Today is the
Dog Agility Bloggers Action Day and the topic we dog agility bloggers have been given is "Improving Agility Organizations".
I only participate in one agility venue, and that's NADAC. In Montana, there is only NADAC and AKC (and maybe 1-2 TDAA), and there are far fewer AKC agility trials than there are NADAC trials.
I guess I should give you fair warning that here begins a mini rant...
My choice to not participate
in AKC has nothing to do with agility and everything to do with AKC as a
whole. I don't, and won't, support the AKC. I would really enjoy participating in AKC agility...their courses look fun and I know my dogs would be thrilled to try different fun like lure
coursing. But I won’t. I feel that if I participate in any AKC sport, I’m condoning other AKC
practices that disgust me. The
primary practices I can't stomach are 1) those related to setting breed standards with no
regard to function (resulting in mutant dogs with health problems, 2) encouraging
deformities that cause dogs to suffer health problems (i.e. brachycephaly, skin wrinkles, dwarfism, etc.), 3) breeding for color and allowing
double merle crosses (they don’t call it a lethal color for
nothing), and 4) surgically altering physical features for cosmetic reasons
(tail docking, toe cutting, ear cropping) all to make a dog “prettier”
in our eyes.
Those disgusting practices that have nothing to do with agility. But...until I can stomach ALL the practices of AKC, in everything they do and
not just in the sports I want to play in, they’ll never get one cent
from me.
End rant. Thanks...I feel better :)
Back to NADAC. I see many things that can be improved in NADAC...and some of them will cause me to start ranting again. So, I'll start with an innocuous one...we are overloaded with NADAC trials in Montana. Weird problem, right. But there are so many now that participation on any given weekend at any given NADAC trial is really poor. That's ridiculous. There are not many people in Montana...and obviously even fewer that participate in agility, much less NADAC agility...so how come we have so many trials? One of the rules NADAC has is that you can hold multiple trials in a weekend as long as those trials are no closer than 300 miles apart. Well that might be fine for places like California. But come on...this is Montana. I drive 90 miles just to do some real shopping and my closest agility trial (of either venue) is 110 miles from home. So, traveling 300 miles to attend an agility trial in Montana is nothing, and it's the norm here. When you have a NADAC trial in Missoula the same weekend you have one in Red Lodge (a mere 350 miles apart), then people are split between the two and participation at both trials is really, really, really small. Clubs are barely breaking even, much less making any money. I think NADAC needs to reconsider this rule to account for where their trials are being held and how many people in that (and surrounding) states are actually likely to attend each trial, instead of having this across the board rule.
NADAC prides itself on safety...but if they continue to make this venue any "safer" we will end up without anything but running over bars flat on the ground! NADAC seems to take the 'ridiculous' approach to safety. Hoops instead of jumps, forcing dogs over the age of 8yrs old to take one (if not two) jump height reductions (24" dogs 'jumping' 12" jumps), gates, and the latest and greatest is using barrels to do a 360' wrap instead of a jump, hoop or a tunnel. Sigh. I enjoy a good handling and distance challenge, and NADAC is a venue that requires both. But with the way things are going, you could hardly call it "agility" anymore. I enjoy using gates and barrels to fine tune my handling in practice and training...Holly enjoys figure-8 barrel races...but I don't want to PAY to play with them as part of an agility competition.
 |
| Holly wraps a NADAC Barrel |
In my opinion, part of the problem...okay, maybe the entire problem...is because NADAC is run by one person. There are no committees, no discussion, no differing opinions, no asking the members of NADAC for their opinions and suggestions on rule changes, and no set dates each year that people can expect rules to be updated or changed by. One person decides what the rules are and changes them whenever she feels like it or the mood strikes her. It's frustrating. There are so many rule changes so many times each year that unless you are a NADAC junkie you can't keep up. Their rulebook/handbook is always out of date as a result.
And then there are the weird decisions (pick a topic, any topic!) that are made. They will be announced, the cronies will think it's awesome (they think everything NADAC is awesome though), other people will protest, she'll get defensive about the protests and then come up with even weirder reasons on why those decisions were made. Sometimes she'll just up and throw them out cause she got pissed off that she was being challenged...then she'll blame that it on us...saying that people hate change and that we shouldn't be a bunch of haters. Well, honestly. If you change the rules all the time without telling us what those rule changes are going to be ahead of time...and heaven forbid you ask the NADAC competitors for suggestions or opinions...what do you expect?!
I believe that NADAC could benefit from having a committee that reviews changes, prior to there being any. And there should be just one or two FIXED dates per year where those changes...of which we would be notified of those changes ahead of time...would take place. And the rule book would be up to date. And there would be a list of changes that were instituted during each year.
I don't think I'll even mention the awards they give out...because they don't give them out. I requested one of Holly's awards TWO YEARS AGO and I still haven't received it. Why offer awards if your organization can't afford to buy them and mail them to your competitors?
I will end my ranting to say this...the folks that participate in NADAC in Montana are THE reason I continue playing in the venue. I don't have a competitive bone in my body...not against others and certainly not against myself (I have goals, but that's different). The people here are some of the most supportive folks I've ever met. There is always a kind word, a fun conversation or a pat on the back to be had for
every person at the trial. I go to these trials to lend a hand, socialize, catch up with people I haven't seen in awhile, cheer on other peoples successes, and have some fun playing and hanging with my girl. And for the most part, these people are there to do the same. I rarely see people visibly frustrated with themselves or their dogs, and so far I've rarely witnessed anything that even resembles unsportsmanlike conduct...much less people being a bunch of asshats in or out of the ring. I am truly grateful to be trialing among such a great group of people.
Holly has suffered injury after injury for 3 years running. I'm just happy we can still play the agility game at any level at all, much less care about Q's or being competitive. If you've experienced a dog with multiple muscle injuries and one that has gone through surgery to the point you're pretty sure you'll never play agility again (much less any dog sport) then you know how it feels. The Q's don't matter, and when you get one it feels like a gift. Having quality memories of the fun times we've had together...enough to last my lifetime long after my girls are gone...is what matters most.
Regardless of my NADAC opinions, I really am grateful to have a fun venue (yes I believe that NADAC is fun) that Holly and I can play in...even with all it's frustrations, quirks and weirdness. No venue is perfect. But what is?
