Looking back on some posts from this time last year. Apparently we had a run of lovely sunny weather then as well, which is weird, I somehow remember it being later in the year. On the other hand, it doesn’t really seem like that long ago, I can remember exactly where I was stood as I took the photos, and every detail of the flyball and the walks.
I found this little bit on flyball points tucked away in one of those posts. Although my opinions on a lot of things have shifted and changed, my feelings on points haven’t. Seems timely to repeat it, one year on, as Dylan should get his FD-Silver this weekend.
The flyballers have exploded everywhere with their opinion on points, and I’m pretty amused reading them. I love points, I think it’s really nice to have these records of the time, energy and dedication your dog has put in. Of course my dogs don’t care, but if we’re going to use that argument, we might as well not bother with seed-times, divisions, tournaments or rosettes either. I know a lot of people are arguing that only fast dogs are rewarded with awards, but that’s up to you, surely? Kim’s Silver Award will always mean more to me than Dylan’s, because I know how hard we had to work to reach it. Dylan’s will be easy, he’ll probably get his by the end of the year. When your Bulldog gets his FD, be proud of it and stop comparing him to the Whippet on your top team who has just got his eleventy-billionth point.
When you get down to basics, flyball is about speed. It’s a race, fastest team wins. If you choose to own dogs who are not conformationally able to run all that fast, that’s your choice, and you’ll have to accept that you are unlikely to get as many points as one that is, just like you’ll have to accept that you aren’t going to be running in Div 1 at the Champs.
Original Post: March 28th 2010
Dylan did get his by the end of 2010, just. That was my goal … although goal sounds very serious, and it was always a bit of a silly intention, just because it means he has got an award for every year he’s been flyballing (3 in 2009). I like patterns. I’d like him to get his Gold this year, just so he can have one in 2011, but I think we might miss out, 5000pts a year is a little bit much for the amount of flyball we do.