The
Team Manager's Report
Early
Wednesday morning - about 8am - on 7 May, the British UKA Team left Evesham, bound for Belgium
and the 2008 IFCS World Championships. The convoy was five vehicles strong, consisting of four
vans with a cage for each dog and a mini bus with team members and grooms. Spirits were high
but what would happen when they went up against the rest of the world? Team Manager Greg
Derrett reports...
We headed towards London, went around
the M25 and then down to Dover, arriving at the ferry around lunch time. Several of us had been
on previous ventures and we felt this was by far the best way to travel, especially taking into
consideration the distance to Belgium.
The team,
representing all four sizes, included the following handlers and dogs.
Toy -12 inches
-
Jean Young
with Megan
-
'M'
Adams with Tia
-
Dave
Alderson with Libby
|
Midi - 22 inches
-
Dawn Weaver
with Minky
-
Jane Powell
with Keeta
-
Angela
Williams with Pi
|
|
Mini - 16 inches
|
Maxi - 26 inches
-
Chris Cole
with Cap
-
Mark Powell
with Trigga
-
Dave
Alderson with Spice
|
Team Management
-
Team Managers -
Greg & Laura Derrett
-
Team Coach - Shaun
Hunt
-
Sports Massage
Therapist - Tace Allen
-
Team Vet - Pete
van Dongen
After leaving Calais
and a leisurely two hour drive, we arrived at the town of Kortrijk in Belgium. You're always
slightly apprehensive when booking a hotel via the Internet. Clever photography can be
deceiving but we were all smiling as we checked in. The hotel had lovely big rooms and
excellent facilities including a pool, sauna and sun beds - all of which were to be well used
during the small amount of down time we had.
A two minute walk
into the town centre and there was a great choice of cafes and restaurants. The food was good
but the beer was fantastic! After the long days travel, the Belgium beer was well sampled.
Thursday,
8 May
Up for breakfast early and the team
management drove the 10km to the venue to check things out. Ingelmunster Stadium is a football
stadium with seating all around. The two rings were set up in the middle, thus making the
layout was perfect. In addition, the running surface looked just perfect for agility.
An air-conditioned room with security guards was to be provided for the dogs to be crated. We
marked off seats in the stadium for the Brits to invade!
After sussing the
venue out, we went back to the hotel where the team could be found having an extremely relaxing
morning around the pool. At 12.15 the team as a whole headed off back to the stadium with our
first appointment with the vet. All dogs were measured and all fitted nicely in their height
categories. We had measured the dogs several times before, during and after the
qualifying year and so were sure we would not have any problems.
With all
dogs passed fit to compete, we got to start the training session. Half an hour in each ring was
far more time than we needed, but a nice relaxing training session allowed the dogs to get the
feel of the equipment. When you compete abroad the equipment is sometimes different, the
old frame tyre appears, the weave spacing is different and here the contact surface was made of
rubber. No problems were found and all dogs were working well. The only problem was
the glorious weather with temperatures nearing 30 degrees the dogs and handlers were hot! Back
to the hotel where Tace worked her magic hands, massaging dogs and people.
We had a team
meeting at 5pm to make sure all competitors knew and understood the rules. Then the team
management and a couple of the competitors went to the welcome dinner. Draws were made in front
of the audience so it was clear it was random with some more sampling of the beer and then back
to the hotel.
Pete Van Dongen
travelled out on Thursday to meet up with the team. Arriving at 11.30pm, the importance
of a team vet came into play immediately. Ace was lame and Pete was put to work in the
reception within five minutes of arriving. I would like to take this opportunity to thank
Pete. Your support and expertise is invaluable to me when travelling abroad and we are very
grateful to have you.
Friday,
9 May
All dogs were sound as we headed to the venue with
the first run of the day, a fun Power & Speed. There was no medal on offer, but there was to be
a prize giving. In the team meeting the night before, I had told the team we hadn't come to win
the Power & Speed fun event we had come for medals so to use the P & S for training, getting
used to the competition environment etc. After 9 out of 12 runs being Ed or faulted, I
was beginning to regret my team talk! Dave Alderson stood up with Spice though and had the
first run of what was to prove a great two days for him. Spice stormed round winning the 26in
division.
Another quick team
meeting reminding everyone about foreign course design and we were back out for the first
important run.
Individual Agility
This not only counted as a gold medal on
its own but scores from it were also to be combined with the Individual Jumping, Snooker and
Gamblers to produce the All Around World Champion. I'm not going to detail all the runs, just
the highlights as the GB team completed 102 runs over the weekend.
The Toys and Minis
all had faults except Dawn with Chelsea who came in 5th with a nice clear. The Midis
produced our first medal with Dawn with Minky storming round to get Silver. Last height was the
Maxis. Dave and Spice were our only clear, but Spice was flying and won the Gold by over a
second. We were on the podium in the first event and The National Anthem would be heard. It was
a good start.
Jumping Biathlon
This jumping is combined with the agility on
Saturday to produce the Biathlon World Champion. For Laura and me as team managers this is
where we wanted the medals as this is the same format as FCI individual except in this
competition 5 faults translates to 5 seconds. Midi was first height to run and Dawn stormed
around with Minky to win it. Angela and Pi had a great time but with a pole down, but could
still be in contention.
Then came the Maxis
and Dave was just firing. Another win for him and Spice, 3 out of 3 wins on the first
day, Spice looking as good as I have ever seen her and she was the only dog in all heights to
beat the 30 second barrier. Mark and Trigga also had a good clear putting him in 4th and a nice
place for the Biathlon contention. The toys went next and Sports Psychology experts
would shudder when listening to my words of encouragement to Dave 'Okay fat man, get me a clear
in under 30 seconds or else.' It worked, and Libby flew round clear in 30.11, becoming
the second fastest dog of the day. two seconds faster than anyone else in the Toy division.
Finally the Mini height and Karen put a nice solid clear round in with Ace. Then Wendy and
Scout flew round, winning in 30.91.
The day ended with
the ceremony for the P & S and the Individual Agility. Pedigree was the official sponsors
of the event and bags of dog food were given out to all people who made the podium.
The anthems were
played for the P & S as well as the agility. As Dave and Spice stepped on the podium, I was
slightly apprehensive. Each country had had to provide their own national anthem and I had
found two different versions. The team were given the option and choose the Brian May version!
If you have not heard this I think it's the best God Save the Queen there is and actually gets
the hair on the back of your neck standing up, as a national anthem should. This went down well
with the crowd and was the end of what we considered a good day.
Saturday, 10 May
This was to be a long day with all dogs having four runs and the chance of 5 gold
medals in each height up for grabs. First run of the day was Gamblers.
Individual
Gamblers
Shaun Hunt was with us not only to help run
the team but because of his exceptional ability with games. The team and management came up
with several courses. Then we put our heads together and came up with the best course. There
was a jackpot in the course if you completed tunnel, jump, weave behind a line as well as the
actual gamble which was a distance gamble.
Due to the various
sizes, we had slight alterations to the course to work for all but, at the end of the event, it
was clear that as a team we had picked the right course. The gamble was all important.
Unfortunately, as a team, only two dogs completed it. This did though bring a Gold medal for
Wendy and Scout who accumulated more points than any other dog in the event. Jane also got the
gamble with Keeta but had problems on the course, loosing several points. A big well done
to Jean with Megan who was one of the few dogs to manage the bonus and send away twice in the
course. As the only Westie at the event, it was nice to see the distance control she had.
Agility
Biathlon.
We had big hopes for Part 2 of the
Biathlon. Some of our dogs didn't run this as they were E'd in the Jumping and others used it
to maintain good criteria on contacts. Running order was the reverse of the Jumping Biathlon
result so all our medal chances were running near the end. Marilyn had a nice run with Tia,
coming 5th in the Agility section.
Then it was Dave
with Libby with our first gold medal chance. By the time he ran, we knew he only needed a clear
as he had a two second lead in the Jumping and those running before him hadn't really looked
like getting closer. I think though this backfired as Dave looked to go for the clear round.
Libby, not used to this, jumped off her dog walk and got E'd. It was a big disappointment, but
Dave had Spice to come so needed to forget it and concentrate on her straight away.
On to the Minis. Ace
put in another good clear but due to the heat and perhaps the lameness he had suffered, he
wasn't firing as Karen wished and came 11th overall. Wendy and Scout were running last and all
fingers were crossed, hoping she could achieve a clear to bring home the Gold. It was a nervous
finish and I think the shout of 'Scout!' was heard by those competing at Tonbridge Wells in the
UK. Still it resulted in a great clear, winning the class and gaining the Gold in the Mini
Biathlon.
Finally the Midis
were in the ring. Angela and Pi went flat out. With 5 from the first run, they had nothing to
loose. It was a good time but another 5 faults put her out of contention. The Russian dog in
3rd put in a very good run and Minky's slim lead of 0.2 from the Jumping was in doubt. Dawn put
in a great run but had she got the Gold? On our own calculations it was down to a hundredth of
a second and put her in Silver. When the official result was handed out later, thankfully we
were wrong and Minky had won the Gold by 0.01 second. Dawn was not there to hear this so the
team decided not to tell her.
The Maxi dogs went
last and we had twp medal contenders. Mark with Trigga was lying in 4th. He put in a great run
and went into the lead overall. Three dogs to go and the next team to run from the USA was
clear but much slower than Trigga which meant we were guaranteed at least a Bronze. The Russian
in 2nd place put in a very good clear with the fastest run so far. This time Dave couldn't be
cautious and tactics were to go out and win it. He did with a fantastic run that meant we had
three out of four Golds in the biggest event and also a Bronze. Well done all round.
Then on to the
snooker with the team management smiling.
Individual
Snooker
At the previous WAC in 2006 the results for
the All Around had come out quite quickly but this year they were very slow on the computer.
This was disappointing as we couldn't see tactics for the All Around. Some knew they were just
going for the Individual Gold whilst others played safer with the All around in mind. Chris and
Cap had not had the greatest weekend so far and was one of our real hopes in the games. He
didn't let us down with maximum points and a Silver medal. Dawn and Chelsea played safe going
for 1 point less than maximum but they still ended up with the Bronze. Karen and Ace just
missed the podium with a 4th as did Dawn and Minky. There were also top 10 places for Jean with
Megan, Marilyn with Tia, Jane with Keeta and Angela with Pi.
Individual
Jumping
At this point the organisers still had not
caught up with results and we really were not up to scratch on what place people were in in the
All Around. We thought that most were behind so we really had to push. Later on, we found out
Chris had crept up into 2nd place. If we had known this, he might of just made sure of a tunnel
entrance that he moved away from causing a 5 faults and he would of definitely been on the
podium.
In the other
heights, we wanted Golds and we weren't let down. Dave with Libby, Wendy with Scout and Dave
with Spice all won Gold. Jane with Keeta just missed the podium in 4th and Dawn with Chelsea
were 5th. With some small calculation, we worked out Dawn and Chelsea had got 3rd in the All
Around. No one else managed the podium for the All Around. The way it is scored the games
really are important so for those of you that are interested in 2010 start working now at those
skills needed!
The final individual
medal count was
Individual Agility |
Handler/Dog |
Size |
Gold
Gold
Gold |
Dave
Alderson with Spice
Wendy Fairlamb with Scout
Dave Alderson with Libby |
26in
16in
12in |
Individual Snooker |
Silver
Bronze |
Chris
Cole with Cap
Dawn Weaver with Chelsea |
26in
16in |
Individual Gamblers |
Gold |
Wendy
Fairlamb with Scout |
16in |
All Around (4 individual classes
combined) |
Bronze
|
Dawn
Weaver with Chelsea |
16in |
Biathlon |
Gold
Gold
Gold
Bronze |
Dave
Alderson with Spice
Wendy Fairlamb with Scout
Dawn Weaver with Minky
Mark Powell with Trigga |
26in
16in
22in
26in |
An excellent result
which at the time of writing we believe team GB was 2nd in the medal table to the
Russians. Winning three out of four the Biathlon Golds was also very satisfying.
Sunday, 11 May
IT was Team day and
we had two teams entered. The selection process is too complicated to explain here but all four
heights have to be represented. There are three runs and you can bring reserves in for injury
and tactics.
Unfortunately some
of the non-English speaking countries had trouble understanding the rules, and there was quite
a lot of confusion in the morning. Once all sorted the event began and team GB lined up
as
GB 1
-
Dave & Spice
Maxi
-
Mark &
Trigga Maxi
-
Dave & Libby
Toy
|
GB 2
-
Dawn & Minky
-
Wendy &
Scout
-
Dawn &
Chelsea
|
We didn't have the
best start with each team getting an elimination in the Agility. Off to the jumping where
we made the tactical change, replacing Dawn and Minky for Jane and Keeta. Thankfully, for the
team management, this worked but again each team had an E and our chances of a team medal had
vanished.
The relay was to be
the last run of the WAC and again we used our reserves, bringing Chris with Cap in for Dave and
Spice and Angela with Pi for Jane and Keeta. We knew we had to push to try and move up the
places and we had the boys versus girls. Sadly for me, the girls won between our two teams but
neither team moved up the leader board. Tace spent most of the journey home repeating 'girls
are better than boys!'
It
was a disappointing end but the medal ceremonies throughout the day kept the team spirit very
high. Brian May was heard seven times on Sunday and memories of Wendy playing the air guitar on
the Gold medal podium will not be forgotten. Dawn's face and the various expressions
during the Biathlon ceremony will always be remembered. Believing she had the silver, she was
shocked when the silver medallist was announced. It wasn't her name. Confusion, doubt and anger
turned to a big smile when she was announced in Gold. I even think there were tears showing at
the end of the anthem!
Monday,
12 May
The celebration meal and
drinking session in the Irish pub Sunday night left some of us looking a bit rough as we loaded
up for the home journey, but this passed off without event and all dogs returned to GB with no
passport problems.Thanks again, Pete.
Well done to all the
team, medal winners and non-medal winners. You were all part of a great team and contributed to
the success we had. A special well done to Jean. You were brilliant in the circumstances you
were faced with, and the team management were very proud of you.
We would also
like to thank our sponsors for making the trip possible including GRS Contractors, Gro Well
Joint Aid, S.D. O'Connor, JAPA Sound, Dragon Veterinary Centre (Cheltenham), Potter Adams Lts
(Accountants Wellington Somerset), Burns dog food, The Agility Club, JDA Agility Equipment,
Deane Veterinary Centre, Donyat DC, Shakspeare Glass (Taunton), The Mount Veterinary Hospital
(Wellington Somerset), Fairlamb Training Day, Paul Wood and all those who supported the Raffle.
Roll on IFCS WAC
2010. You never know, it may be closer to home.
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