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Be a scrimer...
 Having
spent most of his Dog Agility life first scribing, then scriming, scoring and
enjoying bacon butties, Alan Waddington feels he is well placed to make a plea
on behalf of the lonely long distance scrimer. For many of you out there in
Agility-land, what happens to the scrimer is not high on the list of your dog
agility priorities. Compared to learning new handling techniques and the highs
and lows of success and failure, what happens to the person sitting in front of
the timer, watching the judge, is unlikely to pop up on your radar. Alan
Waddington would like you to spare a thought for the person who has selflessly given up their time to
record your round.
The last couple of years has seen increasing
reliance on communications technology in the administration of shows. For the
scrimer, out have gone pencils, pencil sharpeners and wet bits of paper to write
on. In many cases, there is no longer a scorer. Faults and times are recorded on
a tablet and computer science does the rest. There are no people bringing
tickets. The score tent, which was once the social hub of the agility ring, is
now little more than a store cupboard. The scrimer, sitting out at the front, a
good two metres from anyone else, seems like someone with a severe case of BO,
who has been sent to Coventry by everyone else at the show.
I am not a
Luddite
I understand
the importance of the efficient running of an agility ring and the need to
minimise the number of people required to keep things going. I also understand
the importance of technology in enabling these advances. As a member of the
accountancy profession, which was the last keeper of the quill pen, the use of
tablets removes some of the emotional connections with the past.
On a positive note - and most importantly for
the scrimer - the changes mean that there are fewer people around. There is less
distraction which improves concentration and, hopefully, accuracy of recording
the judge's decisions.
Even in the new role of social outcast, there
are still highlights, like the dog that comes to tell you how well it has done.
One black Mniature Poodle I know seems to like all scrimers and always comes to
tell us how well he has done. At first, I thought it I was just the favoured
one. It turns out that he thinks we are just treat machines. Either way, it is
always good to see him.
 There
are also the handlers who want to engage you in conversation before the start of
the round, usually about the subject of 'I don’t think we will ever be ready.'
There are also those, who at the end of the round and between gasping for
breath, offer their thanks. It is appreciated, although I suspect it would be
better for them to get some oxygen into their lungs.
One other advantage of having fewer people
around seems to be that the important bond between judge and scrimer has become
stronger. It is important that the judge can trust the scrimer to record
decisions accurately and for the scrimer to understand clearly the
idiosyncrasies of the judge's marking style.
Thanks for letting me have my say - and to
the band of dedicated people who give up a day (or more) at a show to go into
social isolation as a scrimer, let us just say a big thank you.
One final plea, please don't sneak into the
ring tent and pinch all their sweets and biscuits. I know the sweets will be
unwrapped and well-handled and the biscuits will only be bourbons and custard
creams, but these small pleasures are important to us.
 About
the author...
Alan Waddington and his wife spend part
of the year in Spain and the rest in the UK. This year they came back to the UK
two weeks in time for the outdoor season!
He qualified as a judge a few years back and
was busy on the Northern Circuit until health issues meant he could not do a
full day. He has been known to judge in Spain, however, where there is only a
quarter of the dogs we would judge in the UK.
In the UK he does 'sitting down' jobs,
usually scriming.
Photos kindly supplied by Agility Plaza
First published 10th April 2020
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