12th May 2006
IFCS World Agility Championshios 2006

IFCS World Agility Championships 2006

By Tace Allen

Wed 3rd May

It was a surprise that the UK Agility team made it to Dover at all, let alone Holland. Firstly, the minibus - enough said. Secondly was Pete's driving of the minibus, best described as a white-knuckle ride topped off with a Garfield pose of the whole team on the front windscreen when he hit the brakes! Thirdly, Stuarts's instructions to meet half of the team at a service station just off the M25 turned out to be a pub and a football club out in the middle of nowhere. Special thanks to Abbey Rangers F.C. for letting myself Laura and Angela break into their toilets.

Each vehicle was given a walkie-talkie and calling name. The Minibus AKA "Eyeball Eyeball" set a blistering pace with "Rubber Duckie" (Greg and Laura) and "Roger Roger" (Jane and Mark) in hot pursuit. On arrival at Dover (in record time), we had one last minor problem before leaving British soil - the minibus had been booked to carry 9 passengers onto the ferry, so why had we handed in 10 passports? Luckily we managed to pimp Shaun out to another vehicle to help balance the numbers.

We arrived in Calais and set off for Holland with the aid of Stuart's Tom Tom. All was going well until we hit congestion due to an accident, Pete took matters into his own hands and decided that re-routing the tom tom and driving down the hard shoulder would be a lot quicker! Shaun and I feel that at this point we have to apologise to the rest of the minibus passengers for distracting Pete with FHM's 100 sexiest women magazine and nearly crashing into the back of an oil tanker. We did eventually arrive at the hotel in one piece.

Thurs 4th May

It is said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so we started off the day "“Pete Van Dongen style" with Dutch breakfast delicacies like Hundreds and Thousands on bread, chocolate sprinkles and ginger cake spread with butter. Yum! On arrival at the venue, team management were already in trouble, it may have something to do with our Dutch minibus driver doing donuts and handbrake turns in the car park!

After decorating the team tent with Union Jack flags, the team proceeded with vet checks and measuring. All dogs went through with no problems, so we set up for a team training session, which was a great opportunity to get the dogs used to the equipment and to practice some simple distance work without destroying anybody's confidence. We discovered the weaves were set at smaller spacings, which meant the larger dogs had to work much harder. All dogs and handlers stepped up to the challenge and in 26 C heat we were confident for the games to commence.

The day finished back at the hotel with myself massaging and checking over the handlers and dogs, this was so that Pete and myself could keep an eye on any developing injuries before they became a problem. We all met for the IFCS Welcome Dinner that was being held in our hotel - a great night had by all despite not having a table, hence why the Brits took up residence at the bar, setting an excellent example to the rest of the world of athletes in their prime!

Fri 5th May

The Opening Ceremony went well, the UK team being led by Greg carrying his flagpole with pride. We had a team urine exchange, I mean "handshake" with the other competitors where we tried to learn "Good Luck" in 7 different languages.

The Event

Over the three days of competition the championships consist of several different events:

The Biathlon - One agility and one jumping round combined together to produce an overall winner

The All Around - One agility, one jumping, one gamblers and one snooker run combined to give an overall World Champion.

The Individuals - Each "All Around" run, carry a World Champion Title.

The Triathlon - Team Event, Teams consist of 3 dogs from each country, two of which have to be in the same height category and one of another (e.g. 2 x 26" dogs and 1 x 12" dog). One agility, one jumping run and a team relay for each dog producing an overall total and winning country. With three days of competition and 7 titles in four different height categories, there was a lot to play for.

First run of the tournament was Power and Speed. This run didn't carry a title but was a great chance for both dog and handler to adjust to equipment and atmosphere. In the 12" class we had Dawn Weaver and Dreamer who put in a solid run, followed by Tracy Ryan with Tia, who also put in a good clear, however, with the temperature soaring, Tia was steadier than usual and slightly off the pace. The 16" class was up next with Dawn and Chelsea going clear. Unfortunately, Lu Candy-Carter with Tassle was eliminated due to an inconsiderate Russian playing with a squeaky toy next to the ring. The 22" class saw both Angela Williams with Pi and Stuart Carter with Wispa put in excellent runs resulting in Pi finishing 3rd in what proved to be the most competitive of all the height categories. Lastly in the 26" category, Jane Powell and Keeta had an uncharacteristic pole down, whilst Stuart and Storm had a brilliant run resulting in 3rd place.

The Agility run was next and carried with it a potential of two titles. It was a hard run to decide whether you go flat out for the Individual title or play it safe to contribute it towards the All Around title.

16" -Dawn and Chelsea an unfortunate elimination on a hard part of the course, whilst Lu and Tassle put in a great clear setting her up nicely for the All Around title.

22" - Angela and Pi had 10 faults on a missed weave entry and a see saw contact, still possible for an all around placing but a lot of work to do. Individual places would have been a lot to ask of 12 year old Wispa, so Stuart played safe and put in a solid clear, hoping that consistency would keep him in good stead for the overall result.

26" - Jane and Keeta were eliminated putting them out of contention for the All Around title. Stuart and Storm put in a blinding clear resulting in 2nd place and an Individual SILVER Medal. OUR FIRST MEDAL!!!

12" - Dawn and Dreamer had 5 faults due to a slow tipping see saw, whilst Tracy and Tia had another clear even though Tia was still struggling with the heat.

To finish the first day we had the Biathlon - Jumping round. No individual medals as this round was combined with an Agility run held the following day. This run was all about consistency.

22" - Angela and Pi went clear but a couple of wide turns cost valuable seconds. Stuart and Wispa were eliminated.

26" - Jane and Keeta put in a clear but slightly scrappy round giving her a lot to do in the following days agility round. Stuart and Storm had a great clear even though Stuart nearly fell over not once, but TWICE! This left Stuart in pole position for the agility run on Saturday.

12" - Tracy and Tia had yet another clear but Tia was still not firing on all cylinders. Dawn and Dreamer were eliminated.

16" - Lu and Tassle picked up a refusal putting the title just out of grasp. Dawn made up for her earlier mistake by doing a great clear round with Chelsea.

Not a bad start to the World Champs, one silver medal, two third places and four dogs still in contention for the All Around and Biathlon titles. Once back at the hotel we had a minor setback with Storm who became quite stiff after the days events. Pete and I set to work; only time would tell if he would be able to run the following day. The Team had a lovely meal together and after propping up the bar for the second night we all headed to bed before midnight! Please can somebody remind me never to have a lift race when Mark Powell is around - Mark, I know you pressed the button to let Shaun win!

Sat 6th May

Today was going to be a toughie, not just for the team and their 4 runs, but also for myself, and Pete having to work to keep Storm and Stuart sound. The day consisted of the Biathlon Agility run, Gamblers, Snooker and Jumping runs all contributing to the All Around title. By the end of the day there would be 20 agility titles decided, so a lot was at stake.

Gamblers was the first run, and with a send away gamble which doubled your points, the whole competition could be thrown wide open. No pressure then!

26" - Two perfectly timed runs by both the British pair, each getting 68 points each. Britain had its first WORLD CHAMPS in the form of Jane and Keeta, followed by Stuart and Storm in SILVER medal position and cementing his position at the top of the All Around table.

12" - Unfortunately both dogs missed their gamble.

16" - Lu and Tassle nailed the British course, also giving her 68 points, and so did Dawn and Chelsea, however, due to a judging error Chelsea ran out of time for the gamble. The British Team Management lodged a formal complaint as luckily we had video footage of the run. The judging panel and the captains of all the other teams held a vote and Dawns run with Chelsea was reinstated and Britain walked away with yet another 1, 2 - GOLD and SILVER. This put Tassle at the top of the leader board for the all around title.

22" - Continuing a British domination, Angela and Pi put in a perfect run and got BRONZE, with Stuart and Wispa getting 4th place so no medal but great for overall positioning.

Biathlon - Agility.

With only a couple of dogs in contention for this award, it was decided to withdraw Dreamer and save him for the individuals. Tassle and Wispa were to use this round as a training round, with the view of saving them for the all around title.

12" - Yet another clear round from Tracy and Tia but unfortunately not fast enough to get a place.

16" - Chelsea had a great run but lost a little bit of time resulting in 4th place overall.

22" - Angela and Pi had a great run but was marked on her see saw resulting in a 5 second penalty leaving them 5th overall, a disappointment for Angela but the week was far from over.

26" - Both dogs had nothing to lose. Jane and Keeta had the fastest time of the day, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to make up the gap. Stuart and Storm also had a clear but with one really bad turn resulting in about 2 seconds lost he also dropped out of the placings.

Snooker - Again individual titles and the All Around title in the back of everybody's head, made the decisions tough. Lu and Tassle and Stuart and Storm both decided to play safe and dropped a point from the maximum points obtainable to stay in contention, which they did with great effect. Tracy and Tia went for a lower point score and put in another good run but again Tia still not coping well with the heat. Angela and Pi, Jane and Keeta, Dawn and Chelsea and with Dreamer, all went for maximum points, ran perfectly and with the competition being all about how fast you can get maximum points, the competition was very close. Jane and Keeta achieved another GOLD! Angela and Pi another BRONZE!

Jumping - The all important and deciding All Around title run!

16" - Lu and Tassle went into the jumping in first place overall, but to the teams dismay Tassle broke her wait, picked up two refusals before obstacle 3, which put her out of the placings and into 4th overall. Disappointment for Lu but a great result for a 3-year-old dog. Dawn and Chelsea were out of the overall rankings but a great run put her in 4th place individually.

22" - Angela and Pi producing a steaming run which awarded them yet another BRONZE in the individual. Stuart and Wispa also went clear ending a great week and a solid performance from the veteran (Wispa not Stuart!!!)

26" - We were witness to Stuart and Storm going for broke for the overall. 1.5 seconds separated first and third so Storms run had to be perfect which it was, giving him an individual SILVER medal, but was it enough for the All Around Gold medal. Jane and Keeta went flat out to give her and Britain yet another GOLD.

12" - Dawn and Dreamer were unfortunately eliminated while Tracy and Tia put in their best round of the week and yet another clear. The only British dog to have a faultless week resulting in 9th place overall.

End of day two and a chance to total up all the points meant that Stuart and Storm were ALL AROUND WORLD CHAMPIONS for the 26" class, what a brilliant result. Wispa had crept into BRONZE medal position for the ALL AROUND 22". Spirits were high as we rolled into the bar that night, the Canadians were feeling a sense of rivalry and told Stuart he was "going down tomorrow", I think I saw a flicker of excitement cross his face! We were still in bed before midnight!

Sun 7th May

The final day had arrived and two teams of three dogs had to be picked, so it was decided to drop Tia and Wispa from the Triathlon team events. Team 1 (UK1) consisted of Keeta, Storm and Dreamer, Team 2 (UK2) were Pi, Tassle and Chelsea.

Triathlon - The agility and jumping rounds showed how pressure affects everybody, resulting in uncharacteristic faults from all countries. Pi came out of the jumping round on three legs and it was feared we would have to pull her out and put in Wispa as reserve. I set to work by using massage, stretching and icing techniques, which got Pi, back onto 4 legs again and resulted in her running in the relay.

Going into the team relay we were lying in 5th and 7th, with both American and Russian teams ahead of us. Both our teams were relying on mistakes from others so we had to put the pressure on by going out with an all or nothing attitude. UK2 unfortunately picked up an elimination which dropped us down the rankings, so it was up to UK1 who stepped up to the challenge producing the best combined and fastest run of the day, being 3 seconds faster than any other team. However, it wasn't enough to pull back from some earlier faults and so we ended up 4th overall.

Drinking and bar games started early for us and yet again we were the last team in the Hotel bar apart from two Canadians who wished they were on our team (I am pleased to say I beat them both at Beer Mat Twister and Pick up the Penny). I am proud to say that the team bonded so well together and even with the individual pressure of being at the World Champs the atmosphere was so relaxed and supportive which I think reflects on our overall results. Our return journey was rather quiet with a couple of sore heads being nursed, the minibus only just made it back to Greg's with the clutch hanging on by a wire!

To sum up, the results for the first IFCS World Championships that we have attended were outstanding and a real bench mark for 2008. More importantly, we made a real impression on the competition itself and next time Britain will be one to watch. Roll on the Europeans 2007!

Eyeball Eyeball over and out, roger roger, rubber duckie!!