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Designing Courses is Quite Difficult!
There's been a lot of debate
recently about the suitability of courses for a particular type of class. Some
competitors are quick to criticise when things are not right for them, but very rarely
give praise when things go well. Judges too, can misunderstand what their objective
should be when designing a course. Barrie Harvey, Chairman of The Agility Club, puts
forward his point of view. |
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Angelo 'Doc' Docherty
Angelo 'Doc' Docherty's path into judging was not an easy one as he did
not come through the usual agility training route. Nevertheless he is
celebrated his 300th Kennel Club appointment in 2018 and looking for
more. |
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Course Design & Build
As Sally Jones, Kennel Club and international judge, was
working her way through course designs for her upcoming appointments,
she started thinking about the state of judging in 2024 and what could
be done to improve it. She's agreed to share her musings and
what she has learned from years of experience. |
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Global Judging
Week
after week, agility judges all around the country set courses to test of our
ability. If we struggle, we can go away and train these challenges further. So
surely developing our judges so they set safe and appropriate yet challenging
courses is in all our interests? Most judges will at some point have taken
assessments or exams and following successful completion gone off to judge. And
that, for the majority, is where their professional development ends as there
has been nothing to cater for them in this regard. Until now... Becky Dixon
reports on the Global Judging Program (GJP.) |
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Good
Judges List
With
all the recent talk about judges on the Agility Forum and around the rings, it's obviously that
there is a great disparity among judges. What makes one judge standout from another?
Would you agree that the judge sets the tone for the ring. After a long weekend with a judge
who obviously felt nothing but contempt for the handlers, American Arlyn Sigeti, herself a
judge, wrote this list of the qualities that she values in a judge. |
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An
Inspired Guide to Course Setting
Did you know that more than
half of the injuries to agility dogs happen at competitions? It is the
judge's responsibility to set a course and create a safe environment for
the dog in the ring. Inspire Agility founder Ruthie Pegs is passionate
about improving the welfare of agility dogs by supporting the training
of instructors and judges. Below she sets out a rough guide
to some things to consider when designing an agility course to ensure
healthy dogs and happy competitors.
(06/08/21) |
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Judges A-List
If you've ever needed a judge (or two) for your next show or club event, here is a list of people
who have had experience. It's not everybody but there is a good selection of people from
different parts of the country. Some may be booked up already for this year, but at least
it's somewhere to start. (Updated regularly) |
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Judges Gifts
A
good agility judge can be hard to find, as show secretaries everywhere will
confirm. Judges give up their chance to compete with their own dogs in order to
spend a day standing in pouring rain, freezing cold, blustery gales or even
(sometimes) sweltering heat while hundreds of hopeful handlers and dogs sweep
past, expecting (quite rightly) that the judge will be paying 100% focused
attention to every move they make. |
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Judge's Special
Patch Guipago explains what
these very special rosettes have meant to her and her deaf collie Defa. |
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Judging a la
2024
Before writing this, Selena Bray thought long and hard about posting it.
She says it's not directly aimed at anyone or any particular situation.
She's hoping it will resonate with people and help them understand the
person in the centre of the ring, so we stop losing our judges. After
all, we couldn't do shows without them. |
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Kennel Club Judges
Training Programme
Effective as of 1 July 2006, anyone wishing to judge at a KC agility event for the very
first time and those who will be submitting questionnaires to the Kennel Club for
approval to award Kennel Club Agility Certificates will be required to have attended a
seminar and passed a an examination.
(18/07/04) |
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One Wheel or Two?
You may have noticed judges walking around agility
courses with a strange unicycle type contraption. These are known as measuring wheels and
they are used to help judges set a
realistic course time. Lynne Shore explains... |
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Setting a course for Judging
Getting the course right on the day can make or break a show for people.
Lin Bergan shares some of her thoughts on designing courses for the right level of
competitor.(07/02/04) |
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So You're Going to Judge for the First Time
You're pleased. You're flattered. You're
terrified. You've suddenly realised there might be some things you might not know or
haven’t been told about. Experienced judge Lesley Wilks
passes on some tips for newbie judges on what to do on your big debut.
(14/12/02) |
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Talking the Course
Handlers get the chance before the contest
to 'Walk the Course' before they run it. So why shouldn't judges have the opportunity to
'Talk the Course' afterwards to explain and, if necessary, justify the rationale
behind it. (28/07/04) |
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YOU Make the Call
Have you ever sat in the dentist's waiting room, flipping
through the pages of Seventeen or Cosmo and passing the time by
filling in those cheeky questionnaires to find out if you were a wallflower or a glam
queen, a thoughtful lover or a selfish cad? Now you've got your chance to find out
whether you be a good, bad or indifferent agility judge. And you don't even need a pencil
- just press a key and your score is computed for you. You may not like the result,
but you probably didn't like what Cosmo had to say about you either! (17/10/01) |
