info soon. We will announce when RV Reservations open.

Our mission is to create a significant economic impact benefiting the citizens of Tulsa County by offering to the public year round, multi-use facilities and service options, enhancing their educational and entertainment experiences through equestrian and agricultural events and special attractions.

03/20/2024

Congratulations to the 2024 AKC National Agility Preferred Champions!!
(from Left to Right)
4" - PNAC MACH10 PACH9 Kayangee Wishing Well Excuse My Dust MXG3 MJB4 MXP24 MXPB3 MJP26 MJPS3 PAX9 CGC "Zoom", handled by Antonia Rotelle
16" - MACH EC's Cajun Charm In the Thieves Guild RA MXB MJB MXP2 MJP2 NF DMA DDG CGC "Gambit" handled by Adriana Nottestad
20" - Steppinstone's All-Terrain MXP MJP2 XFP "Gator", handled by Rachel Evers
12" - MACH2 The One And Only Mini Great Ape Joe MXS PAD MJG PJD MXP2 MJP "Monkey Joe" handled by Naci Berkoz
8" - MACH10 PACH4 Nohea Tinker Bell MXC3 MJB4 MXP10 MXPC MJP11 MJPC PAX4 XF T2B "Tinker Bell" handled by Tim Pinneri

03/20/2024

Congratulations to the 2024 AKC National Agility Champions!!
8" - MACH So Cal's Gayheart's Little Keeper MXB MJB OF "Chelsea"handled by Janelle Julyan
12" - NAC MACH2 Quicksilver Cherry On Top MXS PAD MJG PJD XF T2B "Sundae" handled by Angie Benacquisto
16" - Epic Chase The Stars MX MXB MXJ MJB OF "Zula" handled by Jada Sawhney
20" - NAC MACH Pride Creek's Walk It Like I Talk It MXS MJB "Wit" handled by Perry DeWitt
24" - CH MACH2 Trax Atomic Number Forty Seven MXC MJG T2B SWE SCM SIM SEM SHDN TKN "Sterling" handled by Lori Barbee

03/15/2024

The 2024 AKC Agility Premier Cup will be held on June 29, 2024 at the Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN. Michelle Persian has accepted the invitation to judge this year's event. Invitations for the event will be sent by the end of March for the 1st round.
https://gophersports.com/sports/2022/10/18/huntington-bank-stadium

03/09/2024

Congratulations to Meghan Miller & Maeraki! Thank you for being great ambassadors for the American Kennel Club today at Crufts.

03/09/2024

Congratulations to Megan Miller & Maeraki for a clean round in Agility at Crufts just now - this run put them in 6th place for the Agility Round. Their clean Jumping round earned them an 8th place finish. They are in 5th place overall with the combined Jumping & Agility Rounds. For the Finals they start "clean". Finals start at 5:00 PM in UK (9 am PST) Video below filmed from in the ring - Thanks to Nancy Gyes!

03/09/2024

Megan Miller and her Border Collie Maeraki are getting ready for their 2nd run of the day at Crufts representing the AKC & USA in the International Agility competition. They had a clean round in Jumping this morning. Next up will be Agility. Good Luck!

03/07/2024

DO NOT fall for scams. We will be streaming FOR FREE all of the National AKC National Agility Championship starting on Friday, March 15, 2024. This will include the Challengers and Finals rounds on Sunday, March 17, 2024.

03/01/2024

The 2024 SOAWC (Sr Open Agility World Championship) Committee would like to thank all 92 applicants for the 1st AKC SOAWC Team that will compete in Belgium this summer. The Committee is working through your applications and enjoying all of the great videos you have sent. We hope to have the selections announced within the next 2 weeks. The response was bigger than expected, which is exciting, but makes their job even harder.

02/26/2024

We are excited to announce that Megan Miller and her Border Collie Maeraki will be representing the AKC at the 2024 Crufts International competition to be held on March 9, 2024 in Birmingham, England. The International competition is for "large" dogs from invited countries. Good Luck Megan & Maeraki!

Note from Megan:
"The Greek word Meraki means to do something with soul, creativity, and love. I hope to bring this spirit every time I step to the line with my dogs. I have been competing in agility for to 17 years and feel so blessed to share these last 2.5 years of competition with Maeraki. I am tremendously honored to represent the USA at Crufts."

02/23/2024

Exciting news!

The American Kennel Club and CHF announce a NEW collaboration to increase the number of specialists trained to meet the unique needs of athletic and working dogs, as well as all dogs in need of rehabilitation. Learn more and support this program at www.akcchf.org/sportsmed.

02/03/2024

02/03/2024

What does Agility & NFL Football have in common?

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/USE9QutBxRQC4oNj/?mibextid=KsPBc6

02/01/2024

This page is for individuals interested in evidence-based information related to the health and well-

01/29/2024

Congratulations to all of the Juniors that won the 2023 Junior Versatility Awards! Especially so many of our Agility Juniors!

01/24/2024

PSST ... REMINDER: Applications are due on February 15, 2024.
Questions? Join this page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1833051110300284

NEWS Alert! The Application for the Senior Open Agility World Championship (SOAWC) is now available. Please refer to Steve Herwig’s guidelines at the top of the page about NOT using the enter button until you are ready to submit your application. It's a good idea to read over the questions before you start to fill out the form to see what information you might want to locate before you begin, but you can also save the application and work on it later if you are not done. If you don't have any regular AKC scores just leave that blank.

Click this link for the AKC website page with the application:
https://www.akc.org/sports/agility/events/senior-open-agility-world-championship/

The application is due on February 15, 2024 - you have 23 days to complete it if you start right now :)
Feel free to copy this information and the link to the application on your own FB page and pass it onto your friends and club members so the word is spread near and far.

Cheers,

Nancy & Carrie

1/24/2024 – The Application for the Senior Open Agility World Championship (SOAWC) is now available. Please refer to Steve Herwig’s guidelines at the top of the application page about NOT using the enter button until you are ready to submit your application. It’s a good idea to read over the q...

01/24/2024

Today, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) published a notice seeking to reinstate a previously approved information collection request under its enforcement of the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). Interested parties are invited to provide comment to DOT through Monday, March 25, 2024.

Today, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) published a notice seeking to reinstate a previously approved information collection request under its enforcement of the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). Interested parties are invited to provide comment to DOT through Monday, March 25, 2024...

12/20/2023

New York, NY – The American Kennel Club (AKC®), the world’s largest purebred dog registry and leading advocate for all dogs, is excited to announce that the AKC® Agility Invitational is coming to ESPN2 this Christmas Eve starting at 9 pm ET.

The event occurred at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL, on December 16th and 17th, 2023.

“We are excited to share with viewers the outstanding athletic abilities and skills these dogs demonstrate in this high-energy sport,” says Gina DiNardo, AKC Executive Secretary. “This Christmas Eve, viewers will cheer on their favorites and see the human-canine bond in action.”

Mark your calendars for Christmas Eve at 9 pm ET to tune into the AKC Agility Invitational presented by YuMOVE® on ESPN2. Check your local listings for channel information.

12/14/2023

The American Kennel Club is excited to announce that we will be organizing a USA Senior AWC Team for the 1st FCI SROAWC to be held in July 2024 in Belgium. An online application should be available in a few weeks. A committee will be picking this first year’s team and the full team and alternates will be announced by Mid-March. You can read about the SOAWC rules and details in this document from the organizers. If you are interested (and 55 or Over) start to think about compiling the your past year’s records and agility achievements to help you be ready to complete a questionnaire and application when they comes out. Also we are planning to ask for a couple of videos for review.
Please give us time to get the application up and we will announce the committee at that time and THEN answer all the questions we can.
With the AKC Agility Invitational and then the holidays we will not be monitoring this on a daily basis for questions & there are still some unknowns we are working on.

12/14/2023

🚨 Please be aware! 🚨
This includes the AKC Agility Invitational & the AKC Junior Agility Competition.

11/25/2023

Congratulations to 25 years of the Thanksgiving Agility Cluster in Springfield, MA hosted by LEAP Agility Club of Central Massachusetts and Talcott Mountain Agility Clubs. Over 6200 runs for the 4 days.

11/22/2023

The premium is now posted. Entries open on December 5, 2023. It is that time of year already - AKC National Agility Championship premium is posted! https://www.akc.org/sports/agility/events/akc-national-agility-championship/

You can find the premium under the Documents and Links on the left side of the website page.
RV reservations will also open on December 5th directly with the showgrounds. That information is also under Documents and Links.

11/17/2023

Interesting info from AKC Canine Health Foundation funded study.

The first publication to come from our AGILE - AGility Innovations Leveraging Electronics project is available here:

https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3594738.3611377

Thanks to the AKC Canine Health Foundation for funding this study!

American Kennel Club
The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine
Rachel Olson
Melody Moore Jackson
Arielle Pechette Markley

09/26/2023

Congratulations to the Class of 2023! Welcome to our newest AKC Agility Judges:

Morgan Carleton – NH
Susan Denning – CO
Jim Elliott – VA
Graham Loken – WA
Lisa Loomis – CT
Steve Tochtrop – MO
Han Yu - IL

They are ready for their provisional assignments - if your club can add a provisional Nov/Open Judge (they can also judge Time2Beat and all FAST classes) to your trial please contact them.

09/13/2023

Go Dot Go!

At age 92, Dot Dobie is going strong as an Agility competitor with her two Standard Schnauzers.

08/20/2023

Looking for some fun Sunday viewing tune in this afternoon.