Geography of dog agility

A Chinese Crested taking part in an agility competition.

Dog agility is now an international dog sport with many different sanctioning organizations and competitions worldwide.

Agility in the United Kingdom

A Kollie taking part in an agility competition.

Eligibility for competition

Dogs of all sizes and origins are eligible to compete at agility shows in the UK, provided that they are:

Kennel Club shows

Brittany dog taking part in an agility competition.
A New Zealand red and white border collie competing in an ANKC agility competition.
A Border collie competing
Golden Retriever on the A-frame
A German Shepherd taking part in an agility competition.

Agility shows run by clubs that are affiliated to the Kennel Club continue to dominate the British agility scene. They host qualifiers for the most prestigious competitions at Crufts dog show near Birmingham each March, and Olympia in London each December. They also provide a route for winning the three Championship classes needed to gain an agility dog the coveted 'Agility Champion' title.

Progression at KC shows is via a win-based system or a dog can progress on points if the handler chooses. Classes can number anything up to 450 dogs and class sizes vary considerably. They can be as small as 4 or 5 dogs or as large as 200 dogs. If a larger number of entries is received for one class then the organising club will generally split the class into separate parts with a separate set of prizes for each part. Generally classes for small and medium-sized dogs are smaller than for the large dogs. From January 2007, the KC has adopted a new grading system. Dogs with new handlers start in Grade 1 Elementary, and if they gain the wins required move up through Starters, Graduate, Novice, Intermediate and Senior to Grade 7 Advanced level. By the time a dog reaches Advanced (at which point it becomes eligible for Championship classes), it will have won many classes. The new grading system also provides the option to progress as far as Grade 5 Intermediate via a points system, run in conjunction with the Kennel Club's Agility Warrant (AW) agility titles.

The Kennel Club introduced its International Festival of Agility in 2005, a weekend event that hosts a range of national team and individual competitions and finals, including the British Open. The KC also funds the British agility team that is sent to the FCI world championships each year.

Other UK agility shows

The British Agility Association (BAA) was launched in 2006 Following the success of EMDAC (East Midlands Dog Agility Club which was the first Independent Agility Association in the UK founded in 2002 by June Bass & Steve Retter) BAA provides its own progression system, with dogs being promoted via a ranking system based on performance at BAA shows. BAA shows are run both by the main EMDAC team and BAA affiliated independent clubs around the country. EMDAC host the BAA National Finals, a 3-day event in August each year.

UK Agility (UKA), launched in 2004, provides two separate progression programmes leading to agility titles. The Performance programme requires points to be gained in a range of Agility, Jumping and Games classes such as Gamblers and Snooker. This titling system has many similarities with that of the USDAA in the United States. The Steeplechase programme is based on Steeplechase classes consisting only of jumps and tunnels. UKA shows are run by both the main UKA team and affiliated independent clubs. UKA runs a weeklong show with its national championships in August each year, and also sends a team to the IFCS world championships.

In addition, a number of independent clubs and groups around the United Kingdom hold one-off shows or short series of shows that are not affiliated with any of the above organisations.

Agility in Canada

In Canada dog agility is largely sanctioned by the Agility Association of Canada (AAC). In western Canada however, it is not uncommon to also see trials sanctioned by the North American Dog Agility Council (NADAC); in eastern Canada NADAC sanctioned trials are rare. Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) agility trials are uncommon and are mostly associated with specialty shows for purebreds in conjunction with other events.

Agility in the United States

The first agility competition in the United States took place around 1986 under the rules of the newly formed United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA).

Qualification for competition

For all organizations, dogs can compete provided that they are:

Dogs of any size, ancestry, or nationality can compete, except for in TDAA, which limits dogs to those of no more than 17" at the withers. On April 1, 2010, the AKC began allowing mixed breed dogs to compete in agility along with purebred dogs and dogs with a PAL/ILP listing.

Agility titles and championships

For most sanctioning organizations, there are a variety of titles that a dog and handler can earn by accruing sufficient qualifying runs—also called legs—that is, runs that have no more than a certain number of faults (typically none) and are faster than the maximum standard course time (SCT).

For example, under USDAA rules, a dog can earn novice-level titles in Standard, Jumpers, Gamblers, Snooker, and Pairs Relay classes by earning 3 qualifying runs in each of the classes; the dog can also earn intermediate-level titles and masters-level titles in the same classes. After earning all of the masters-level titles—five qualifying runs in each, with some that must be in the top 15% of dogs competing at each trial—the dog earns its Championship. Other organizations have similar schemes; in AKC, to earn the Championship, the dog's qualifying runs must be earned two at a time on the same day; in NADAC, the quantity of qualifying runs is much larger; and so on. Most champion titles have "CH" in the title: NATCH (NADAC Agility Trial Champion), ADCH (Agility Dog Champion for USDAA), CATCH (CPE Agility Trial Champion), MACH (Master Agility Champion for AKC), TACH (Teacup Agility Champion), ATCH (ASCA Agility Trial Champion) and so on.

National championships

A dalmatian taking part in an agility competition.

In addition, each sanctioning organization holds its national championships each year. Dogs must meet certain minimum scoring requirements to qualify to compete in the annual championship; for example, the dog must earn qualifying scores in at least 50% of the runs at each of at least 3 trials during the year; or must place in the top certain percentage of dogs at certain trials; or must have a qualifying run in special regional qualifying events; and so on.

As with any agility competition, there are national champions in each height category because it is not possible for dogs of greatly different sizes to compete equally.

USDAA national championships

USDAA has 12", 16", 22", and 26" (30, 40, 55, and 66 cm) jump-height categories; it crowns four national Grand Prix champions each year, as well as four Veterans and four Performance (lower-level performance) Grand Prix champions. It also holds championships for its Dog Agility Steeplechase and its Dog Agility Masters Three-Dog Team tournament series.

AKC national championships

To qualify for the AKC Dog Agility Nationals, dogs must obtain double Qs and points during the preceding year. (The exact number of each has been increasing each year - for 2008 it is 6 double Qs and 400 MACH points.) A double Q means that the dog has earned qualifying scores in both runs of a single day of competition. Points are earned by the number of seconds under the standard course time that the dog takes to run a course, and are multiplied by various factors based on placement. At Nationals, dogs compete against their height division of 8", 12", 16", 20", 24", or 26". The AKC Nationals are often televised.

The AKC also runs an annual breed invitational to represent the best dogs from each breed. The invitational qualification and competition are similar to those of the Nationals.

List of organizations that will sanction agility

North America

Agility only

Other activities in addition to agility

Oceania

Europe

Asia

International championships

Some competitions invite qualified entrants from multiple countries, thereby making them international championships. Examples include:

Since the 2002 IMCA (Gyula, Hungary), this championship is organised together with the ParAgility World Cup for disabled competitors.

See also

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