Agility
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Agility has been described as a sport for all dogs, regardless of their pedigree. It is a competition designed to demonstrate a dog's willingness to work with its handler under a variety of conditions and many times those conditions ask a lot of the 4 legged athletes.
When these highly trained competitors move onto the Agility course, they are wired and ready and their handlers are watching every nuance of their reactions in order to move as smoothly through the competition as possible.
Featuring that partnership between dogs and handlers, the agility competition leads dogs in a fast-paced race through a maze of obstacles and jumps. Completing the course in the shortest amount of time with the fewest number of faults wins.
Faults include deviation from flow of course and improper maneuvering in and around the obstacles.
The course consists of teeter-totters, tires, hurdles, chutes and poles and the competing dogs will run the course three times each. At the ESPN Great Outdoor Games we have divided the dogs into two categories - large dogs (with a 26" jump height) and small dogs (16" jump height.)
There are two different events within the competition. Agility judges more of the control elements of the sport, while the Agility Super Weave is an all out race to the finish through the weave poles. This competition features scaled-back agility courses designed for maximum speed. Teams of dogs and handlers will compete in a head-to-head format on side-by-side courses.
Thirty dogs competed at the 2002 ESPN Great Outdoor Games Agility Dog competition in two categories. Winning gold with 139 points in the Small Dog class was Jag, a Shetland Sheepdog handled by Erin Schaefer of Phoenixville, Pa.
"I still can't believe this because I'm just stunned," said Schaefer. "The key to this medal was the teamwork that I have with Jag. Without teamwork and a lot of training, there is no way we could have pulled this off. The best agility dogs in the world are competed in this event."
Schafer is indeed correct. Shimmer, another sheltie that is owned by Barbara Davis, took the silver medal with 131 points. Shimmer has won the silver each year the games have been held since 2000. What is more, Schaefer has been active in agility training and competition for more than a decade.
The Large Agility competitors offer another version of the adrenaline rush of racing. Border Collies dominate the sport, but it's stamina and loyalty to their handlers that make these dogs excel.
Scores for the medal round are determined by combining the shortest running time matched to the fewest points deducted for faults such as missing contact with an obstacle. The dog and handler team completing the course with the fewest number of faults in the shortest time is awarded the win.
Qualifying Criteria
Dog and handler teams are invited on the merits of titles held by the dog as well as performance rankings from the current titling year.
Agility terms
Contact Zone
These are yellow performance areas. The dog must touch it with at least one toenail of one pair of paws.
Fault — Refusal
This is signaled by the judge with a raised closed fist. It deals with turing back on an obstacle to be performed after the dog has begun his approach. Other ways this is done is by the dog hesitating to perform any given obstacle, aborting an obstacle, running out past an obstacle, or entering the weave poles incorrectly.
Faults — Standard
This is signaled by the judge with a raised open hand. It is done by displacing poles from hurdles, failure to touch a yellow contact zone, missing a weave pole, leaving the table before the end of the five second count, failure to clear the span of the long jump, or "fly-off" from the see saw.
Open Dog
A dog that jumps 26 inches.
Mini Dog
A dog that jumps 16 inches.
Steeplechase
The equivalent of our Turn and Burn Competition.
Spreads
A multi- element jump with extended width.
Standard Scoring
The dog runs the course against a standard course time that is set by the judge.
SCT
Standard Course Time
YPS
Yards Per Second
Great Outdoor Games