Putting together an agility league in a training center can be an interesting logistical problem. You might have a staff of instructors who all have a different vision for training objectives for their own students. Plus you may have students who come and go throughout the week on different days, at different hours.
The simple approach would be to select a course or game and set the floor for the entire week with that layout of equipment. Give the layout to your instructors and challenge them to find their training objectives without moving equipment.
The league play competition doesn’t need to be a part of the class. It could be sandwiched between classes. For example, you have a one-hour class that begins at 6:00 pm and another that begins at 7:30. To introduce league play you ask the later class to come a bit early. Briefing begins promptly at 7:00 pm, then walkthrough, then run the game. The later class begins immediately after the last dog has run and will have its own full hour.
Pricing
Prices should be kept very low to encourage participation by large and diverse groups of students. For example, the training center might charge $16 a dog for an each league for a season. This would more than cover a run recording fees for IDAL.
The training center would realize a number of benefits from running an agility league. For the exhibitor (your student) it is a marvelous opportunity to run a dog in competition at nominal expense. For the instructor this is an opportunity to see how students, both dog and handler, are progressing and what they are learning. And when you put a stop-watch on the team and record a score, the instructor gets to see how the team is ready for the real pressure of competition.
How The league Works
The League Secretary posts monthly courses for each league. These courses are used by agility enthusiasts around the world. If you want to play with your group you download the course map and the reporting form.
When you’ve collected all your scores you’ll email your results to the Secretary and pay recording fees by online transaction.
These records will be aggregated along with every other club and individual who has accepted the challenge. The event summary will be reported when all scores have been collected. Dogs earn titles using Lifetime Performance Points (LPP). These points factor in such things as: the fact that they played, how many dogs they beat in competition, and whether the dog earned a score.
Restrictions
Oh… there are no restrictions. The league might be run by a big agility training club that has 200 students a week, or it might be played by three fans of the game who train together out in the woods.
Remember… there are no trial application fees. premiums, etc.
The judge or steward of the event will be someone with experience and integrity in whom the local group has confidence.
Size Matters
The size of your competition field or floor is key to what game or course challenge your group can run. A club with a luxurious 120′ x 120′ can accept any challenge imaginable. A club with a 60′ x 90′ floor will be limited to that size, or smaller. The League will endeavor to make available challenges of a variety of sizes as clubs require.
International Dog Agility League 