Prepare for Takeoff Tournament

Our first tournament was held June 14-15, 2008. Here are some of the highlights or other interesting happenings.

Friday

Friday was setup day. Many thanks to Peter Douthwright for working so hard to get the mats down and the lights installed just right.

We heard today that PFT's Maggie would not be able to compete due to a possible exposure to kennel cough. Our tournament was the poorer for her absence. Thanks to Jack and Helen for making this tough decision and for continuing to work hard for everyone at the tournament, even when their own dog couldn't be there.

In the evening, we held single dog racing. That certainly was fun and it was interesting to see all our times. Cudos to Push Play's Lucy, who hasn't had much practice lately but ran really well in this format!

This also marked the unveiling of our new jumps. Carefully crafted by our Jack and Dave, they looked great! Even better, they proved thenselves safe for the competitors. We had a few bases explode during the competition, which is just what they should do to prevent injury. Great job, you guys!

Photographs

Once competition started, we had some great photographic work being done (in spite of less than ideal lighting). The incomperale Jules was on hand, as usual. Hos Web site is Kaleano Photowhere pictures will be made available. Also on hand for this show were the team from On the Spot Photos. They did a great job in making their pictures available on site. If you didn't get one there, please check out the Web site.

Saturday

We had the Town Crier declare the event open (and give us a small history lesson). Brittany did a great job with our national anthems. We all had our takeoff instructions (very funny ones) from Push Play's Cheryl Steadman and then we were off racing! One feature was the first Open division in Region 10 history. It was a great success. Thanks to all who participated.

And that big WHOOP you heard from the PFT crew? Why, that was the Aviators team shattering the club record so many times we couldn't find the pieces! Nineteen seconds is beind us now.

Sunday

More great racing all day. We were finished a little earlier than Saturday which, we hope, made it an easier drive home.

Helen and her committee had done a great with the silent auction. The items were great. Thanks to all the donors and bargain hunters. There was a note of astonishment from Cy when he found that the BBQ he had won was sitting in the PFT encampment, but he went home with his prize in the end.