Sit. Stay. Watch. Dalton hosts two days of canine races

Atlanta flyball team brings dog relay races to Convention Center

August 18, 2016 at 1:00 a.m. | Updated August 16, 2016 at 10:05 p.m.

by Staff Report

In flyball competition, teams of four dogs run a relay to score the fastest time on a 51-foot course with four hurdles placed 10 feet apart. Each dog on the team must run down the course, clear the jumps, trigger a flyball box to release the ball, retrieve the ball and return back down the course over the jumps to the start line.
In flyball competition, teams of four dogs run a relay to score the fastest time on a 51-foot course with four hurdles placed 10 feet apart. Each dog on the team must run down the course, clear the jumps, trigger a flyball box to release the ball, retrieve the ball and return back down the course over the jumps to the start line.

If you go

› What: Barkam Asylum Flyball Tournament.› When: 7:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, 7 a.m. to race conclusion Sunday.› Where: Dalton Convention Center, 2211 Dug Gap Battle Road, Dalton,Ga.› Admission: Free for spectators.› Website: www.lunaticfringeflyball.com.

Double-dog dare you to race one of the canines competing Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 20-21, at the flyball races in Dalton, Ga.

Atlanta flyball team Barkam Asylum is hosting a flyball tournament - billed as "Dogs Running Really Fast" - in Dalton Convention Center this weekend. A total of 186 canine races will be run over two days at this North American Flyball Association-sanctioned event.

Flyball is a dog sport in which teams of four dogs run a relay to score the fastest course time. The 51-foot course includes four hurdles placed 10 feet apart from each other. The hurdles' height is determined by the shoulder height of the smallest dog on the team.

Flyball matches two teams at a time, with dogs racing side-by-side in each heat. Each dog on the four-canine team must run down the course, clearing the jumps, trigger a flyball box to release the ball, retrieve the ball and return back down the course over the jumps to the start line. The next dog is released to run but can't leave until the previous dog has returned to the start/finish line. The first team to have all four dogs finish the course without error wins.

The first flyball tournament was held in 1983. The North American Flyball Association formed in 1985 with 12 teams to standardize tournament rules; now there are more than 700 registered flyball clubs with over 16,000 competitive canines. Tournaments are divided into divisions so that teams of similar dogs compete against each other.

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