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WHAT IS FLYBALL?

Flyball is a team relay race for dogs.
Two teams race each other over identical courses and the first team to get all their dogs back without mistake - wins.

A team consists of between four and six dogs, with any four dogs racing at one time. Any small dogs racing on a team are called "Height Dogs". These dogs bring the jump height down for the team, giving the bigger dogs a bit of an advantage as they are able to "run" over the jumps, rather than hurdling them.

Each dog has to race over four low hurdles, collect a tennis ball from a special box and return over the four hurdles.
Time is saved by the dogs passing at full speed on the start/finish line.

UK FLYBALL HISTORY

Peter Roberts (PODS Flyball Team) has been "in flyball" since before the formation of the British Flyball Association.

His first memories of Flyball are of a demonstration at Crufts in 1990 by a team from the Themes Club. He remembers it was not a very polished performance "some of the handlers had to run up to the box with their dogs. But it was flyball."
This was the last Crufts at Earls Court (1990) before the show moved to the NEC (National Exhibition Centre) near Birmingham.

THE ORIGINS OF FLYBALL

Flyball began its life in the USA way back in the late 1970's or early 1980's.
Rather than repeat what has already been done, the link below will take you to the history of flyball.

History of Flyball in the USA.

FLYBALL TITLES.

Each time a dog races with a team he earns points. These are dependant on how fast the team run as a whole. The table below shows how dogs earn individual titles.

Each time a team races, the dogs earn points depending on how fast the team run. The table below shows how many points are gained and the team speed needed to earn them.