What is flyball?
Flyball races match two teams of four dogs each, racing side-by-side over a 51 foot long course. Each dog must run in relay fashion down the jumps, trigger a flyball box, releasing the ball, retrieve the ball, and return over the jumps. The next dog is released to run the course but can't cross the start/finish line until the previous dog has returned over all 4 jumps and reached the start/finish line. The first team to have all 4 dogs finish the course without error wins the heat. In NAFA, jump height is determined by the smallest dog on the team – this dog, called the "height dog", is measured at the withers, then that number is rounded down to the nearest inch and another 5" is subtracted to get the jump height (with the minimum jump height being 7"). So a 13 1/4" dog would round down to 13", minus 5", would jump 8". Maximum jump height is 14".
How to earn points in flyball:
Each time a team races in a NAFA sanctioned Flyball tournament, their dogs earn points based on the following:
- under 24 seconds: each dog racing in that heat receives 25 points towards a Flyball title
- under 28 seconds: each dog receives 5 points
- under 32 seconds: each dog receives 1 point
- under 24 seconds: each dog racing in that heat receives 25 points towards a Flyball title
- under 28 seconds: each dog receives 5 points
- under 32 seconds: each dog receives 1 point
Points needed to earn flyball titles:
20 Flyball Dog (FD) ............................................................................................. (includes certificate of achievement)
100 Flyball Dog Excellent (FDX) ......................................................... (includes certificate of achievement)
500 Flyball Dog Champion (FDCh) .......................................... (includes certificate of achievement)
1,000 Flyball Dog Champion-Silver (FDCh-S) ............. (includes certificate of achievement)
2,500 Flyball Dog Champion-Gold (FDCh-G) ............ (includes certificate of achievement)
5,000 Flyball Master (FM) ........................................................................ (includes certificate of achievement and commemorative pin)
10,000 Flyball Master Excellent (FMX) ................................... (includes certificate of achievement and commemorative pin)
15,000 Flyball Master Champion (FMCh) ......................... (includes certificate of achievement and commemorative pin)
20,000 ONYX ............................................................................................................ (includes commemorative plaque and pin)
30,000 Flyball Grand Champion (FGDCh-30) ....... (includes Commemorative Plaque and Pin)
40,000 ..................................................................................................................................... Commemorative pin and plaque
50,000-90,000 ..................................................................................................... Commemorative pin and plate for 40k plaque
100,000 Hobbes Award .................................................................................. (includes commemorative pin and plaque)
Iron Dog Award:
This special award is given to dogs that have run in sanctioned tournaments for 10 consecutive years.
100 Flyball Dog Excellent (FDX) ......................................................... (includes certificate of achievement)
500 Flyball Dog Champion (FDCh) .......................................... (includes certificate of achievement)
1,000 Flyball Dog Champion-Silver (FDCh-S) ............. (includes certificate of achievement)
2,500 Flyball Dog Champion-Gold (FDCh-G) ............ (includes certificate of achievement)
5,000 Flyball Master (FM) ........................................................................ (includes certificate of achievement and commemorative pin)
10,000 Flyball Master Excellent (FMX) ................................... (includes certificate of achievement and commemorative pin)
15,000 Flyball Master Champion (FMCh) ......................... (includes certificate of achievement and commemorative pin)
20,000 ONYX ............................................................................................................ (includes commemorative plaque and pin)
30,000 Flyball Grand Champion (FGDCh-30) ....... (includes Commemorative Plaque and Pin)
40,000 ..................................................................................................................................... Commemorative pin and plaque
50,000-90,000 ..................................................................................................... Commemorative pin and plate for 40k plaque
100,000 Hobbes Award .................................................................................. (includes commemorative pin and plaque)
Iron Dog Award:
This special award is given to dogs that have run in sanctioned tournaments for 10 consecutive years.