Hello everyone,
We are getting close to racing again and I thought it
would be a good time to send out the first issue of the RD digest for
2006. Although the NAFA board or
directors took a break over the last two months (because everyone needs a break
once in a while), there are important developments to announce and
clarifications to pass along.
I hope everyone had a good holiday break and for those
with flyball addiction disease (FAD), you can take some medicine thanks to Jane
and the Lietash PTL gang! We’ll have a
new club on the lanes with us this spring (Prepare For Takeoff) and, along with
a lot of others in the region, I’m looking forward to getting back on the mats.
Keep up the training and see everyone soon.
Regional Director
NAFA Region 10
1. NAFA rules and
policies
All of the rules updates or clarifications were
discussed at the board meeting on
Veteran’s
class
Here are the official rules for veteran’s class that will be offered at
several tournaments in our region in 2006.
In
the Veteran’s class, every dog on the team must be at least 8 years old. The
Veteran’s
class shall be subject to the following additional rules:
Race Schedule. The race
schedule in the Veteran’s class shall not call for more than a total of 16
possible heats per day, and the racing format shall not include a 5/5 or more
strenuous format;
False Starts. In the
Veteran’s class, in the event of a false start as defined in Rule 8.3(b)(1) of
the Rules of Racing, the heat shall not be restarted but the heat shall
continue to be run. For the team to finish the heat, the dog that committed the
false start must run again as the fifth dog in the heat;
The
90 day rule stated in paragraph 7.5 (a) of the Corporate policies and
procedures does not apply to the Veterans class. A dog running in the Veterans
class shall retain its existing club affiliation.
Recap:
Veteran
dogs can run in the veteran class in any tournament without being affected by
the 90 day waiting period. So for
example, a dog from Lietash can run in the veteran class on Saturday with FNF
and in the regular class on Sunday with Lietash. This waiver only applies for the veteran class. A special exception for veteran dogs is
that, in a two-day tournament, they can run in veteran’s class on one day and
regular class on the other day. Keep in
mind that in this situation, the team running in the regular class would have a
maximum of 5 dogs on one of the days because a spot on the timesheet would have
to be saved for the veteran dog.
Dogs
running in the veteran class will accumulate NAFA points the same way they
would in regular class or multibreed class.
No regional championship will be given for veteran class.
Practicing
of Dogs During Tournaments
(a)
Rules of Racing Chapter 7 (b) – Warm-ups states;
“There
shall be no practice or training in the ring for the duration of the
tournament, except for the warm-up as permitted prior to each race. Training in
the ring during the competition will mean a forfeit of the heat.”
Teams
are reminded that practicing is not acceptable for both tournament dogs and
non-entered dogs.
Requiring
Non-Slip surfaces next to the Boxes
The
board considered the agenda (November 4th board meeting) item of a proposed
rule amendment respecting the configuration of the mats at the box end of the
racing lane. The diagram and wording Rules of Racing Section 2.1 – Footing was
reviewed. After discussion, the board elected not to pursue amendment of the
rules. The consensus was that such concerns should be brought to the RDs and
head judge. On this note, some concerns
were brought up last fall by some members of the region and I will be working
with hosting clubs to ensure proper footing is in place for all tournaments in
our region.
Age
Limits for Children in Racing Ring
NAFA
Flyball is a team and family sport. The board declined to pass age
restrictions. Parents are urged to exercise good sense when bringing young
children into the ring.
Failure
to Complete Heats in a Bye Race
The
Rules Committee recommends that the Judges Committee inform the judges that
when a “3 of 5” race is being run with an unopposed lane (a bye race), the
racing team may use up to 5 heats to earn the 3 wins. If 3 losses are obtained
before 3 wins, the race is finished.
Junior Handlers
Junior
Handlers will be recognized by the presentation of pins to be awarded to
youngsters for participation in the sport, whether by handling, shagging, box
loading … what ever their level! This is not an official class; there are no
awards other than being a part of NAFA’s family sport.
The
pins are being made as we speak and more details will be sent out when the pins
are ready for distribution.
2. Upcoming Tournament info:
|
Hosting
club |
Location |
Tournament
date |
Closing
date |
|
Pawplex
Flyball Canines |
Pawplex, |
March 25
and 26, 2006 |
|
|
F.A.M.E. |
Sackville,
N.B. |
April 22
and 23, 2006 |
|
|
Lietash
PTL |
|
May 27
and 28, 2006 |
|
|
Pawplex Flyball
Canines |
|
June 10
and 11, 2006 |
|
|
Fast N
Furious |
|
July 1, 2
and 3, 2006 |
|
|
Lietash
PTL and |
|
August 2,
3, 5 and 6, 2006 |
|
|
F.A.M.E. |
Sackville,
N.B. |
September
16 and 17, 2006 |
Not yet
sanctioned |
|
Push
Play! |
|
September
30 and |
|
|
Pawplex
Flyball Canines |
|
November
11 and 12, 2006 |
|
|
|
|
December
2 and 3, 2006 |
Not yet
sanctionned |
3. Other stuff….
EJS and financial situation (meeting
minutes, NAFA annual general meeting,
Turning
to other matters, NAFA’s financial status is strong. Revenue has increased over
last year while expenses were higher with the new purchases of EJS. Robin
Marion asked if NAFA would be parking an EJS in each region. With the board’s
goal to reduce shipping costs, there will be a plan developed to minimize
shipping costs and wear and tear on the systems. Regions with constant
tournaments will have a set assigned while less busy regions will get traveling
sets. Amy Sadowski asked if we would continue to use the older sets.
With
the existing systems reaching their designed life times, their role will be
reduced to a backup role as soon as possible. Jean Lewin asked what the plan
for assignment of the old sets was to be. Sam replied that the plan was still
under development based on the need for multi ring tournaments. Assigned sets
will be supplemented by the use of unassigned sets.
The
new EJS’s have a regularly planned maintenance program and the NAFA purchase
price includes a long term maintenance plan which enables them to be repaired
by the manufacturer.
Robin
Marion noted that while there had not been any problems with the SG lights this
weekend; he asked if all of the Signature Gear problems have been solved. The
ED replied that the lights have been running error free for the last 2 months.
If any new errors crop up, the manufacturer has guaranteed timely repairs.