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What is Flyball? |
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Flyball is a relay race between two teams of four dogs. Racing side by
side, one dog from each team must go over four hurdles, trigger a flyball
box catch (retrieve) a ball and then return over all four hurdles to
the start/finish line when the next dog then runs.
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Flyball is a team sport. Each team consists of four dogs racing in each
heat, plus up to two reserves. Reserves can be interchanged after each
heat. There are between three and five heats to a race, and a team has to
win a majority to win the race.
Flyball encompasses all things that dogs love to do -
jumping, catching, retrieving, competing and striving to please their
owners. Flyball is a sport in which any dog can participate, regardless of
breed, shape or size. Flyball does not interfere with obedience
training. In fact, the sport reinforces the disciplines taught in
obedience class. |
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Besides being great for dogs, flyball is a lot of fun for people too! It
is a great way to meet people locally and all over the country. The
team-work aspects bring people together as they strive to improve their
team's performance. Flyball can be as competitive as you want to make
it. The best part of all is just having fun with your dog, and seeing the
look of excitement on your dog's face at the start of a day of racing, and
the look of content at the end of the day. |
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Factually.....
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A flyball course consists of two racing lanes, side by
side down a 51-foot (15.54m) course. There are two sets of hurdles and
flyball boxes. Each team's racing lane consists of 4 hurdles spaced at 10
feet (3.05m) intervals. The first hurdle being 6 feet (1.84m) from the
start/finish line and a flyball box is placed 15 feet (4.57m) after the
fourth hurdle. The flyball box ejects a ball after the dog triggers the
pedal on the front of the box.
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Each dog must run in relay fashion down over the
hurdles, trigger the box, retrieve the ball and return over the hurdles
and across the finish line so that the next dog can be released. The
first team to have all four dogs complete the course, without error, wins
the heat. Missed hurdles and dropped balls require the dog to rerun the
course after the rest of the team has finished.
Jump heights for each team are set at 4 inches (10.2cm)
lower than the shoulder height of the smallest dog in the team. The
minimum height is 8 inches (20.3cm) and the maximum 14 inches (35.6cm). |
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Competitions are run in divisions, based on where the teams are seeded.
The fastest teams are put in Division 1 and the slower teams in Division
2, 3, 4... etc. This enables every team to have a fair go and be
competitive in their division. |
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