July 2022 IDAL Courses

The following courses are for July 2022 IDAL play.
Instructors, if you have some specific skills, scenarios, and/or obstacles you want to work when using the IDAL courses in class, please let me know. I will try my best to get them included. If anyone would like to request a specific game to play, let me know.
Folks are always welcome to try their hand at designing league courses!

Briefing for July 2022

This month we are playing our second game of the season. The game this month is What’s My Line. The design is based on a course run in TDAA in April 2022. The course designer is Melissa Wallace. I modified it for more appropriate distances. Please note that Initiates and Dabblers will run the same course as the more experienced handlers because they may plot a path appropriate for their skill level.

The objective of What’s My Line is to plot your own course through the obstacles making sure to take every obstacle once and only once. All obstacles are bidirectional.

Start/Finish Line: The Start/Finish line is also bidirectional. Handlers may set up their dog on either side of the line and may lead out. The dog must start by taking one of the three jumps along the start line (#s 2, 4, or 8). Time starts when the dog takes their first jump. Dogs do not need to finish by taking one of the jumps along the S/F line. If their path included all three jumps before finishing, the dog simply needs to cross the line to stop time. If after taking all obstacles on course, the dog takes one of the jumps along the S/F line a second time as they cross the finish line, they are not faulted.

Each obstacle is worth 1 point. The numbered cones are ONLY for the judge, scribe, and score table. As the dog runs the course, the judge will call out the number of each obstacle as it is completed.

If an obstacle is faulted, dropped bar or missed down contact, the judge will not call out a number. The team will not get the point and the obstacle is counted as attempted. If a dog commits to the A-Frame with 4 paws and bails before crossing the apex, the dog must complete the A-Frame before moving on. The judge will call fault, or something similar, to indicate that you need to retry the frame. If a dog misses the down contact, and the handler reattempts the frame, the team will lose a point for repeating an obstacle.

Scoring: Each obstacle completed correctly earns one point. Repeated obstacles decrease the score by one for each repeated obstacle, except for the finish line obstacles as noted above. The game is scored points, then time. Time is a tiebreaker. The max points for the courses are 10 for the 40×85 and 11 points for the 60×90 and 50×70.

Course Maps

An Open Invitation to New Players

New clubs and individuals are always welcome to join us and play these courses.

Download the scorekeeping worksheet below. Contact the League Secretary to help with the details at pagc.live@gmail.com.   

40×85

scoresheet2022july_40x85Download

50×70

scoresheet2022july_50x70Download

60×90

scoresheet2022july_60x90Download

Existing league franchises will be emailed their scorekeeping worksheets set up with their current rosters. If you would like multiple scoresheets, just let me know.

Follow us on Facebook:

https://www.Facebook.com/TopDogAgilityPlayers/

Read our blog:

https://topdogagilityplayers.wordpress.com/

BLOG1639 IDAL
Questions, comments, snide remarks, and feedback go to Melissa Wallace, IDAL Secretary, at pagc.live@gmail.com.

January 2021 50×70 Fast and Fun Results

Update 4/4/2021

I have had to make an update to the January results. One team did not have the correct month’s spreadsheet which threw scoring off. Six clubs have reported results for this League for January.

We continue using “historical” courses. These are courses that have been played before. The efforts of dogs playing in January earn Lifetime Performance Points (LPP), as the historical performances are ranked with the new performances. The LPP is a measure of rank.

50×70 Fast & Fun January 2021 Results

The January 2021 50×70 Fast & Fun league was a numbered course designed by Dennis Vogel back in July 2017. Dennis is one of our Team Captains.

A Numbered Course is scored Time, Plus Faults.

Results

Follow this link to view individual performance by dogs and their handlers. Most of these are graced with a YouTube link:

Standings01312021B50x70Download

Top Dog

The Top Dog of all the clubs reporting in January is from the first-place team, Agility Dream Dogs out of Albion, New York. Gracie, a Border Collie handled by Gary McCarthy, finished this course with zero faults in 28.48 seconds:

First Place Team

Agility Dream Dogs out of Albion, New York was our first-place team. The top scoring dog was Gracie the Border Collie handled by Gary McCarthy. They were also the month’s Top Dog. Gracie finished the course with zero faults in 34.56 seconds:

Second Place Team

The second-place team in January is AQ4U’s Fast & Furryous out of Brooks, Kentucky. The top scoring dog was Peak, a Border Collie, handled by Christina Wakefield. Peak and Christina finished this course with zero faults in 31.69 seconds:

Third Place Team

K9cation out of Hudson, Colorado was our third-place team. Jasper, a Chocolate Labrador, was handled by Shana Goodwin. Jasper finished the course with zero faults in 34.56 seconds:

Fourth Place Team

The fourth-place team in January is K9 Powersports out of Grand Junction, Colorado. The top scoring dog was Keiji, a Papillon, handled by Geoff Teare. They finished the course with zero faults in 36.22 seconds:

Fifth Place Team

Cloud Nine out of Maple, Minnesota was our fifth-place team. The top scoring dog was Navi the Border Collie handled by Ali Kuschel. Navi finished the course with zero faults in 33.9 seconds:

Sixth Place Team

All Breed Training Club of Akron out of Tallmadge, Ohio was our sixth-place team. The top scoring dog was Savvy, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever handled by Cindy Fink. Savvy finished the course with zero faults in 36.19 seconds:

Spotlight Dog of the Month

Our spotlight dog of the month is Chexa from AQ4U’s Fast & Furryous in Brooks, Kentucky. Chexa is a speedy American Eskimo handled by Ann Embry. They finished the course with zero faults in 40.88 seconds:

February 60×90 Masters League

New teams are always welcomed to join us for NDAL league play. You are welcome to join any of our ongoing leagues. The February 2021 National Dog Agility League games and courses have been published here:
https://wp.me/p2Pu8l-kg

We will continue to publish “historical” courses while the IDAL goes through some changes at the head office.

BLOG1569 NDAL

Questions comments & snide remarks should be directed to Melissa Wallace at pagc.live@gmail.com.The web store is now closed all payments for the IDAL should be directed to this page: http://pagc.live/ndal.htm. The products that were previously available will be published in the future by Bud Houston Houston.Bud@gmail.com.

January 2021 60×90 Masters Results

January is over, and now we can post the results for the 60×90 Masters League. Three clubs have reported results for this League for January.

We continue using “historical” courses. These are courses that have been played before. The efforts of dogs playing in January earn Lifetime Performance Points (LPP), as the historical performances are ranked with the new performances. The LPP is a measure of rank.

60×90 Masters January 2021 Results

The January 2021 60×90 Masters league was a numbered course designed by Dennis Vogel back in July 2017. Dennis is one of our Team Captains.

A Numbered Course is scored Time, Plus Faults.

Results

Follow this link to view individual performance by dogs and their handlers. Most of these are graced with a YouTube link:

Standings01312021C60x90Download

The Top Dog of all the clubs reporting in January is from the second-place team, POTC Thunder Pawz out of Brimfield, Illinois. Gus, a Border Collie handled by Liz Clements, finished this course with zero faults in 34.79 seconds:

First-Place Team

The first-place team in January was Jumpin’ K-9 out of Temecula, CA. The top scoring dog for Jumpin’ K-9 was Speed, a nice Papillon handled by Brenda Piper. Speed and Brenda finished this course with zero faults in 35.98 seconds:

Second-Place Team

POTC Thunder Pawz out of Brimfield, Illinois was our second-place team. Gus, a Border Collie handled by Liz Clements was also our Top Dog. They finished this course with zero faults in 34.79 seconds:

Third-Place Team

Jumping C Crew out of Exeter, California was our third-place team. Swiper is an All American handled by Cindy Snowden.  Swiper finished the course with zero faults in 35.44 seconds:

Spotlight Dog of the Month

Our spotlight dog of the month is Max a nice-looking Pug handled by Liz Clements from Jumping C Crew. Nice distance! They completed the course with 0 faults in 50.09 seconds:

February 60×90 Masters League

New teams are always welcomed to join us for NDAL league play. You are welcome to join any of our ongoing leagues. The February 2021 National Dog Agility League games and courses have been published here:
https://wp.me/p2Pu8l-kg

We will continue to publish “historical” courses while the IDAL goes through some changes at the head office.

BLOG1564 NDAL

Questions comments & snide remarks should be directed to Melissa Wallace at pagc.live@gmail.com. The web store is now closed. All payments for the IDAL should be directed to this page: http://pagc.live/ndal.htm. The products that were previously available will be published in the future.

February 2021 IDAL League Courses

Following is a preview of the February 2021 courses and games for IDAL league play. We are making some changes at the NDAL home office. As you can see, we have changed the N to an I in the League Name. We are now the International Dog Agility League. We need to be inclusive of our international franchises and encourage new international teams to join us. The IDAL presents for play in February three historical NDAL courses. We hope to have some new course offerings in the near future.

50×70 Fast & Fun

The February 2021 50×70 Fast & Fun league game is a Numbered Course, designed by Bud Houston. This game was first run in the NDAL in August of 2017.

Briefing

A Numbered Course is scored Time, Plus Faults. Follow the numbers, keep the bars up and hit the paint.

Historical

The standing Top Dog in this game was recorded in August of 2017, playing for Aq4U’s Fast & Furryous. Ember, a Shetland Sheepdog handled by Stacey Breckel. They finished this course with zero faults in 25.68 seconds:

60×90 Masters

For the February 2021 60×90 Masters league, we present the August 2017 game of Power and Speed which was designed by Bud Houston.

Briefing

Power & Speed is a two-part game. The first part, POWER is untimed. However, any faults earned are added to the dog’s overall score. Refusals will NOT be faulted. However, three “on & off” refusals will be deemed a Failure to Perform.

The SPEED part is timed.

A TimeWarp Bonus (10 points) is earned for the dog working away at jumps #7 through #9 without fault, while the handler works on the opposite side of the handler containment line (red line).

This game is scored Time, Plus Faults, Less Bonus.

Historical

The standing Top Dog on this course, recorded in July 2017, represented United Colors of Agility out of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Gemma, a Border Collie handled by Susan Dawson. They finished this course with zero faults, plus the bonus, in a score of 7.63:

36X85 Fast & Fun

The February game for the 36×85 Fast & Fun league was designed by Bud Houston in 2017. Get your running shoes on!

Briefing

A Numbered Course is scored Time, Plus Faults. Follow the numbers, keep the bars up and hit the paint.

Historical

The standing Top Dog on this course, recorded in August 2017, represented Wicked West Australians out of Banjup Western Australia: Ripley, a Border Collie handled by Nic Ford. They finished this course with zero faults in 30.59 seconds:

An Open Invitation to New Players

New clubs and individuals are always welcome to join us. You play these historical courses. Just download the scorekeeping worksheet below. Contact the League Secretary to help with the details at:  pagc.live@gmail.com    

• The 50×70 Fast & Fun League is intended to allow the dog to work at full extension with modest handling challenges.
  Download Scoresheet020121B50x70.xls

• The 60×90 Masters League focuses on advanced handling challenges.
  Download Scoresheet020121C60x90.xls

• The 36×85 Fast & Fun League is intended to allow the dog to work at full extension with modest handling challenges.
  Download Scoresheet020121D36x85.xls

• Existing league franchises will be emailed their scorekeeping worksheets set up with their current rosters upon request.

Follow us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/TopDogAgilityPlayers/

Read our blog:
https://topdogagilityplayers.wordpress.com/

BLOG1562 NDAL

Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Melissa Wallace at  pagc.live@gmail.com. Visit our web store: www.dogagility.org/newstore. In the web store The Book of Agility Games, a comprehensive reference to all manner of agility games played for competition and fun around the world. Last chance before the store closes!

Granularity

This is an open invitation to join our league. While it’s late to actually compete in the inaugural league, the final course of that league (July) would be a good way to introduce in your agility center, and be ready to roll with the Summer League (rules and stipulations to be released by the end of July).

I’m having a great time with play in the National Dog Agility League (NDAL). Our first official season is clearly being dominated by Team Canada. But don’t you know, somebody’s got to win, and they play a pretty rough and rugged game up there.

However, I understand that Nancy Gyes and Power Paws will be joining in league play. So Team Canada will have competition. This is going to be fun to watch. [We encourage YouTube recording of NDAL runs. So indeed, we get to watch.]

What Makes NDAL Distinct?

One of the real differences between play in the National Dog Agility League and any of the agility organizations that demand mastery of the sport (USDAA, AKC, FCI) is that every single error doesn’t have fatal consequence. Think about it, in AKC Excellent if the dog makes any error the dog and handler are eliminated and dismissed ignominiously. It’s not enough to deny the Q. The score is scratched as though it never even existed.

In the NDAL we’ve adopted a system that provides a granularity of scoring so that a performance can be measured against the field of players. For example, a dog might miss a contact. Under our rules he has earned 5 faults. And this might very well place that dog in the upper 7% of dogs who competed. And so the performance is honored and celebrated, rather than dismissed.

Small but Happy

We’re looking to grow the National Dog Agility League. The long-term view is that we’ll have a national championship tournament that features the top 64 teams (kind of like the NCAA basketball tournament). Well, we won’t have to worry about that for awhile as we are a long way from having a field of 64 teams. Right now we’ll content ourselves with being small, but happy.

The only source of income is in recording fees which is, precisely, $1 per run. I’m happy to say that we have enough of a small income that I can apply those funds to a small Clean Run ad each month. Perhaps we’ll be able to attract a few new clubs and continue to grow.

An International Flavor

The spring league certainly has had a strong international flavor. That means that each course was a tough riddle featuring challenges that would daunt the timid. Below I will share each of those courses with you.

I really love the problem solving that goes into these course. I suppose I love USDAA Masters Challenge courses for the same reason, though I’ve learned (the hard way) that the traditional “8 minute walk-through” really isn’t enough time to solve. I like the idea of publishing a course well in advance so that the competitor can pour over the course map and develop a plan that has the highest probability of success.

May NDAL Course

Steve Schwarz asked me for a critique of his design effort kind of early on. But I declined to do so. I don’t really want to constrain or even influence the approach we take to course design in the NDAL. It is what it is.

I’m happy to share my review comments now. I’ll start with a couple of warning flags:

• The course is a bit bottom heavy. You’ll note that 2/3ds of the obstacle performances are on the lower1/3d of the field.
• The transitions between some of the obstacles are very short. When combined with the technical challenges of the course, there’s not a lot of opportunity for a dog to be working in full extension.

“Warning flags” aside, the course turned out to be a fine romp. The course probably favors quick little dogs with tight turning skills.

You can still run this course and add your dog’s scores to the historical record of the course, though it’s now too late to submit league scores for the course. Download the May 2015 scorekeeping worksheet.

May 2015 League Results.

* * *

I will review the June NDAL courses tomorrow.

Blog1021 NDAL

Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Bud Houston Houston.Bud@gmail.com. The web store is up and running. www.dogagility.org/newstore. You’ll find in the web store The Book of Agility Games, an invaluable reference to clubs engaged in league play.