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HOW IT STARTED: Flyball is a team sport for dogs that was invented in California in the late 1970s. Flyball is a direct decendant of scent hurdling, which is still played in Canada today. It is believed that Herbert Wagner first introduced flyball on the Johnny Carson Show to millions of Americans. Soon afterward, dog trainers and dog clubs were making and using Flyball boxes. In the early 1980s, the sport became so popular that the North American Flyball Association (NAFA) was formed to be the authority for flyball in the USA, Canada, & Mexico. Today, the British Flyball Association (BFA); along with Flyball associations in Belgium (BFF), Australia/New Zealand (AFA), & Finland (FFA); has joined NAFA in the Flyball regulators' ranks to govern Flyball around the world. For more information on the history of this great sport, go to the Flyball History page on the web. |
HOW IT'S PLAYED: Flyball is a relay race with 4 dogs on each team. The course consists of a starting line, four hurdles spaced 10 feet apart, and a mechanical box. The first hurdle is six (6) feet from the start line for an overall length of 51 feet. The first dog jumps the hurdles and steps on the spring loaded box that shoots a tennis ball out. The dog catches it and runs back over the 4 hurdles. When the first dog crosses the starting line the next dog goes. The first team to have all 4 dogs run without errors wins the heat. Tournaments are usually organized in either a double elimination or round robin format. Double elimination is usually the best of three (3) or best of five (5). Round robin is usually best three (3) out of five (5). Each team receives a point for each heat won. The first team to win the majority of heats in the race gains a point for that race as well. The hurdle heights are dependent on the height of the dogs in the team - 4" below the shoulder height of the shortest dog. The minimum height is 8"; maximum height is 16". |
| HOW TITLES ARE EARNED: Flyball Titles are earned according to points accumulated during a tournament. Points are earned according to the teams' racing time: 28-31.99 sec. = 1 point per dog 24-27.99 sec. = 5 points per dog Under 24 sec. = 25 points per dog Titles earned and their point values are: FD - Flyball Dog (20 pts.) FDX - Flyball Dog Excellent (100 pts.) FDCh - Flyball Dog Champion (500 pts.) FDCh-S - Flyball Dog Champion Silver (1,000 pts.) FDCh-G - Flyball Dog Champion Gold (2,500 pts.) FM - Flyball Master (5,000 pts.) FMX - Flyball Master Excellent (10,000 pts.) FMCh - Flyball Master Champion (15,000 pts.) ONYX - Onyx Award (20,000pts.) FGDCh - Flyball Grand Champion (30,000 pts.) FGDCh-40 - Flyball Grand Champion (40,000 pts.) FGDCh-50 - Flyball Grand Champion (50,000 pts.) FGDCh-60 - Flyball Grand Champion (60,000 pts.) FGDCh-70 - Flyball Grand Champion (70,000 pts.) FGDCh-80 - Flyball Grand Champion (80,000 pts.) FGDCh-90 - Flyball Grand Champion (90,000 pts.) HOBBES - Hobbes Award (100,000 pts.) |
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