NAFA ® News

Volume 1, Number 3, September 1995
The Official Newsletter of the North American Flyball Association
The NAFA News is published by North American Flyball Association (NAFA) as a means of formal communication between the Board and the individual competitors. It is published bi-monthly and distributed free of charge to all registered Delegates, Team Captains, and Officials. The information contained is intended for all competitors to see. Delegates are urged to copy or post the NAFA News for all their team members to read.

Articles of a broader interest to Flyball enthusiasts are published in The Finish Line.

Copyright © 1995 by NAFA. Contents may be reproduced for use by members of teams associated with NAFA. Others may reproduce providing credit is given to NAFA.

In this Issue

Highlights of NAFA Board Meeting in Houston

Houston, TX, July 14, 1995.

The NAFA Board met over a two day period in Houston. Clyde Moore reported that NAFA Pins and Flyers are ready. Clyde also reported that the NAFA News will be published every other month with at least tournament listings and points. Melanie Davidson reported that 518 CRNs have been issued to date in 1995. The Board is still trying to get the word "Flyball" registered as a trade mark as well as "World Flyball Association" and "NAFA Flyball".

Three new head judges were approved by the Board. Please welcome Cindy Lautinville, Daryl West and Barry Freeman to the judges ranks. Three inactive judges were removed from the list, Brenda Juskow, Giselle Nowcan and Wallace White. Doug Chalmers and Bob Murray received approval as provisional judges. Inactive judges are to be identified and removed from the judges list.

Bob Murray and Clyde Moore both expressed concern about the lack of care given to the Electronic Judging Systems. At present there is one set in Canada and one in the US. NAFA would like to have a third set approved for cross-border use.

Call for nominations: three Board of Director positions come open this fall. A nominating committee is being established. A direct mailing will be made to delegates seeking nominations.

The rest of the meeting dealt with some discipline issues and some administrative matters relating to dog measuring that have been covered in a direct mailing to all delegates and judges.

Words From the Board Chairman

by Bob Murray

I'd like to congratulate the teams that are holding tournaments for the first time this year. As you are aware, there are more tournaments than ever.

All the new tournaments I have attended plus the reports that I have had from others I could not attend, indicate that the teams have done excellent jobs while the established tournaments just seem to improve every year.

As our sport grows, we come more and more into the public's eye. Flyball competitions have been seen on national television, at half-time shows at pro football and basketball games, and at many charity and community events. My concern in these fast moving times, is that we continue display good sportsmanship while we compete and more importantly, we project a positive image of the sport of Flyball through the appearance of our dogs, the way we handle and care for them, and our own appearance and behavior in the ring.

Let's all show good spirits to our team mates, competitors, and dogs.

P.S. There is no rule against a smile, or social chat with our judges at the appropriate time.

Thank you,
Bob.

Tournament Sanctioning

Please Note

All tournaments must be sanctioned by the Executive Director

Send Applications to hold a Tournament to:

Unlimited: 60 days before closing.
Limited: 120 days before closing.

Announcing a new FAX # for Clyde Moore: 810-686-ONYX

Executive Director's Corner

by Clyde Moore

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who handles the Electronic Judging System, and does so with great care and appreciation for its value and importance to other users.

Accidents can and will happen. When these occur, we would appreciate knowing about them before the next tournament director unpacks them to find them damaged as has happened in the past. No system can work week after week, without receiving continued care and maintenance on the road.

Every user should check it for loose connections and clean it before you pack it away. You should also check the system out when you receive it to make sure it has not been damaged in shipment. Many thanks to Steve McAvoy for replacing a piece of Plexiglas and putting a coat of paint on the system while it was in his possession.

Now I would like to clear up the confusion concerning certification as a NAFA approved Head Judge. The necessary steps are:

  1. Satisfactorily complete either:
    • A NAFA approved seminar or
    • An apprenticeship where one works at least one complete tournament division under a certified judge and is approved by said judge.
  2. After being approved in one of the above manners, the applicant will be considered a Provisional Judge. They will now have to judge three tournaments, judging a minimum of one division in each tournament. After completing this requirement, they should send a completed NAFA form C. 5 to the judges committee chairman (Dave Samuels). While waiting on the remaining steps, they are free to take other assignments.
  3. They will be interviewed and tested, either verbally or by means of a written exam, by a member of the Judges committee.
  4. A recommendation will then be made by the Judges Committee to the full Board of Directors who will vote on the applicant.

Competition Racing Numbers

by John Cocking

Melanie Davidson is NAFA's Satistician. Among the many duties that go with this position is the task of assigning CRN's to dogs. Melanie advises that given the way our mail services sometimes operate, mail may takes up to 10 days to travel. Please keep this in mind when requesting a CRN. Allow at least 4 weeks for mail and processing. Melanie now has direct access to the new NAFA mail box in Mount Hope, but please, still allow 4 weeks.

NAFA rules require that all Flyball dogs have a CRN. The CRN belongs to a dog for life. Don't register a young pup until you are sure you are going enter it in a tournament. But, once you are sure that the dog has what it takes to compete, get that application for a CRN into Melanie. The cost of registration is a one-time fee of $15 (US). This fee is not refundable. Remember, a CRN belongs to the dog for life. If you change teams, send Melanie a note telling her what team you are now with. A CRN cannot be transferred to another dog. CRNs were introduced to finance the building and transportation of the Electronic Judging Systems that have done so much to improve the sport of Flyball.

What's in a Name?

by Sue Borup

With the growth of the sport of Flyball the need to clarify the appropriate usage of the words Flyball and NAFA has become an increasingly important task of the board of Directors. Both Flyball and NAFA are trademarked designations that refer specifically to the sport of Flyball as defined by the rules and regulations set out by the North American Flyball Association. In order to protect the trademark rights to these terms, it is imperative that the word Flyball be used as an adjective and not as a noun, e.g. the sport of Flyball vs. just "flyball". The terms Flyball Tournament, Flyball dog or Competition of Flyball would also be acceptable examples of proper usage. In addition, a superscript "TM" must appear after the words Flyball and NAFA in any printed materials. Any other usage of the words is a violation of the trademark. If any NAFA member wishes to use either the term Flyball or NAFA in a fund raising capacity on T-shirts, sweat shirts, and so forth, they also must contact the North American Flyball Association for permission to do so.

While the examples above may seem like a minor difference in the usage of the word, the long term effect of improper use would be to render the word Flyball a generic term for a potential multitude of sports and games. In some cases, variations might be considered minor and relatively harmless, while others may bear little resemblance to what all of us in the sport of Flyball have worked so hard to build. Without the consistent application of the rules that protect our trademark, we would have no control over what someone decided to call "flyball". We feel that it is in the best long term interest of the sport that we maintain that control so that we are not ultimately faced with a term like "football" that has to be further defined as either "American Football" or "Canadian Football", or even "soccer" (Association Football).

Flyball News on the Internet

by John Cocking

Some Flyball enthusiasts, including several of the Board Members, subscribe to an Internet Mailing List devoted to Flyball issues. To subscribe, visit http://flyballdogs.com/email-list.html.

There are about 150 subscribers to the Flyball mail list.

There is also a site on the World Wide Web devoted to information on the sport of Flyball at: http://www.flyballdogs.com/

The existence of these Internet services makes it possible for NAFA to keep in touch with people interested in Flyball competition from around the world. Recently contact has been made with a group in Belgium who are keen to start Flyball competition in that country and throughout Europe.

(These Internet services are graciously and voluntarily provided by Kathryn Hogg. While Kathryn provides a service of the highest quality, the contents of the mail list and the WWW site represent the views of the individual contributors. They do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of NAFA).

Call for Nominations

Each year, three of the 9 board member positions become open. Nominations for people to fill these positions are now being sought. Each position will be for a three year term.

The Board of Directors meets about 4 times a year. Recently the Board has been trying to meet in different centres of Flyball interest. Travel expenses are partially covered by NAFA. In between regular meetings, the Board members consult by telephone conference calls. Each member is expected to serve on one of the NAFA committees. (see previous page).

Anyone interested in Flyball competition may offer themselves as a candidate for election.

Candidates should submit a resume no longer than 250 words (about half a type-written page). Nominations should be mailed to:

Nominations close on September 30, 1995. Official ballots will be mailed to all delegates. The ballots will be counted, and the results announced at the NAFA Annual General Meeting in Brooklyn Park MN, on November 11.

The Final Word

by Steve McAvoy

In this new column I would like to clarify the Rules of Racing. Also, if you have any questions about any rules, please mail them to the NAFA address, c/o Regulatory Committee Chairman, and they will be answered in this column.

This issue, I would like to address Rule 6.16(b), The run. The last sentence of this paragraph reads:

"If the handler's feet crosses the start/finish line during his/her dog's run, the dog must run again (with the exception of setting up a knocked down jump, or retrieving a loose ball)".

I would like to remind everyone that the start/finish line extends across the running area. This includes the area between the racing lanes, and between the lanes and the line judge. If a handler were to cross the start/finish line at any point during the run, it would be a violation, and the dog would have to run again.

Until next time, happy racing!

Steve McAvoy, Regulatory Committee Chairman.