BaileySports: Disc Dog Events

Ashley Whippet Invitational World Championship Finals

2008-11-02T13:05:00.000-08:00

The finals of the Ashley Whippet World Championships took place in a Park that is part of Knott's Berry Farm (Not actually in the amusement park). The field was set from Day #1 which took place in La Mirada. There were 15 competitor teams here to duke it out for the title of Ashley Whippet World Champion! Eight of the teams were from Japan, including two time defending champion Ishida Yoshihiro and Rusty. There were also a number of repeat visitors from the last two years as well. One of my favorite teams is Makoto Koshimizu and Black Labrador "Force". This dogs simply FLIES!!!

Also amongst the talent laden field of disc dogging teams were 7 US teams, three of which were from right here in Southern California. Al Erikson made a statement this year, that practice, practice, practice DOES PAY OFF! And that little dogs rock! He put BOTH of his lil pooches, George and Gracie, into the finals. So that's two of our SoCal representation... Who's the third???

Todd Murnan and Bella rocked onto the national, and international, disc dog scene in just their 1st season of competition. Yes I said first season. I first saw Todd and Bella at the Crusty Classic last year when they took 2nd place in the Intermediate Freestyle Division, behind another hard charging new team of Kirby and Sketch. They have come quite a way in just a year!

Lawrence Frederick and his two amazing pups, Easy Rider & Harley grabbed two of the other spots, Matt Diano & Maggie, and Chris Sexton & Banzai rounded out the American representation. These three handlers are some of the BEST the US has to offer!

The event format would be two rounds of of Freestyle, separated by a round of Toss & Fetch.

After the first round of Freestyle and Toss & Fetch

Lawrence Frederick sat atop the leaderboard with Harley Davidson, and was threatening with Easy Rider in 4th place. The only other US team in the top 6 was Todd Murnan and Bella! Al Erikson was sitting in 13th and 15th due to a couple hiccups in the Toss & Fetch round. There was NO ROOM FOR ERROR in this group.

In the final round, team after team came out and gave great performance after great performance. It was so rough that Todd, in 6th place, had one of his better routines, but still fell a spot to 7th place (in actuality, while his routine was spectacular, Bella did bail on at least two vaults, which I think may have cost him). Al Erikson and George went out and did a near flawless routine, which moved them from 13th to 12th. But, with this much talent, there was not going to be any big jumps.

When it was all said and done we had a champion...

2008 AWI World Champions:

** LAWRENCE FREDERICK AND HARLEY DAVIDSON **

1st Lawrence Frederick & Harley 198.50 Gold Medal + $1500
2nd Yoshihiro Ishida & Rusty 193.00 Silver Medal + $750
3rd Kouchi Nanba & Rey 190.00 Bronze Medal + $500
4th Lawrence Frederick & Easy Rider 189.00
5th Kazunori Chiba & Gaia 181.84
6th Masao Kashiwa & Ginji 181.50
7th Todd Murnan & Bella 180.16
8th Takayuki Muranaka & Ken 176.84
9th Hiroaki Kuroda & Feel 176.82
10th Chris Sexton & Banzai 176.50
11th Makoto Koshimizu & Force 175.32
12th Al Erikson & George 173.34
13th Matt DiAno & Maggie 172.50
14th Kozuhiro Takaki & KU 161.18
15th Al Erikson & Gracie 160.34

Lawrence's acceptance speech was heartfelt and sincere. He shed a few tears, and asked his wife to come up and share the moment with him. He thank her for all her support, and said to her, "I Love You!"

Looking forward to next year!

Thanks to Alex Stein for having, as Todd calls them, Ball o Brass and taking his pooch out onto the field in Dodger Stadium in front of a National audience and starting the world of Disc Dogging. But more thanx goes out to Ashley Whippet for being a brave and loyal pooch. And for staying healthy and unhurt during the days that followed until she was reunited with Mr. Stein.

Thanx to Hero for sponsoring a great end of year tradition, and to Chris Sexton who always manages to land the speaking roles at these gigs.

And of course to the judges and staff. The few names I have off the top of my head are Jim Safford, Ed Jab (his name is too long), and Chuck Middleton.

Ashley Whippet Invitational World Championships Day#1

2008-11-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

Well Day #1 is in the books! It was a lot of fun, the weather was great, and the performers were ALL on their game!

The teams from Japan, as expected, all showed why the trip half-way around the world was warranted. These teams bring the added dimension of showmanship to the sport, framing amazing tricks with well choreographed intricate moves, and athleticism. Showmanship hasn't always been appreciated in the world of disc dogging, as some of the old schoolers considered it a a detraction from the real athlete, the flying pooch. But as the sport evolves, new and exciting elements need to be developed else the danger of stagnation faces the sport. So these incredible teams from abroad are re-introducing this aspect to the sport. The key is to do it as a team aspect between human and canine. And the Japanese teams are doing this to perfection.

But don't get me wrong, we have some top-notch performers here in the birthplace of the sport.

Lawrence Frederick was wowing spectators and competitors alike with his unique tricks, and amazing disc handling skills. To watch that frisbee flip this way and that, in his hands, before each release showed the level of intricate detail that can be achieved simply in the act of releasing a disc.

From Southern California we had some serious representation as Al Erikson not only achieved a spot in the finals, he snatched two spots of the 15 with both his pups, Gracie & George! They were consistent, and very good, through each and every round on Saturday.

And then there is the current California State Champion team of Todd & Bella who, even on a day that wasn't their best, managed to hang on to the 15th and final spot after the first freestyle round. Then moved up to 13th spot after a stellar 16 point T & F round at the cut, then move up to 12th place after the final freestyle. But on the final day, the slate is cleared and they all start fresh, so what out for these guys!!!

If you check out the AWI website they have Todd listed in 14th place. But as you can see on the sheet they posted, pictured below, at the end of the event was a bit different. Obviously an error was made somewhere.

And of course, this is Bailey's website afterall, there is the matter of how Bailey and I did. Well, we had a decent freestyle round that I felt good about. We got a lot of good feedback too. So when we ended up in 20th place, I was a little surprised. But after watching video of the routine, I understand our placement. The routine is a little low on energy, and not as flowing as it should be. Bailey and I learned a LOT this weekend, and if he's up for it, we're going to try some new tricks next year. Looking forward to another year of disc dogging!

Here are the results from Saturday (Remember, the slate gets wiped clean for Sunday's Final):

Crusty Classic California State Championships - Livermore, CA

2008-10-18T16:52:00.000-07:00

The Crusty Classic, held in Livermore California this year and sponsored by DiscDoGG (Disc Dogs of the Golden Gate) was a great event! Beautiful weather, a great venue, and terrific performances all combined in making this ANOTHER memorable Crusty Classic.

My sore little boy Bailey was amazing during the Crusty Classic! He ran, jumped, and flipped while catching discs left and right as if he were a two year old pup! He showed no signs of the discomfort that has plagued him this season. At least some part of it is due to my learning of how to maximize his performance and fun by properly managing his activity throughout the day.

When the results are officially posted I will give more details (the results help me remember who did what). Anyway, Bailey managed 5th place on both days! And 4th overall for the weekend!!! And if his partner, "Dead Arm Joel", had any skill at throwing the disc he could have finished as high as 2nd on day 1, and first on day 2. That's why I am so proud of the freestyle performances my big 74 pound labby turned in on both days.

On Day #1 Bailey flipped, snatched, and thundered to the 4th best scored (as to if it was actually the 4th best, everyone has their own opinion, and should!) routine of the day! All he needed now was for his pops to through level and far in the toss and fetch.

"Joel and Bailey, you are next up!!!"

We approach the line. Bailey is as excited as he has been for a competition in years. "Ready... Go!" And away Bailey goes! And away the frisbee goes out of Joel's hand! Right... Into the grass, not more then 20 yards away. UGH! Bailey, still smiling away, happily retrieves the disc. Looks up at me, and communicates, "Go on dad, you can do it! I'll go get it!". :-) And that's what he did. We were still able to get 4 catches (5 throws!) in for the round and post one of the better T & F scores of the day. I don't remember the last time Bailey was able to chase down 5 toss in a T & F round. But, alas, we fell 1 place in the rankings. And we were out of 2nd by about 3 points. One TOSS. The TOSS I threw into the ground. :-) Oh well, Bailey didn't make me feel bad about it for a moment.

But the stars of Saturday were definitely Todd and Bella! They Clobbered the competition with a high flying Freestyle routine that just had you saying, wow... wow... over and over again. Jake, down from Washington, had the only routine that was comparable on this first day. But then Todd and Bella took to the Toss & Fetch field. It was clear at that point that this was no longer a contest. Todd & Bella scored, I believe, 17 points! I'll give more details when the results are posted. I can't remember what was a Sunday happening or a Saturday happening, right now.

On Day #2 I was simply hoping Bailey and I could come close to our freestyle performance of Saturday so that we could redeem ourselves in the Bullseye round.

Bullseye is a competition where you score points by having your dog land in the highest scoring zone. The field is setup similar to a dart board, with the highest value and smallest size zone, called the Bullseye zone, being directly in the middle. The middle zone is worth 5 points. The next zone, and second smallest zone, encircles the Bullseye zone and is worth 3 points. The final zone is the largest and least valuable and this encircles the middle zone. You get 1 point for landing in this zone. Each team gets a total of 3 throws. 15 is the maximum score.

Not only do we come close to our Day #1 performace, we eclipse it with a higher score, and end up with the 3rd best freestyle routine of the day!!! All those exclamation points are a result of this being very unfamiliar ground for me and my pup. We work hard to do a lot with a little, and it's nice to see it pay off every once in a while.

But this day the Freestyle honors went to Josh. He and his pup were just amazing. They hit practically every trick, and each of their maneuvers were worthy of chin touching ground!

The Bullseye round was brutal on everyone. The only person to seemingly have a handle on the event was Steve Teer. He stepped up and hit back to back bullseyes on his first two throws. One more and he can only move up from his second place standing. A perfect throw, right in the bullseye zone. But for some reason Irish just can't hang on. WOW! Still a fantastic round.

As the day goes on, no one else is able to duplicate the feat of two bullseyes.

I notice everyone having a hard time with the tail wind and I get the brilliant idea of throwing into the wind. Mind you, NO ONE ELSE had this wonderful idea. I should have THUNK twice. My first toss gets caught in the wind and flies high! At the last second Bailey snatches it centimeters from the ground for 1 point. Now I'm questioning my judgement. But I've started, have to finish now. My next throwing flies out great! Right on target, and Bailey snatchs it in the Bullseye! Ok... Ok... Maybe I can salvage this round. Another Bullseye and it ain't so bad. So I stop Bailey, and I wait for the wind to die down. Sitting there.... Waiting... Bailey's anticipation growing with each second. The wind subsides just a little, I say, "Go!" And go he does, he turns and flies off! You should know, the bullseye is only 25 yards away, speed is not a requirement here. But Bailey is so excited that he doesn't sees the disc floating over the Bullseye, until it's too late.

Oh well... No redemption.

We are definitely looking forward to giving it a shot at the Ashley Whippet World Championships at the end of this month. Pictures and full results to come soon...

Quadruped / Colorado Canine Challenge - Denver, CO

2008-08-17T01:11:00.000-07:00

The Quadruped. For those that know of this event... nuff said. For those who don't, this competition is more than just a long distance competition. It is one of the longest running competitions in the sport of Disc Dog.

Yes, the object of the competition is to throw long. But only as long as is needed to make it to the next round. This means that strategy can play a big role in your overall performance giving even a mediocre arm a chance to win. The strategy must take into account, the order of throwers, the previous throws that are still in play, the wind, and most importantly... the psyche of your competitors.

Let me explain. The quadruped works by dividing the field into three heats. In each heat there rounds that eliminate players until there is only 1 player left in the heat. That player moves on to the finals. If there are enough competitors to have at least 4 teams in each heat then the first round eliminates all but 3 teams. The second round eliminates 1 team, so that only two are left, and then the last round determines the team that moves on to the finals.

Since there are three heats, three teams are selected in this manner to go to the finals. But the finals include 4 teams. The fourth team is chosen in a final round called the last chance qualifier. All the remaining teams, that did not make to to the finals yet, get three throws. The team with the longest single throw after all teams have made their attempts moves on to the finals (This is how I got into the finals last year).

This year all fingers were crossed for good weather following an extremely windy and soggy Saturday. Our prayers were answered as Denver treated us to a beautiful day. We had a mischievous little wind that kept changing directions, but it just added a little excitement, and never really blew very hard.

This year Jeff Hoot was keeping tally of an overall total for the Quadruped Series champion of the year. This included 3 competitions throughout the year. The title of Quadruped series champion attracted all the big arms from across the country who had a shot at the honor. This just meant that this year's Quad would be that much tougher with names like Nate Bednar, Matt Diano, Chris Sexton, Gary Duke, and John Troelstrup throwing their hats into the Denver Quadruped ring. I had no chance of repeating or topping my third place finish of last year... Well, only a small chance perhaps.

Too add to my trepidation was the site of arms like Jason Holland and Roo Yori flinging 90 yard practice tosses!!! Ugh! I don't throw 90 yards in my dreams.

Unfortunately I do not remember the makeup of each heat, nor the details of the drama. We'll just have to wait for the Hootster's play by play when it arrives on his site. I do remember the winners of the heats though, in no particular order:

Heat Winner: John Troelstrup & Rooster
Heat Winner: Roo Yori & Wallace
Heat Winner: Joel Zucker & Bailey (Yes, amazing ain't it?)

And the last chance qualifier winner: Gary Duke & Bayer, with the longest toss and catch of the day at 80.6 yards!!!

It was amazing seeing my boy Bailey hauling Labby butt after 50 and 60 yard tosses! He looked as good as he has ever looked out there! No signs of injury or discomfort.

So the final was set.

In the first round, Bailey chased down a throw of about 60 yards, Gary got about 59 yards, and John had Rooster snatch one at about 58 yards. Roo Yori, an arm that can throw 90+ yards, takes a seat as he and Wallace fail to connect on a major bomb and cannot eclipse the shortest throw of about 58 yards.

That leaves Joel Zucker & Bailey (me), Gary Duke & Bayer, and John Troelstrup & Rooster.

In the second round John Troelstrup gets off a throw in the mid 60s. I manage a nice toss to a flying Bailey in the low 60s with my second throw and I know its a good toss considering the wind conditions. Now it was time for a little strategy. I know I have about a minute for my last throw. Gary Duke is last to make his three throw attempts after me. With the wind changing the way it was, and seeming to be getting worse, I though I should just wait for the wind to pick up then forfeit my final throw and let Gary deal with the wind. Sure enough, the wind picked up, and I trotted off the field waving off my final throw to bewildered spectators. It came down to Gary Duke & Bayer vs the wind. Blam! Strikeout! (Actually, I don't remember if they struck out or not, but I think so)

It is down to Joel Zucker & Bailey (me) and John Troelstrup & Rooster.

Now John gets to choose whether he wants to go first or second for this last round. In this round, we will alternate throws for a total of three throws. It is ALWAYS an advantage to go second in this format, but with a little chiding from me, and a strong sense of justified self-confidence, John elects to go first and let me have the advantage.

I don't remember what both of our throws were for our first toss. But on the second of John's throws he uncorks a 77 yards BOMB! Ugh... Now I now my chances are pretty bleak at this point, but during practice I was getting them out to about 77 yards, so I knew it was possible. My boy Bailey tenses at the line, waiting for me to send him on out, I wait for the wind. GO! I let go my best throw of the day. Bailey races out there. Go get it Bailey, SNATCH! He catches it! YEAH! We wait for the distance. 67 YARDS! Wow, that was great! But still 10 yards short.

John takes his final throw, but does not eclipse the 77 yard BOMB. Then it is me and Bailey up at the line again. The last throw of the competition. I hear John in the background telling me to take my time. Wait for the wind (he was great, always supportive, and always wishing others to do their best). No one rushed me. We just sat out there, I don't know if it was 30 seconds or 5 minutes... I just soaked in the moment. This was great. Half a year ago I didn't know if Bailey would ever be able to compete again. Two months ago he almost died of a lung injury, and now we were standing here, everyone waiting with bated breath. Bailey panting with a HUGE smile on his face, just waiting for me to give him the GO!!! And away he went! I wanted to make this either the winning catch, or no catch at all. Nothing short of 77 yards was going to be satisfactory, so I put everything into the toss. And as usually happens when you try too hard, the throw was abysmal. ARGH! SO anti-climactic. But so thrilling all the same.

Bailey and I took 2nd Place at the 2nd Quad we have participated. Pretty darn cool!

John Troelstrup and Rooster not only took 1st place at the Denver Quadruped, but they also won the Quadruped Series Championship!

Congratulation John! And it was a pleasure to get to meet you and Rooster.

Jeff, thanx for another great Quadruped experience. Looking forward to 2009.

Men's Open Div.
1 John Troelstrup ROOSTER (77)
2 Joel Zucker BAILEY (67)
3 Gary Duke BAYER (80.6)
4 Roo Yori AJAX (72)
5 Chris Sexton BANZAI (70.5)
6 Matt DiAno MAGGIE (67.5)
7 Casey Whittwer ROO (67)
8 Jason Holland FLIPP (64-60)
9 Mark Jennings MOJO (64-58)
10 Nate Bednar MARCY (62)
11 Mark Brisse ZIPPER (58)
12 James Commuso STITCH (57)
13 Craig Rogers RIGGS (53)
14 Russ Green MARIAH (53)
15 Darell Earle NITRO NANA (51)
16 Larry Hotchkiss ORA

UFO Major / Colorado Canine Challenge - Denver, CO

2008-08-16T19:34:00.000-07:00

Or more appropriately, the SOGGY Canine Challenge.

Bailey and I made the two day trek through the Western United States, and through the
Rockies to compete in two of our favorite competitions of the year. The Colorado Canine Challenge and the Quadruped.

We arrived in a light rain the night before and wisely decided to visit the field before we retired to our hotel for the night. We luckily ran into Chris Sexton who was glumly looking over the field as we drove up. He told me that the powers that be for the park were probably going to nix our use of the field due to the rain. Being the seasoned architect of MANY competitions throughout the years Chris had already lined up a backup field, but final word of whether we would get to use the primary field wouldn't be delivered until the morning. Ripe for scheduling hell! But by making that little side trip I was able to locate a Walmart to buy a rain/wind breaker (I live in Southern California, what is rain???) and I was invited to a little pre-games dinner. That was a blast getting to spend a little time off the field with all the fine frisbee folk in Colorado and those that traveled from near and far to be there.

We woke Saturday morning to a frightening site, and sound. RAIN, LIGHTENING, and THUNDER! When I say RAIN, I really mean to say R.A.I.N.!!!! It was pouring. We all got to the field and tried to make the best of it all morning. Well, I forgot to mention. The field WAS changed and we had people trickling in all morning after finally figuring out where the event was. So we started the competition with the Novice and Intermediate teams trying Toss & Fetch in the pouring rain. But as the morning wore on, it only got worse, and the lightening started getting close. So, for the safety of all Chris decided to postpone things for a couple hours over lunch. He did some checking and the weather reports showed things were going to clear up soon.

Sure enough, the sun came out after lunch, and we were on our way! Totally drenched, but on our way. I MEAN, EVERYTHING I HAD WITH ME WAS SOAKED. Due to the confusion of the restarted event, I had NO IDEA I was coming up until I heard people saying, Joel! You're on! WHAT?!?! Gads!!! I ran onto the field, no shoes (didn't have time to put them on) and away we went. We posted a decent 30+ score, so I was happy. And we posted a not so great 11.5 Toss and Fetch round. This performance placed us in 13th place overall out of 40 teams. Not too bad. Despite all the craziness we still had a blast and enjoyed seeing all of our out of state disc brethren.

Someone who definitely did not enjoy the rain, nor the experience was Jeff Hill. He was miserable. I tried to tell him that last year was beautiful weather, and that this is not normal for this time of year, but he wanted nothing to do with excuses. I hope he changes his mind for next year.

Matt Diano stole the show, as he has been doing all year, with the two best freestyle rounds of the day and the second best Toss & Fetch round. The guy was a monster! Jane Brunton grabbed second with solid freestyle rounds and a Gigantic Toss & Fetch round of 17.5. Roo Yori & Wallace and Tracy Custer & Five were right behind Matt in the freestyle rounds, but poor Toss & Fetch scores of 5 and 2 respectively kept them out of the top two spots.

Complete Results

UFO Major / SoCal Disc Dog Challenge- La Mirada

2008-06-21T19:16:00.000-07:00

This was a HOT HOT HOT event. I'm not talking about the level of competition, nor any other aspect of this contest outside of temperature! It was 105 degrees, in the shade!

Unfortunately for me and Bailey, this was our first competition back since the ordeal in Arcadia. And to put it simply, it was just too darn hot for my big white wrecking machine to operate. So only entered the Intermediate division, and we only really played one round. Bailey looked good, but it was just not a fun environment for either of us to compete. So we didn't.

But the event still went on, and there were some phenomenal performances from a few of the competitors. We had representative from Northern California, Arizona, and as far away as Colorado.

Al erikson & George, once again, were the gold standard in the first freestyle round, followed closely by Todd & Bella, and Steve Teer & Irish. Matt Diano & Maggie established themselves as the team to beat in the Toss & Fetch round with a steaming 17 points. No one came within 5 points of that total. The, they calmly went out and proved they couldn't be beat with the best Freestyle score of the day in the second round of freestyle. Al Erikson hung on to second place despite a poor Toss & Fetch round by posting the second best score of the second round. Todd Murnan grabbed 3rd place with two solid freestyle scores and a decent Toss & Fetch score.

Since UFO posts Freestyle Champion and Toss & Fetch Champions as well in the Open class I'll mention:

Freestyle Champ: Al Erikson & George

Toss & Fetch Champ: Matt Diano & Maggie

Complete Results

UFO Local - Arcadia, CA

2008-04-05T18:43:00.000-07:00

This was probably one of the worst disc dogging competitions of my experience in the sport. Not because of the people, nor the venue, nor the weather. It was the worst, because afterwords, I did not know if Bailey and I could ever compete in disc dogging again.

I first noticed that there might be a problem when I was warming up with Bailey and trying to get a few pictures of him jumping over me. He kept running around me instead of jumping, and when he did jump, he was angling to jump over my legs only. I thought he might just be giving me a hard time and didn't take it too seriously at that point. We then walked onto the field for our routine. Bailey was barking and jumping like a crazed hound, his normal pre-routine behavior, as we prepared to begin. But from the very first backflip you could tell something wasn't quite right. I made a few tosses and he was just jogging around with no intensity on getting to the discs. His tail was straight down. I attempted one more setup, but he just bounced up and down in front of me making no attempt to start running, that's when I knew something was significantly wrong. I stopped the routine at that point and we walked off the field. The weird thing was that he really showed no other sign of discomfort. He walked fine, and when we tested all his parts, he showed no discomfort. But the display in freestyle made things very clear, there would be no more competition that day for my boy. And so we just watched the rest of the UFO Local from the sidelines.

The weather was great, and the field superb for a disc dogging competition. The turnout was a little light, but there were plenty of talented teams to make for a spirited competition.

Al Erikson (32.2), Bruce Brantley (31.1), and Chris Cabral (31.4) threw down the best freestyle routines of the day. Newcomer Cheryl Kamikubo also served notice that she was a team to be reckoned with with a solid 30.5 freestyle round. But Ron Cole came to the competition with a secret weapon, Arrow and his arm. Ron Cole posted a monster 18 points in his Toss & Fetch round to grab 1st place and 20 UFO World Cup points. Jeff Hill & Enzo also used a strong Toss and Fetch round of 15.5 to move up the leaderboard into 2nd place. Al Erikson hung on with both his dogs (George & Gracie) to snatch 3rd and 4th place.

Results:

Skyhoundz Local - Huntington Beach, CA

2008-03-15T17:18:00.000-07:00

The first competition of the year. And what a rough way to get things started.

The field was fantastic, and the temperature was perfect, except for the WIND CHILL! Winds were howling a constant 15 to 20 MPH with gusts in the 30s! The top Toss & Fetch score in the open division was 8.5 points! Ugly disc dogging day.

The top Toss & Fetch score turned in on the day was in the intermediate Division by Dave Rpsell & Cash with a score of 9.5 points.

Al Erikson managed to keep both his small pups from being blown away and grabbed 1st and 2nd place in the Open Division! Todd & Bella took 3rd place in very difficult conditions.

It was an honor to come in 4th after Al Erikson and Todd Murnan. Especially with a measly score of 6 points in Toss & Fetch.

Results:

1st Al Erikson & George (32.2x2+6.5=70.9) D2ISC
2nd Al Erikson & Gracie (30.1x2+8.5=68.7) D2ISC
3rd Todd Murnan & Bella (28x2+8.5=64.5) D2ISC
4th Joel Zucker & Bailey (27.7x2+6=61.4) D2ISC
5th Cheryl Kamikubo & Riley (30.5x2+0=61) D2ISC
6th Kirby McIlveen & Sketch (26.25x2+7=59.5) D2ISC
7th Jeff Hill & Enzo (26.8x2+0=53.6) D2ISC
8th Luis Marin & Boo (26.25x2+0=52.5) D2ISC
9th Pat Erikson & Roxy (25.25x2+1.5=52) D2ISC
10th Pat Wilkins & Sky (21.5x2+0=43) D2ISC
11th Jennifer Hill & Tooney (19.1x2+1=39.2) D2ISC
12th Sarina Marin & Pepper (19.35x2+0=38.7) D2ISC
13th Pat Wilkins & Abby (17.6x2+0=35.2) D2ISC
14th Jeff Hill & Sydney (16.8x2+0=33.6) D2ISC

CynoSports / AWI World Championships - Scottsdale, AZ

2007-11-04T15:59:00.000-08:00

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Alex Stein is renowned for his infamous visit to Dodger Stadium which ended up with him in Jail and his dog running through the hills around the stadium for a couple days. But in the middle of this seemingly tragic tale is the performance that launch the sport of Disc Dogging. Alex came to the ballpark, as thousands of other guests, with a ticket in hand and walked through the turnstyle. What made his entrance a little different was Ashley Whippet, his little hound, trailing behind him about 20 feet. The guard asked him if he knew the dog, and he shrugged and said nope. The dog just trotted on by the entrance into the park. After that Alex and Ashley played it low key as the game went on. I'm not sure if he bribed a guard or not, things were different back then, but when the 7th inning stretch Alex and Ashley jumped onto the field and wowed the crowd for about 7 minutes with 50 & 60 yard throws that Ashley would leap as high as 10 feet into the air to grab. Everyone was in awe, including the security guards who just sat and watched, not entirely sure if this was planned or not. This whole escapade was live and on National TV. The networks covered it as well, not turning away. And that is how the sport of disc dogs began.
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Tom Wehrli - Ashley Whippet Hall of Fame Inductee, & Ed Jakubowski - Ashley Whippet Hall of Fame Inductee.

The AWI involved 5 rounds of competition over two days.

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For this event Bailey and I had been working on a new routine, with the idea of adding a little bit of presentation to spice up our more horizontal influenced routine. You see, Bailey is a big hound in comparison to the rest of the competition. He weighs in anywhere from 69 pounds to 73 pounds. This is alot of dog to be flipping and flying through the air. And too much dog to have using me as a launching pad. So I design his routines to take advantage of his speed, drive, and catch consistency. This usually leave us a little short on some of the wow factor that can be achieved by flying 15 feet into the air, or being gracefully caught in mid-air. So to combat this, I choreographed a routine to the Swing hit from The Brian Setzer Orchestra "Jump Jive and Wail!" complete with slacks, suspenders, and a fedora hat. It really has seemed to help our scores and our appeal.
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After the first round of Freestyle, the Japan teams occupied 1st, 2nd, and 4th positions on the leader board! And a team from Germany was in 6th place. The US had only 2 teams in the top six slots. Chris Sexton & Banzai were in 3rd place and Steve Malmlov and Foster were in 5th place. It was amazing watching all these teams treat us to new twists on old tricks, and new tricks we had never seen before. The teams from Japan seemed to really work on their presentation, and it paid off!

Our routine wasn't quite up to snuff with the competition, but it got us close enough to make up ground with the Toss & Fetch.

The Toss and fetch round differentiates the one dimensional teams from the true champions. And the teams and the top 7 teams all showed they were there for the race. All top 7 teams scored double digits in their Toss & Fetch round. Only 1 of the top 8 teams failed to get double digits, and consequently that team fell out of the top 8. The best score in this round was 17.5 points, achieved by the first place team from Japan. WOW.

Bailey and I made our move during this round by scoring the second highest total of 16 points! This moved us firmly into the top 30 teams. In fact, we ended up around 20th place.

After the first round of Freestyle and Toss & Fetch the top 30 competitors advance to the second round of Freestyle and Toss & Catch.

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The second round of freestyle was pretty much a duplication of the first round scores, with the top contenders exchanging places, but no big surprises.

Bailey and I improved our scores slightly and managed to hang around the 20th place spot.

In the second round of Toss & Catch no one was able to beat the 17.5 posted in the first round. But two people did get 17. Our first place Japanese team Yoshihiro Ishida & Rusty, and Steve Malmlov & Foster!

Bailey and I disapointed in this round with a paltry 9 points. I later found out that I would have had to get an impossible 26 points to move into the top 12 spots. We finished in 29th place.

The top 8 competitors were taken to the final Freestyle round.

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The final round of freestyle was just a continued clinic by eventual champion Yoshihiro Ishida & Rusty. They dominated winning in the end by more than 12 points. The rest of the field was packed with Kouichi Nanba & Rey taking second and Chris Sexton & Banzai taking 3rd place. 3 of the top four spots were teams from Japan!

It was a great day and we are definitely looking forward to next year's competition.

Results:

CynoSports / FDDO - Scottsdale, AZ

2007-11-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

This is one of the biggest events of the year when we have 3 Disc Dog competitions happening ALL AT THE SAME TIME!

Part of the major appeal for this event is all the international flavor spicing up the cultural and competition menus! We have teams from Japan, Germany, The Netherlands, Canada, and elsewhere honoring the sport of Disc Dogging by traveling such great distances to compete. Its wonderful watching how these disc doggers from abroad, mostly new to the sport, have already transformed the game unto a new level of artistry, athleticism, and creativity! Watching, you can see how they have studied many of the American teams, but then they add twists from their own cultures. In many of the Japanese teams routines you can see a martial arts influence in the moves. To be honest, the first year we started seeing these teams in the US the judges were at a loss as to how exactly to judge these new moves. Disc dogging is not more about the human or the dog, it's about the teamwork and intertwining canine and human skill into a smooth flowing routine accentuating the canine's athleticism and the handler's skills. But early on, it was obvious that these new, and VERY TALENTED, disc dog teams were working out the balance as they would either focus too much on their own moves and throws (while spectators and their own dogs watched them), or they would focus too much on the dogs ability to fly high and far, over and over again.

But from what I have see on the internet, and heard, the balance has been struck! I'm writing this in 2008, looking forward to the AWI in La Mirada to see how these teams have progressed. In this, 2007 AWI, they were still working out the kinks, and still taking the top spots, as I will tell you below.

But one last comment on having so many disc dog teams from all over the United States, and around the world, is camaraderie and bonds that are built between people so different and from places so far apart. One tradition that is a blast is the trading and signing of Discs and buttons. Literally hundreds of different color and printed discs and buttons bartered back and forth. Everyone smiling, and everyone wanting each other to sign their discs.

The first of the competitions I'll talk about is the FDDO.

The Flying Disc Dog Open is a competition that tests both handler and dog in a variety of unique tests of skill and endurance. Teams compete in Freestyle, Obstacle Course, Speed Disc, and Long Distance.

1) Freestyle: Just as in any of the other competition formats, freestyle tests the creativity and choreography of the handler, the team work between canine and human, and the athleticism and drive of canine. For the most part, the non-US teams did not participate in the FDDO. That was a shame.

As expected, Roo Yori and Steve Mahmlov posted the highest first round freestyle scores. Not so expected was Robert Gutierrez and Zephyr also posting one of the top scores, even with a left hand in a cast.

Bailey and I posted another solid freestyle score keeping us within striking distance. We we're tied for 7th place.

2) Obstacle Course: This is definitely one of the most unique events presented to dis dogging teams! Each team must complete a series of 6 different obstacles attempting to score the maximum possible for each. Each obstacle has a scoring zone that the dog should end up catching the disc in. The obstacles are having to throw around a pole, having to skip the frisbee off the ground, throwing the frisbee through a hoop, throwing a disc through a tree of hoops, throwing the disc through a tunnel, and finally throwing the disc into one of six scoring zones.

Matt Merring, a terminator in Obstacle, threw the best round of 35 points! He also dominated the Match Play Obstacle event for a second year in a row (last year he came in second place), only to once again just fall short of the title as he got knocked out in the semi-final!

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The Match Play Obstacle event is a tournament style competition where each team advances through the matchups eventually becomming the last team standing. Mark Brisse and Gaby OWN this event! They have won two years straight. Quite a feat for this nerve wracking event format.
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Matt was followed closely by Darron Barrus & The Moo at 32 points, and two 31s turned in by Mark Brisse & Gaby and Matt Diano & Maggie.

Unfortunately Bailey and I didn't turn in a stellar obstacle round, but we posted a solid middle-of-the-pack 26. This event always frustrates me! I know we can do so much better!

3) Speed Disc: This event test strategy and skill as competitors must score in three designated zones, in ANY order they choose, as fast as they can. The strategy comes in with the fact that you have three discs, the dog only has to be behind the start line when you first start, and time stops when the final caught disc crosses the start finish line (not the dog). This allows competitors to choose from throwing multiple discs in the air at the same time, to sending their dogs to stand in a zone and throw right to the dog, to running out after the third catch and grabbing the frisbee from the dog and flinging it to the start finish line. As you can tell, lots of fun, and excitement.

You get points based on your overall time. less than 15.99 seconds gets you 10 points. from 16 to 20.99 seconds gets you 9.5 points, etc...

Matt Diano put down a solid run of 25.53 seconds grabbing 9 points, and the best time of the day. Al Erikson was right behind with a time of 27.53 for 8.5 points.

Bailey and I have a top time of 17 seconds in this event, but not on this day. We had a rough go of it and only scored 6 points.

4) Long Distance: In this event teams get up to three throws to register as long a throw as possible. Similar to the speed disc, you get a point value depending on what zone you can throw to, up to a maximum of 10 points (I think 50 yards max). The catch is you get whatever the value of your last throw is. So if you go out and score 8 points on your first throw, but try for more on your second throw and miss it, you are at zero and your third throw defines your score.

Decision making and strategy are very important in this event. 4 people scored a perfect 10 making the decision as to when to stop very easy. These were Darron Barrus, Al Erikson, Steve Mahmlov, and Mark Brisse.

Bailey and I scored a very respectable 9 points.

Final Freestyle:
Only the top 10 teams after these four events were complete were moved on to the final freestyle round.

These were the top 10 going into the final round:

1) Barrus, Darron & The Moo
2) Gutierrez, Robert & Zephyr
3) Diano, Matthew & Maggie
4) Yori, Roo & Wallace
5) Erikson, Al & Gracie
6) Zucker, Joel & Bailey
7) Erikson, Al & George
8) Brisse, Mark & Gabby
9) Malmlov, Steve & Foster
10) Meiring, Matt & Buckaroo

Yes! I was actually in 6th place. Pretty cool. But we had 1 more freestyle round to go. Well, suffice to say, we didn't have a very spectacular final freestyle round. In fact, it was downright awful. We fell from 6th to 9th place. Darron Barrus & the moo, Roo Yori & Wallace, and Steve Mahmlov & Foster were definitely the tops of the class. Matt Diano was right there as well. But along with all his other strong showing Matt managed to hang on to third while Roo & Wallace leap frogged into second. Robert Gutierrez put on a great show over the whole weekend, with an injured left hand and grabbed 4th place!

The FDDO Standings:

1) Barrus, Darron & The Moo
- Pro 44.1 10 32 8.5 37.75 88.25 132.35
2) Yori, Roo & Wallace
- Pro 44.8 9 33 3 38.5 83.5 128.3
3) Diano, Matthew & Maggie
- Pro 43.1 9 31 9 34.75 83.75 126.85
4) Gutierrez, Robert & Zephyr
- Pro 41.2 9 30 8 37 84 125.2
5) Erikson, Al & Gracie
- Pro 43.3 10 26 7 36 79 122.3
6) Erikson, Al & George
- Pro 41.5 9 23 8.5 36 76.5 118
7) Malmlov, Steve & Foster
- Pro 44 10 24 1 38.25 73.25 117.25
8) Brisse, Mark & Gabby
- Pro 40.7 10 31 0 34.5 75.5 116.2
9) Zucker, Joel & Bailey
- Pro 36.7 9 26 6 35.75 76.75 113.45
10) Meiring, Matt & Buckaroo
- Pro 38.5 0 35 5.5 30.25 70.75 109.25

Ashley Whippet Open Qualifier - Scottsdale, AZ

2007-11-02T21:05:00.000-07:00

Wow! I just love the CynoSports weekend in Scottsdale Arizona. This is the 3rd or 4th year in a row for me at this event, and every year the weather is perfect, and the people are fantastic.

This was the Open Qualifier, on the Friday before the weekend, for the Ashley Whippet World Championship. We weren't sure how many teams they were going to allow into the AWI on the weekend, so the stakes were high to do well on Friday.

We had teams from all over the United States, and all over the world taking part in the qualifier competition. Any team that is going to travel half way around the world, with their canines in tow, won't be making that kind of trip without top-notch talent and top of the heap goals. The teams from Germany, Japan, the Netherlands were spectacular in content and execution as everyone kept uttering WOWS, and GASPS at the new and exciting tricks being thrown down.

I guess I don't have to belabor the point that I felt just a bit overmatched. But we traveled out to Arizona to give it our best shot. And so we did!

After the first round of Freestyle, we were humbled by the performances we saw. The Japan teams sat in 1st and 2nd, Germany's Sabina Bruns was in 3rd, and Steve Mahmlov and Roo Yori held the Torch for the US grabbing 4th and 5th.

Bailey and I went out there and did our thing to Jump, Jive, and Wail and put together one of our better routines to settle in at 10th place (30 top-notch teams out there).

Then came the Toss & Fetch round was upon us. It was announced that only the top 6 teams after this round would advance to the final round of freestyle. Robert Gutierrez and Zephyr went out and threw down the BEST T&S round of the day with 17 points, and mind you, he did this with a left hand in a cast. But it wasn't enough to get them into the top 6th and they settled for 9th place. One of the Japan teams, Yoshihiro Ishida & Rusty tossed a great round of 16.5 point cementing them into the top spot going into the final round. Steve Mahmlov also stepped up with a 16.5 T&S round boosting him up into the 2nd position.

Bailey and I answered the call that day by posting the 3rd highest T&S round with a 15 which propelled us into the 6th Spot! We made it! Yahoo! But Roo Yori, sitting in 3rd place, wanted to save his dog going into the AWI World Championships the next day and scratch which moved Bailey and I into the 5th position!

The second round of freestyle proved even better for Bailey and I as far as performance goes, and we improved on our first round score! But the quality of competition at this point was just to much for us, and we ended up falling to 6th place. But our freestyle score was very respectable, and in the ballpark with all the others.

All in all, a very exciting day for us, and another proud day for my Bailey boy.

Lancaster- Crusty Classic

2007-10-06T17:27:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend and lots of fun! It was part of the Bark at the Park festivities in Lancaster this year (we alternate between venues in NoCal and SoCal each year). The dog festival had all kinds of doggie events going on in conjunction with our Disc Dog competition. Doggie Dock Diving, doggie supply vendors, dog trick performances, Homeland Security canine bomb sniffing demonstrations, where I was the target bomb toter (they actually planted about a pound worth of explosives on me.... I was walking around very gingerly until the dogs targeted me as the threat), and lots of other fun activities.

The dog competition is called the Crusty Classic in honor of a beloved disc dogger who died a few years ago, Steve "Crusty" Walsh.

Well, before I tell you the results, let me just give you a quick rundown of this year with Bailey. Late last year and early this year I noticed Bailey slowing down a little bit after long naps or periods of inactivity. It seems the toll of being a high caliber athlete was finally starting to wear on my boy Bailey. When we go out and play, he is still as amazing and athletic as he ever was. But later in the evening you could see some of the discomfort beginning to edge it's way in. So I decided to stop taking the sport too seriously and just have fun with my crazed frisbee muncher. We'd go out and just play catch with the frisbee or the ball. No flips. No trick practicing. We even missed the first few events of the year. But then the Wags for Wishes event came up in Del mar California. This is in conjunction with the Make a Wish Foundation where all the proceeds go to the foundation. It's an amazing weekend of a whole horde of doggie events such as: flyball, lure coursing, agility, dock diving, sheep herding, and a bunch of others I can't even remember.

Well, this event comes up with the added prestige of being a USDDN Regional qualifier for the National Finals taking place later in the year in Kentucky. So I decided I would take Bailey on out and just have some fun. No real practice. No pressure. And we went out and had the BEST round of freestyle we had ever performed. It was great! We ended up taking 3rd place and getting an invitation to Kentucky for the National Finals!

Well, since that results I started going to events, no practicing, and Bailey has been lighting it up! He had always been good at the straight Distance Accuracy rounds where you get points for how far you can throw and have you dog catch it, and how many times you can do it in a minute. But we were always a step down when it came to the freestyle portion of the event where you perform tricks choreographed to music. Well, the few events that happened after Wags for Wishes established that this was no fluke, and Bailey was starting to get consistent in the freestyle arena.

This leads up to the Crusty Classic. This event attracts competitors from all over California, and some as far away as Washington and Wyoming. Some great teams were out there. Well, Bailey continues to put on a great show and we post two days of great Freestyle rounds and get a 4th place overall for the weekend! Actually, we did this while having a bad weekend on our usual strength of distance accuracy. So that tells you how well Bailey is doing in the freestyle as of late!

If you have ever seen a Disc Dog competition you can appreciate what an accomplishment it is for Bailey to be able to compete with the usual canines of Disc Chomping. Your average competitor in disc dog is usually some variety of cattle dog, weighing in anywhere from 20 pounds to 45 pounds on the top end. Bailey hops and jumps on the scales at about 72 pounds. Some of these lightweight pups leap on the backs of their handlers then launch 15 to 20 feet in the air!!!! If Bailey tried to do that to me, he'd kill me. But we make up for it by emphasizing Bailey's strengths with horizontal power moves and speed! You should see my boy go! And don't let his size fool you. He can do a backflip with the best of them!

Our current routine is performed to Jump, Jive, and Wail by the Brian Setzer Orchestra. I wear slacks, a suspender, black wife beater tank top (or white t-shirt), and a fedora hat.

In November we are driving out to Arizona to compete in the Ashley Whipet World Championships and the FDDO Nationals both being held as part of the Cynosports Games in Scottsdale Arizona at the West World facility. The Cynosport Games is another conglomeration of dog sports all happening at the same time. It's definitely one of the best, if not the best, dog events of the year. Competitors come from as far away as Japan, Germany, The Netherlands, Chech Republic, and possibly Korea to compete in these games. The Japanese teams are amazing to watch!

The Cynosport Games are October 31st through November 4th.

We had planned to make it to Kentucky to compete at the USDDN National that we earned an invite to, but I did not go out and acquire a sponsor so I don't think we'll be making that trip this year. I believe the USDDN Nationals are the following weekend in November.

Quadruped - Denver, CO

2007-08-12T18:34:00.000-07:00

On Day #2 of the CCC the Quadruped was run. The Quad is all about LONG Distance! The further you can throw and your dog can catch, the better your results.

As I mentioned, Bailey was limping pretty bad the previous night and I had made plans to throw with someone else's dog (Al Erickson's young pup Roxie). But as the morning dawned and Bailey staring moving around, he seemed just fine. So I kept a close eye on him all morning, tested a few short tosses, and he was ready to go! I didn't make up my mind until the minute before it was our turn to go out there and compete. But he was showing NO signs of discomfort at all, and he really wanted to play. So we went for it!

Now this event, year in and year out, has the usual suspects making their way to the finals. Most competitors just hang around in the men's division (until they win and have to move up to the pro division) to avoid having to throw against the likes of Andy Busby and Chris Sexton (two flingers that can hurl plastic over 100 yards!). There are others of course that are in the same league, Mark Jennings, Tom Wherli, Matt Diano, and a few others. But not many. So I start out in the men's division, a respectable decision given the history of the event. The first throw is just a seeding throw where each competitor throws as far as they can, or want, without their dog just to setup the heats. When I get up there I rip off a pretty good toss of 63 meters and I start hearing all the pro competitors yelling "Sandbagger!!!". It was all in fun, but I'm not one to hide from a competitive challenge and I request that I be moved up into the pro division.

Jeff Hoot lets me know the prospects are bleak but honors the request.

My luck I'm put into the first heat against one of the best competitors of this event, Chris Sexton. The heat starts with 4 people and each round of the heat the shortest throw is eliminated. I get through the first round with a decent toss. The next round has 3 of us standing. I power off my BEST throw of the day with a 68 Meter toss that Bailey jams down the field for and grabs beautifully!!!!

That leaves just me and Chris Sexton. The pressure finally get to me a I fade out with a big fat strikeout (you get 3 chances to make a catch each round).

That leaves me to the mercy of the LAST CHANCE heat. This is where ALL the competitors who did not win their heat (meaning EVERYONE in the pro division but the 3 winners of the 3 heats) get to make one last attempt at a long throw. The furthest catch in the LAST CHANCE round makes it to the finals as the fourth team.

Because of the way the rules read, I ended up having to be the third thrower of the round out of about 12. Bailey, as always, is charged up and ready to go! I fling a decent toss out there and Bailey gobbles up the ground and snatches the disc out of the air 58.5 meters from the start line! A good throw, but not great. So now I have to sit and watch all the rest of the competitors take turns trying to beat my throw. After about 6 more competitors go up and walk away without taking my throw down I start thinking I may have a shot. And after Matt Diano misses the mark by a scant meter or so the round seems to be mine. And in fact it is, as I survive with my 58.5 meter throw and make it to the finals!

So it was Chris Sexton (past multi-time champion), Andy Busby (a side-arm flinging phenom who can casually launch a disc 100 yards on a good day), Mark Jennings, and me. Well the first round all I had to do was throw farther than 1 of these guys to make it to the next round. My best chance was with Mark as he (as most mortal men, did not throw as far as Andy or Chris). This didn't bother me too much as Mark happened to be one of the judges from the previous day, and after reviewing the judges score cards I found that Mark scored me MUCH lower than any of the other 3 judges. He is welcome to his opinion, of course, but pay back is a bitch! ;-) So I let loose with a decent toss of 54 meters, and it is enough to move me past Mark and into the next round.

Now at this point I know that the only way for me to make it to the next round is to unleash a massive toss. During practice the previous day I was uncorking tosses in the 80 Meter range, and I knew it was going to take one of these to stay alive. So I put everything I had into each of my throws. Yep... You guessed it... Bailey isn't going to be able to catch discs that are flying off into the crowd, or the grandstand. Another strikeout for me, and Bailey, shaking his head in dissapointment with me, has to settle for 3rd place. 3rd PLACE! Yahoo! Pretty damn cool!

Chris Sexton eventually outlasted Andy Busby and grabbed another, his 4th, Quadruped Championship.

I am happy to report that Bailey showed NO SIGNS of discomfort after the competition. I learned that I have to carefully manage my frisbee crazed canine's drive as he gets into his middle years.

Anyway, that is the story of the Colorado Canine Challenge for Bailey and myself.

Team White Thunder

Results:

Men’s Open Div.
1 Chris Sexton BANZAI (68.8)
2 Andy Busby LC (72.5)
3 Joel Zucker BAILEY (67.5)
4 Mark Jennings MOJO (58)
5 Matt DiAno MAGGIE (68)
6 Darrel Earle NITRO NANA (66)
7 James Commuso JIGGS (60.5)
8 Gary Duke BAYER (60.3)
9 Mark Brisse GABBY (60)
10 Joe Ryan MIA (55)
11 Tom Wehrli CHEVY (54.5)
12 Shaun Knous SAMERA JANE (50)
13 Jay Smartz DURANGO (45.5)
14 Russ Green ZOE

Longest Catch Men's Open Div. 72.5 Meters A. Busby - LC

UFO Major Colorado Canine Challenge - Denver, CO

2007-08-11T18:43:00.000-07:00

Bailey and I made the long drive out to Littleton Colorado, from Santa Monica California, a couple weeks ago to take part in the UFO Major and the storied classic Quadruped Long Distance Disc Dogging competitions titled collectively as The Colorado Canine Challenge. First, what a beautiful drive through Nevada, Utah, and Colorado only to have the amazing scenic red carpet a precursor to a fun-filled successful weekend of canine acrobatics and disc chomping fun. As you can see from the picture, Bailey and I brought home a little hardware.

Bailey and I had an amazing weekend in Colorado!

On Day #1

We competed in the standard disc dog format. First we had our Freestyle routine. Among such an amazing group of talented freestylers if you fell off your game even a little bit you could find yourself at the bottom of the standing looking up. Well, we fell, a little and out of 50 teams we fell to 23 place. Ugh...

Next we had our Toss & Fetch round. Now you need to understand that for a few weeks prior to the event, a disc dogger name Matt Diano had been trash talking to EVERYONE about his talents in the Distance Accuracy. In fact, he put up (a sponsor put up) $100 to anyone who could not only beat Matt Diano, but take 1st place in the Distance Accuracy event.

I have to take my hat off to Matt. He put up, and he performed. He actually went out there and took 1st place! There were alot of really good teams out there, so it was by no means a done deal for Mr. Diano, but he did it. Bailey and I gave him a run for the money, but in the end we had to settle for a well earned 3rd place. Not Bad!

With the 3rd place we garnered a respectable 12th PLace overall and grabbed 45 UFO World Cup points.

But on a disappointing note, Bailey begins limping pretty noticeably by the end of the 1st day and I pretty much decide I'm not going to run him in the second day of competition.

Complete Results

Team White Thunder

Skyhoundz Local - Fullerton, CA

2007-03-17T17:26:00.000-07:00

Kicking things off in 2007 is the Mukenthaler Center Skyhoundz Local! With teams rusty from a winter off nursing sore muscles, and huddling inside from the horrendous winter weather here in Southern California the disc dog team made their way to the field to get the blood flowing again in long dormant paws.

Bruce Brantley showed that he and Casey can't be help down by unbearable temperatures in the 70s and a few rain showers that plague the California Coast. Bruce and Casey posted a great freestyle round followed by a MONSTER Distance Accuracy round of 20 points to take 1st place! Benny Wong and KD were right there tieing Bruce in the Freestyle round but falling short by two points in the Distance Accuracy. What a great way to start off the season!

Bailey and I needed to kick off a bit of rust and finished a respectable 5th place overall.

Open

1st Bruce Brantley & Casey (31.5x2+20=83) D2ISC
2nd Benny Wong & KD (31.5x2+18=81) D2ISC
3rd Alan Thibodo & Jasper (30.5x2+8.5=69.5) D2ISC
4th Robin Northam & Rip (28x2+12.5=68.5) D2ISC
5th Joel Zucker & Bailey (29x2+9.5=67.5) D2ISC
6th Luis Marin & Boo (28.5x2+10=67) D2ISC
7th Ron Cole & Arrow (26x2+11=63) D2ISC
8th Pat Wilkins & Sky (27.5x2+7=62)
8th Pat Erikson & George (27.5x2+7=62) D2ISC
10th David Procida & Maverick (28.5x2+3.5=60.5)
11th Robin Northam & Kobe (26.5x2+5=58) D2ISC
11th Jaeleen Sattler & Sonic (27.5x2+3=58) D2ISC
13th Kathy Miller & Ruckus (26x2+5=57) SCK9AC
13th Jaeleen Sattler & Storm (28.5x2+0=57) D2ISC
15th Kirby McIlveen & Sketch (25.5x2+5.5=56.5)
16th Jeff Hill & Enzo (25x2+6=56) D2ISC
17th Ron Cole & Annie (24.5x2+5.5+54.5) D2ISC
17th Bruce Brantley & Haley (26x2+2.5=54.5) D2ISC
19th Benny Wong & Kiki (27x2+0=54) D2ISC
20th Nicole Sattler & Storm (25x2+2=52) D2ISC
21st Valerie Walsh & Rascal (23.5x2+0=47) D2ISC
22nd Jeremy Northam & Jasper (20.5x2+3=44) D2ISC

Intermediate

1st Keith Power & Gracie (15.5+10.5=26)
2nd Chris Fanning & Boomba (9.5+11.5=21) D2ISC
3rd Ron Cole & Austin (6+14.5=20.5) D2ISC
4th David Procida & Abby (9+11.5=20.5)
5th Mike Miller & Ruckus (7.5+12.5=20) SCK9AC
6th Jasmine Hyun & Clutch (8+10=18) D2ISC
7th Luis Marin & Pepper (7.5+10=17.5) D2ISC
8th David VanDerGiessen&Brisbane (8.5+7.5=16)
9th Pat Erikson & Gracie (8.5+6.5=15) D2ISC
10th David St. Clair & Sketch (9+4=13)
10th Tony Crumly & Deena (5+8+13) D2ISC
12th Cheryl Kamikubo & Riley (9+2.5=11.5)
13th Mike Miller & RT (5.5+5=10.5) SCK9AC
13th Mike Miller & Big Boy (7.5+3=10.5) SCK9AC
13th Pat Wilkins & Abby (5+5.5=10.5)
16th Pat Wilkins & Hannah (6.5+2.5=9)
16th David Procida & Dillon (6+3=9)
18th Jennifer Hill & Sidney (5.5+2=7.5) D2ISC
19th David Procida & Ace (5+1.5=6.5)
20th Joseph Jones & Kado (6+0=6) D2ISC
21st Benny Wong & Zooma (3.5+0=3.5) D2ISC
21st Neil Furukawa & Boo (3.5+0=3.5) D2ISC
23rd Frankie Mauldin & Buck (0+2.5+2.5) D2ISC

Scottsdale, AZ 11/05/06 - FDDO Championships

2006-11-05T16:58:00.000-08:00

Yes you are reading correctly, a 3rd organization disc dog competition during the same weekend, at the same event! Flying Disc Dog Open competition. This is a fun event with creative twists to the standard Disc Dog competition. An event called the obstacle course challenges teams to confront impediments such as a tunnel through which the frisbee must travel, then be caught in a designated zone, or poles of which the thrower must bank the disc around before being caught in the scoring zone. Lots of fun!

This event comprised 4 different disciplines, Obstacle Course, Toss and Fetch, Speed Disc, and Freestyle. The obstacle course and freestyle are emphasized the way the scoring is tabulated.

Bailey and I scored a respectable 12 (4th highest) in the obstacle course, and a had a good freestyle round to claw our way into a 6th place finish. Not too shabby considering there were 32 competitors.

Open

1 R Yori & Wallace
2 J Stanaway & Cory
3 T Sawyer & Huck
4 Y Shimizu & Hanzou
T5 M Ando & Mel
T5 M Brisse & Gabby
6 J Zucker & Bailey
7 M Meiring & Buck
8 A Erikson & George
9 S Markham & Hurricane
10 D Barrus & The Moo
11 J Dodge & Dodger
T12 J Holland & Dude
T12 B. Wong & KD
T13 C Middleton & Hank
T13 F Usui & Herbie
14 P Mahon & Gabe
15 R Gutierrez & Zephyr
16 J Brisse & Cheyenne
17 E Guitierrez & Iniki
18 D Malmlov & Sydney
19 A Thibodo & Jasper
T20 R Northam & Kobe
T20 N Palenzuela & Clementine
21 J Schleicher & Banzai
22 C Steele & Chevy
23 C Shimuzu & Marine
24 B Brantley & Casey
25 S Malmlov & Foster
26 R Travis & Aires
27 A Patencio & Bella
28 P Wilkins & Sky
T29 C Anderson & Trinity
T29 T Tanaka & Kukky
30 K Miller & Rio
31 A Obata & Koume
32 R Green & Mariah

Scottsdale, AZ 11/04/06 - AWI Finals

2006-11-04T14:55:00.000-08:00

This a combined calculation of the UFO and AWI scoring. Lots of fun to watch. Wish I was a part of it. :-) Maybe next year.

1 Yoshihiro Ishida Rusty
2 Matt DiAno Maggie
3 Andy Busby LC
4 Andrew Yori Wallace
5 Junichi Hara Fine
6 Steve MalmlovFoster
7 Hiroaki KurodaFeel
8 Chuck Middleton Hank
9 Yukihiro Murakami Mecca
10 Yukihiro Murakami Kelly
11 Alan Thibodo Jasper
12 Kelly Miller Rio
13 Tatsuya Tachibana Fendi
14 Hikaru Tai Tanko
15 Pennie Mahon Spinner
16 Darren Barrus The Moo
17 Mark McNitt Zydeco
18 Mark Jennings Skyler
19 Al Erikson Gracie
20 Teruo Ebie Atom
21 Jochen Schleicher Ellie
22 Jason Holland Dash
23 Yuriko Asano Ciao
24 Mark Brisse Gabby
25 Motohiro AndoMel
26 Nadja Palenzuela Clementine
27 Fumihiro Usui Herbie
28 Chris Cabral Cane
29 Eva Gutierrez Iniki

Scottsdale, AZ 11/04/06 - UFO Finals

2006-11-04T14:42:00.000-08:00

As Bailey and I didn't get invited to the finals, well, lets just say the recap will be brief. ;-) Was awesome watching the teams from Japan and the Netherlands do their thing! Lots of creativity, and definitely loads of talent! Mixing in amazing Frisbee Freestyle tricks and martial arts moves made for a mesmerizing spectacle of disc & dog choreography. Congrats to Alan Thibodo for cracking the top 10 of this elite collection of disc dogging skills.

1 Yoshihiro Ishida Rusty 37.2 37.8 16 37.8128.8 200
2 Matt DiAno Maggie 33.9 37 19.5 36.4126.8 190
3 Andy Busby LC 35.8 36.1 16 36.5124.4 180
4 Andrew Yori Wallace 36.7 36.9 9.5 37.8120.9 170
5 Junichi Hara Fine 37.7 35.9 10 36.6120.2 160
6 Steve Malmlov Foster 35.3 35 12.5 37 119.8 150
7 Hiroaki Kuroda Feel 36.2 36.2 8.5 35.7116.6 140
8 Chuck Middleton Hank 33.3 35.3 12 34.3114.9 130
9 Yukihiro Murakami Kelly 33.9 33.1 9.5 33.3109.8 120
10 Alan Thibodo Jasper 33.1 31.6 11.5 33.1109.3 110
11 Kelly Miller Rio 33.3 32.6 10 75.9 100
12 Pennie Mahon Spinner 34.5 34.6 6 75.1 90
13 Darren Barrus The Moo 33.8 32.2 9 75 80
14 Mark McNitt Zydeco 32.4 31.2 11 74.6 70
15 Mark Jennings Skyler 33 34.4 6 73.4 60
16 Al Erikson Gracie 32.6 31.6 8 72.2 50
17 Jochen Schleicher Ellie 33.3 33.1 2.5 68.9 40
18 Jason Holland Dash 33 33.4 0 66.4 30
19 Yuriko Asano Ciao 33.1 32.7 0 65.8 20
20 Mark Brisse Gabby 32.3 32.3 20
21 Motohiro Ando Mel 32.3 32.3 20
22 Nadja Palenzuela Clementine 32.3 32.3 20
23 Fumihiro Usui Herbie 32.3 32.3 20
24 Chris Cabral Cane 32.2 32.2 20
25 Eva Gutierrez Iniki 32.2 32.2 20
26 Susan Markham Hurricane 32 32 20
27 Benny Wong KD 31.8 31.8 20
28 Al Erikson George 31.8 31.8 20
29 Tatsuya Tachibana EPI 31.6 31.6 20
30 Lisa Ward Brie 31.3 31.3 20
31 Karen Mulders Magic Tigger 31.2 31.2 20
32 Pennie Mahon Gabe 31.2 31.2 20
33 Ayano Obata Koume 30.9 30.9 20
34 Brian Muck Luna 30.6 30.6 20
35 Patrick Kuiper Speedy 30.6 30.6 20
36 Jeff Stanaway Cory 30.4 30.4 20
37 Tom Sawyer Huck 30 30 20
38 Jeff Stanaway Co-Jo 29.7 29.7 20

Scottsdale, AZ 11/03/06 - UFO Major

2006-11-03T13:33:00.000-08:00

This was the last chance qualifier to make it to the UFO Finals, part of the Ashley Whippet Invitational (AWI) weekend. Bailey and I had acquired 45 points at the Lancaster Major earlier in the year, but missed the Colorado Major due to DISTANCE AND MONEY! So we had to crack the top 17 places to earn enough points to make it to the finals. Here's how we did.

We posted one of our BEST Freestyle routines to date at 32.9 points, and 11th best out of more than 50 teams! It all came down to our specialty, Toss and Catch. Post a decent score and we're definitely in. Piece of Cake. NOT. I go out and throw like a scared lamb at a lion's dinner party. Barely getting off 25 yard toss after 25 yard toss. Boom. Done. 9 measly points. After all is said and done we are looking at a 3 way tie for 18th place. Yes, I said 18th Place. We needed 17th or better, and we get 18th. Needless to say, we were a bit bummed after making the long drive to Arizona to come that close and fail. But at least we had the FDDO to look forward to, also part of the AWI weekend.

The leader board was filled with new names, from other countries, mainly from Japan, and one from the Netherlands. Steve Malmlov was the only familiar name to break into the top 5.

Open Division

1 Hiroaki Kuroda Feel 36.514.5 37.3 88.3 100
2 Yoshihiro Ishida Rusty 36.211.5 37 84.7 95
3 Jochen Schleicher Ellie 37.0 3 37.4 77.4 90
4 Nadja Palenzuela Clementine 36.15.5 35.1 76.7 85
5 Steve Malmlov Foster 33.69.5 33.3 76.4 80
6 Yuriko Asano Ciao 35.2 6 35 76.2 75
7 Eva Gutierrez Iniki 34.2 2 34.3 70.5 70
8 Tatsuya Tachibana EPI 33.1 3 34.2 70.3 65
9 Teruo Ebie Atom 34.2 2 33.5 69.7 60
10 Al Erikson George 33.1 2 32.6 67.7 55
11 Chris Cabral Caine 33.2 2 31.5 66.7 50
12 Brian Muck Luna 30.118.5 48.6 45
13 Andy Busby LC 32.7 15 47.7 40
14 Yukihiro Murakami Kelly 32.0 13 45 35
15 Pennie Mahon Gabe 30.7 13 43.7 30
16 Robert Gutierrez Zephyr 32.910.5 43.4 25
17 Lisa Ward Brie 31.510.5 42 20
18 Joel Zucker Bailey 32.9 9 41.9 11.7
18 Jason Holland Dude 32.49.5 41.9 11.7
18 Mark McNitt Zydeco 30.9 11 41.9 11.7
21 Andrew Yori Wallace 32.58.5 41 10
22 Karen Mulders Mr. Jones 29.3 11 40.3 10
23 Karen Mulders Magic
Tigger 31.78.5 40.2 10
24 Christopher Steele Chevy 27.412.5 39.9 10
25 Chuck Middleton Hank 32.7 6 38.7 10
26 Christopher Steele Ringo 29.6 9 38.6 10
26 Al Erikson Gracie 29.19.5 38.6 10
28 Yukihiro Murakami Mecca 31.07.5 38.5 10
29 Tom Sawyer Huck 29.3 9 38.3 10
30 Kelly Miller Rio 32.8 5 37.8 10
31 Mark McNitt Jackson 31.26.5 37.7 10
32 Chiharu Shimizu Marine 31.16.5 37.6 10
33 Donna Malmlov Sydney 30.07.5 37.5 10
33 Jennifer Brisse Cheyenne 30.07.5 37.5 10
35 Cassi Anderson Trinity 29.77.5 37.2 10
36 Bruce Brantley Haley 31.65.5 37.1 10
37 Pat Wilkins Sky 30.65.5 36.1 10
38 Bruce Brantley Casey 31.34.5 35.8 10
39 Pennie Mahon Spinner 32.72.5 35.2 10
40 Alycia Patenco Bella 28.0 7 35 10
41 Matt Meiring Buck 28.46.5 34.9 10
42 Pat Wilkins Abby 29.35.5 34.8 10
43 Tom Sawyer Jazz 28.3 5 33.3 10
44 Russell Green Mariah 28.8 4 32.8 10
45 Reuben Travis Aires 29.4 3 32.4 10
46 Patrick Kuiper Speedy 30.81.5 32.3 10
47 Julian Dodge Dodger 29.42.5 31.9 10
48 Frank Kerchner Goldie 27.6 4 31.6 10
48 Yasuo Takemura Akane 27.6 4 31.6 10
50 Robert Gutierrez Kekoa 29.02.5 31.5 10
51 Brian Muck Tucker 26.92.5 29.4 10

Lodi, CA 10/21/06 - Crusty Classic

2006-10-21T12:43:00.000-07:00

In honor of Steve "Crusty" Walsh, Northern California and Southern California disc dog clubs alternate in hosting this great annual event. Once a year the best from Northern and Southern California get together to remember Steve Walsh, and then go out on the field and show their state brethren what the other half's got!

This Crusty Classic was a who's who of California Disc Doggin. Names like: Steve and Donna Malmlov, Sung Hyun, Steve Teer, Benny Wong, Al Erickson... Unfortunately I don't know many of the NoCal crews, but I sure did get introduced to their quality quick! Joshua Motzkus threw down one of the best routines of Freestyle of the day! Actually, now that I think about it, Joshua may have been from out of state. Maybe someone can post a comment with the lowdown.

Anyway, Steve Malmlov and Foster stepped up to the challenge of another major competition and eeked out a very welll deserved victory over an impression showing by Joshua Motzkus. I believe Joshua had a move where he would slowly do a forward roll (down on his head to his back) and his dog would just walk on him like a barrel. Pretty cool. Robin Northam showed that the women of SoCal got skillz and posted a VERY impressive 3rd place finish amongst the best SoCal has to offer. Fantastic job Robin!

As this is Bailey's website I should give an accounting of our performance. Bailey and I put together a decent Freestyle round, and a good Toss and Catch round of 15 points. But against the strong competition attracted to the Crusty Classic, it was only good for an 11th place finish.

On the second day of competition the Crusty Classic had a Freestyle and Bullseye competition. Essentially the same except we did Bullseye (Most points for the dog catching the disc in the bullseye zone) round instead of the standard Toss and Catch. This time Joshua Motzkus was able to grab 1st place with a GREAT freestyle round and a string Bulleye of 13 points. Sung Hyun and Tag took second with a slightly lower freestyle score and Sonya Wolf and Boo grabbed 3rd .

Bailey and I posted one of our best freestyle scores and a 13 in bullseye to give us a very appreciated 5th place! (Out of 26 teams).

Day #1 Open (Freestyle & Toss and Catch)

Steve Malmlov & Foster 10.5 + 36.9 x 2 = 84.3 1st
Joshua Motzkus & Kas 12.5 + 35.3 x 2 = 83.1 2nd
Robin Northam & Rip 13 + 33.6 x 2 = 80.2 3rd
Sung Hyun & Clutch 13.5 + 33.3 x 2 = 80.1 4th
Alan Thibodo & Jasper 7 + 36.5 x 2 = 80 5th
Donna Malmlov & Sydney 11.5 + 34 x 2 = 79.5 6th
Al Erikson & Gracie 12 + 33.5 x 2 = 79 7th
Al Erikson & George 11 + 33.6 x 2 = 78.2 8th
Sung Hyun & Tag 10 + 33.5 x 2 = 77 9th
Steve Teer & Guinness 7.5 + 33.9 x 2 = 75.3 10th
Joel Zucker & Bailey 15 + 29.9 x 2 = 74.8 11th
Jake Motzkus & Jada 7 + 33.7 x 2 = 74.4 12th
Robin Northam & Kobe 13 + 29.4 x 2 = 71.8 13th
Benny Wong & K.D. 9.5 + 30.3 x 2 = 70.1 14th
Mai Idzkowski & BayLee 9 + 30.3 x 2 = 69.6 15th
Steve Teer & Irish 7 + 31.3 x 2 = 69.6 16th
Bruce Brantley & Casey 3 + 32 x 2 = 67 17th
Alycia Patencio & Bella 3.5 + 31.1 x 2 = 65.7 18th
Kathy Miller & Ruckus 2.5 + 31.4 x 2 = 65.3 19th
Bruce Brantley & Haley 2.5 + 30.6 x 2 = 63.7 20th
Mai Idzkowski & Boomer 6 + 28.8 x 2 = 63.6 21st

Day #1 Intermediate (2 Rounds of Toss and Catch)

Graham Scott & Lady 13.5 16 29.5 1st
Robbie Shyken & Gabriel 11 16.5 27.5 2nd
Robbie Shyken & Taz 17 10 27 3rd
Matt Mering &amp;amp;amp;amp; Buck 10.5 11 21.5 4th*
Dave Fontaine & Frodo 10 11.5 21.5 5th*
Mark Youngberg & Lucky 9 12.5 21.5 6th*
Jasmine Hyun & Clutch 12 9.5 21.5 7th*
Lou Del Corto & Tank 7.5 9.5 17 8th
Rueben Travis & Aires 6 9 15 9th
Cindy Del Corto & Stella 8 4 12 10th*
Jill Teer & Sandy 7.5 4.5 12 11th*
Rueben Travis &amp;amp;amp;amp; Bella 6.5 5.5 12 12th*
Dave Fontaine & Pippin 4 7 11 13th
Alycia Patencio & Aires 7 3 10 14th
Sonya Wolf & Comett 9 0 9 15th
Benny Wong & Kiki 8 0 8 16th
Calli Gartner & Rascal 5 2.5 7.5 17th

Day #2 Open (Freestyle & Bullseye)

Joshua Motzkus & Kas 13 9 9.5 8.8 7.8 35.1 83.2 1st
Sung Hyun & Tag 13 8.6 9 9 6.8 33.4 79.8 2nd
Sonya Wolf & Boo 13 8.2 8.8 8.9 7.1 33 79 3rd
Alan Thibodo & Jasper 10 8.5 8.9 9.2 7.5 34.1 78.2 4th
Joel Zucker & Bailey 13 9.2 9 8.2 5.9 32.3 77.6 5th
Benny Wong & K.D. 8 8.8 8.7 8.7 8.5 34.7 77.4 6th*
Al Erikson & George 4 9.6 9.2 9.3 8.6 36.7 77.4 7th*
Steve Malmlov & Foster 2 9.8 9.2 9.9 8.5 37.4 76.8 8th
Steve Teer & Guinness 11 8.5 8.5 8.8 6.9 32.7 76.4 9th
Al Erikson & Gracie 8 8.2 8.5 8.4 8.0 33.1 74.2 10th
Mai Idzkowski & BayLee 7 9 7.5 8.6 7 32.1 71.2 11th
Jake Motzkus & Jada 3 8.2 9.6 9.3 6.1 33.2 69.4 12th
Donna Malmlov & Sydney 7 7.2 8.2 7.4 8.3 31.1 69.2 13th
Steve Teer & Irish 10 7.4 7 7 7.3 28.7 67.4 14th
Bruce Brantley & Casey 3 8.4 8.5 8.9 6.3 32.1 67.2 15th
Robbie Shyken & Taz 8 7 7.3 7.6 7.5 29.4 66.8 16th
Robin Northam & Kobe 11 7.2 8 7.8 4.7 27.7 66.4 17th
Sung Hyun &amp;amp;amp;amp; Clutch 3 8.5 8.5 8 6.2 31.2 65.4 18th
Matt Mering & Buck 11 7.2 7.5 7.4 5 27.1 65.2 19th
Robin Northam & Rip 3 8.2 8.5 8.4 5.5 30.6 64.2 20th
Kathy Miller & Ruckus 4 8.6 8 7 6.3 29.9 63.8 21st
Alycia Patencio & Bella 6 6.8 6.9 7.2 7.6 28.5 63 22nd
Bruce Brantley & Haley 5 8 8 8.4 3.8 28.2 61.4 23rd
Robbie Shyken & Gabriel 8 6.5 5.5 6.6 6.4 25 58 24th
Valerie Walsh & Rascal 0 6 7.5 7.2 5 25.7 51.4 25th
Rueben Travis & Aires 0 7.8 7 6.4 3.6 24.8 49.6 26th

Day #2 Intermediate (Bullseye & Toss and Fetch)

John Weigel & Chef 11 15 26 1st
Dave Adams & Bryn 13 11.5 24.5 2nd
Sonya Wolf & Ginger 11 9.5 20.5 3rd
Mark Youngberg & Lucky 8 10.5 18.5 4th
Pat Erikson & George 9 9 18 5th
Pat Erikson & Gracie 8 8.5 16.5 6th
Dave Fontaine &amp;amp;amp;amp; Frodo 8 8 16 7th
John Weigel & Mojo 6 8.5 14.5 8th
Dave Fontaine & Pippin 8 6 14 9th
Alycia Patencio & Aires 9 3.5 12.5 10th
Cindy DelCorto & Stella 6 6 12 11th
Jasmin Hyun & Clutch 1 9 10 12th
Benny Wong & Kiki 6 3.5 9.5 13th*
Rueben Travis & Bella 5 4.5 9.5 14th*
Trish Perondi & Dash 5 3.5 8.5 15th
Mai Idzkowski & Jewel 3 5 8 16th
Lou DelCorto & Tank 5 2.5 7.5 17th
Trish Perondi & Pepper 3 4 7 18th
Patrick Major & Sammy 6 0 6 19th
Jill Teer & Sandy 1 1.5 2.5 20th

Lancaster 10/07/06 - UFO Major Competition

2006-10-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

As always a hot day in Lancaster. Bailey and I had a mediocre outing as I was just recovering from a rupture calf muscle that kept me down for a few months. Fun as always though!

With two MONSTER freestyle rounds followed up with a MONSTER toss and fetch round Mark Brisse easily outdistanced 2nd place Matt Diano for an impressive victory in Southern California. The Colorado contingent definitely made a statement by posting 3 out of the top 4 spots with Jason Holland throwing down two solid rounds of Freestyle. Alan T and Jasper were the only SoCal duo to crack the top spots. Al Erickson and George made a game effort taking 5th.

Open Division

1 Mark Brisse Gabby CDD 35.4 + 19 + 35.5 = 89.9 (100)
2 Matt DiAno Maggie CDD 35.9 + 14 + 32.4 = 82.3 (95)
3 Alan Thibodo Jasper D2ISC 32 + 10 + 35.1 = 77.1 (90)
4 Jason Holland Dash CDD 32.55 + 10 + 33.15 = 75.7 (85)
5 Al Erikson Gracie D2ISC 32.05 + 7 + 33.85 = 72.9 (80)
6 Joseph Jones Kylie D2ISC 31 + 10 + 31.3 = 72.3 (75)
7 Benny Wong KD D2ISC 32.05 + 8.5 + 31.05 = 71.6 (70)
8 Al Erikson George D2ISC 32 + 2.5 + 33.9 = 68.4 (65)
9 Chris Cabral Caine D2ISC 33.25 + 6 + 28.8 = 68.05 (60)
10 Chris Cabral Ricky D2ISC 30.3 + 1.5 + 31.55 = 63.35 (55)
11 Connie Barlow Phoenix 29.5 + 9.5 = 39 (50)
12 Joel Zucker Bailey D2ISC 28.1 + 10.5 = 38.6 (45)
13 Robin Northam Rip D2ISC 29.5 + 8.5 = 38 (40)
14 Steve Teer Guinness DiscDoGG28.95 + 8.5 = 37.45 (35)
15 Jaeleen Sattler Storm D2ISC 27.25 + 9 = 36.25 (30)
16 Steve Teer Irish DiscDoGG28.8 + 7 = 35.8 (25)
17 Bruce Brantley Haley D2ISC 28.55 + 7 = 35.55 (20)
18 Bradley Sattler Sonic D2ISC 26.5 + 9 = 35.5 (15)
19 Sierra Lyman Awesome CDD 30 + 3 = 33 (10)
20 Pat Wilkins Sky 28.7 + 4 = 32.7 (10)
21 Robin Northam Kobe D2ISC 28.05 + 4 = 32.05 (10)
22 Russ Green Mariah CDD 27.5 + 3.5 = 31 (10)
23 Bruce Brantley Casey D2ISC 27.8 + 2 = 29.8 (10)
24 Alycia Patencio Bella Big Sky
Bat Dogs 25.05 + 3.5 = 28.55 (10)
25 Sierra Lyman Snaz CDD 26.6 + 0 = 26.6 (10)
26 Nikki Sattler Storm D2ISC 22.3 + 3.5 = 25.8 (10)
27 Patrick Major Sammy DavisDiscDoGG18.5 + 1.5 = 20 (10)

Intermediate Division

1 Chris Cabral Maxx 8 + 13.5 = 21.5
2 Joseph Jones Kado 8 + 11 = 19
3 Alycia Patencio Aires 6.5 + 8.5 = 15
4 Matt Meiring Buck 7.5 + 7 = 14.5
4 Gregg Holland Flash 7 + 7.5 = 14.5
6 Darren Pahnke Dynomite 3 + 10 = 13
7 Jason Holland Dude 9.5 + 2 = 11.5
8 Reuben Travis Bella 5.5 + 4.5 = 10
9 Jeff Hill Sydney 0 + 4.5 = 4.5
10 Reuben Travis Aires 1.5 + 2 = 3.5
11 Benny Wong Kiki 0 + 2 = 2
12 Jeff Hill Tooney 0 + 1.5 = 1.5
13 Tim Perry Bowie 1 + 0 = 1

Torrance 07/22/06 - SkyHoundz Local Championship

2006-07-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

I love these SkyHoundz competitions! Bailey loves to fly horizontal for Cirle Disc and Speed Disc, two events that emphasize speed and consistency (Bailey's trademarks!). If it wasn't for those two aspects of the competition and Bailey and I would probably be staring at a bottom of the barrel finish with our VERY poor freestyle round.

But, thankfully these two aspects are part of the competition, and with these scores from Speed Disc and Circle Disc we were able to climb our way from the cellar all the way to the second spot overall! Wow. Pretty cool. Bailey inked a staggering 22 points in the Circle Disc (4 points better than any of Circle Disc round that day) and a decent 35.38 seconds in the Speed Disc (where it's just a feat to complete in under a minute) to pop us up into contention. If only we had gotten together on our Freestyle round. Oh well.

Now I'll let Mike Miller sum up the rest of the competition:

The day started off with a bang, with the usual freeflight show that the pro's in So Cal always put on, and then when we got to the Sport Division, What a surprise. Be sure to note that # 2 was out for her very first freeflight contest, and # 3 was her teacher. (Sorry David, just couldn't resist).... After that, we got into the Circle, and I have to say, I think every one had
a good time with it. We had some new people, and some young dogs and I think we have hooked them all.... When we got to the Speed Disc, there was a bit of confusion, but we worked it out and even though the wind was a major factor, we did have several very good times. Benny Wong and KD did the best of the day with 18.28 sec for 9.5 points.

I want to thank a new product sponsor we have, Heartland Dog Treats which is a jerky type of treat, for their support. We gave out samples to everyone, and had 1 and 2 lb. packs which we used as prizes. Trophies went out to 1st 2nd and 3rd for Open, Sport, Intermediate/novice and Junior went only to 1st and 2nd as there were only the two of them. Prizes went to 1st through 5th, and we had three specials that went out as well. Vincent Comon with Piper and Eldon McIntire with Eug Bull received a disc and bag of treats for Best Effort of the day. We also gave a bag which was one of several items donated to the K-9 Air corps by Glenn Hatrup of Phoenix Az (Past Disc Dog Player retired) to recycle them back into the sport to a very deserving player and his pup. Chris Adams and Jack Have been in the sport for about 6 years, and 3 years ago Chris developed a very debilitating illness which put him in a wheel chair. Last year, he was back throwing from the chair, but this year he is beginning to walk again, and we are very happy to see him return. Jack is 10 now, but once he is done with disc, Chris says he will be getting a pup to continue. Right on Chris, Welcome Back....

Open Division (Freestyle, Circle Disc, Speed Disc [Time and Score])

1 Sung Hyun / Tag (McNab) 33.0 - 18 - (60) 3.0 = 54.0
2 Joel Zucker / Bailey (Lab) 22.5 - 22 - (35.38) 8.0 = 52.5
3 Benny Wong / KD (BC) 26.5 - 16 - (18.28) 9.5 = 52.0
4 Al Erikson / George (JRT) 32.0 - 12 - (60) 3.0 = 47.0
5 Alan Thibodo / Jasper (BC) 29.5 - 15 - (60) 2.0 = 46.5
6 Robin Northam / Kobe (Kelpie) 23.5 - 15 - (41.14) 7.0 = 45.5
7 Robin Northam / Rip (BC) 27.5 - 14 - (60) 3.0 = 44.5
8 Pat Wilkins / Sky (AS) 28.5 - 12 - (60) 3.0 = 43.5
9 Bruce Brantley / Casey (mini AS) 27.5 - 10 - (60) 3.0 = 40.5
10 Luis Marin / Boo (BC) 27.5 - 9 - (60) 2.0 = 38.5
11 Chris Cabral / Ricky (BC) 28.0 - 7 - (60) 2.0 = 37.0
12 Bruce Brantley / Haley (mini AS) 24.0 - 8 - (60) 0.0 = 32.0
12 Chris Cabral / Caine (BC) 24.0 - 6 - (60) 2.0 = 32.0

Sport

1 Al Erikson / Gracie (McNab) 29.5 - 12 - (44.74) 7.0 = 48.5
2 Cheryl Kamikubo / Riley (mini AS) 27.5 - 15 - (59.99) 5.5 = 48.0
3 David Procida / Maverick (McNab) 30.0 - 13 - (60) 2.0 = 45.0
4 Chris Fanning / Boomba (blue ACD) 25.0 - 15 - (60) 1.0 = 41.0

Intermediate / Novice PTS PTS Time PTS

1 Chris Cabral / Maxx (BC) 7 14 7 13 25.98 8.5 35.5
2 David St.Clair / Sketch (BC) 6 16 6 9 56.45 5.5 30.5
3 Pat Erikson / George (JRT) * T/B 5 12 6 15 60.00 2 29.0
4 Matt Mering / Buck (BC) * T/B 6 16 6 11 60.00 2 29.0
5 Brian Wilkins / Hannah (BC) 5 12 5 15 60.00 1 28.0
6 Jasmine Hyun / clutch (McNab) 6 15 6 8 60.00 3 26.0
7 Luis Marin / Pepper (BC) 6 15 6 7 60.00 1 23.0
7 Chris Adams / Jack (ACD mix) 5 11 5 10 60.00 2 23.0
8 Jeff Hill / Sidney (AS) 5 4 5 13 60.00 2 19.0
8 David Procida / LOBO (BC) 4 7 4 5 44.99 7 19.0
9 Mark Forsyth / Spur (BC) 5 6 6 9 60.00 2 17.0
9 Tracie Wilkins / Abby (Mix) 5 7 5 8 60.00 2 17.0
10 Pat Erikson / Gracie (McNab) 3 6 5 6 60.00 2 14.0
11 Brent Diciolla / Riley (English Lab) 5 3 5 9 60.00 1 13.0
12 Eldon McIntire / Eug Bull (Bull Dog) 4 11 5 0 60.00 0 11.0
13 David Procida / Ace (AS) 5 1 4 7 60.00 2 10.0
13 Vincent Comon / Piper (Mix) 5 4 6 5 60.00 1 10.0
13 Eric Graewingholt / Jake (CL) 7 5 5 5 60.00 0 10.0
14 Tajmeen Terry / Taz (ACD) 5 3 3 3 60.00 0 6.0
15 Sung Hyun / Snap (ACD) 5 3 5 0 60.00 2 5.0

Recap - Arcadia 07/15/06 - SkyHoundz Local Championship

2006-07-15T16:40:00.000-07:00

What a fun little competition Arcadia puts on each year. This year we only did a single division of Toss & Fetch. It was light-hearted, fast paced, and all-in-all a lot of fun. With the temperatures threatening to reach 100 degrees we were all cuddled together under whatever shade was afforded us along the fences by the merciful and cordial trees. The city of Arcadia provided an almost unlimited supply a free bottled water, and a slew of judges. Even though they had enough people to officiate a BaseBall game, they were all smart and stayed huddled under their tent shade and sent out, obviously low man on the totem, a lone lines-person to brave the heat.

The competition consisted of two 60 second rounds of Toss & Fetch according to SkyHoundz rules. The only competitor to triumph against the heat and swirling winds was Ron Cole with his borrowed doggie Austin. The judges initially miscalculated his two rounds of 15.5 and 14.0 to a total of 19 points and he was asked to take place in a third place tie-break round, of which he won. Bailey and I took second place with a decent second round score of 13.5 and a first round score of 7, and Ron Cole and Annie were awared first place! After the plaques were given out we took a closer look at the score sheets and realized that in fact Austin dominated the field with a two round total of 29.5 points, Annie took second, and Bailey earned third. No worries though, Ron was eventually awarded the first & second place plaques due to my altruistic heart... Ok, ok... Benny made sure Ron got his due. They had to pry that darn second place plaque from my fingers!!! ;-) Bailey was a bit disapointed in my sportsmanship and didn't bark at me the whole trip home.

Actually, everybody took it in good humor, and we all had a blast. Look forward to coming out to Arcadia next year, just hope they decide to run a Freestyle Division.

Here are the top three finishers again for those of you who did not read my ramblings above:

Toss & Fetch

1st Place - Ron Cole & Austin
2nd Place - Ron Cole & Annie
3rd Place - Joel Zucker & Bailey

Take Care! Until next time.

Recap - Wags for Wishes 07/0706 - 07/09/06 in Del Mar - USDDN Western National Qualifier

2006-07-10T17:19:00.000-07:00

What an amazing weekend we had for an incredible dog sports packed 3 days! There were dog dogs and dogs EVERYWHERE! Agility, Dock Diving, Flyball, Lure Coursing, Sheep Herding, and a number of sports I didn't even get a chance to see, and of course DISC DOGS!!! Thanks to Becky & Benny and everyone involved in D2isc the event went on without a hitch. We had record numbers of participants in both Saturday's and Sunday's events. In fact, he had an unbelievable 50 teams in the Novice division of Toss & Fetch alone! The first day of competition didn't finish until almost 8PM.

Saturday's competition began with a moment of silence for our lost friend Greg Mauldin. Most all the competitors received a bag of goodies upon registration which included a touching and well done comemorative frisbee for Greg. So with Greg watching from above we began flinging plastic in a beautiful venue with near perfect weather (It was actually a bit too hot for my liking, but I'm sure most everyone else loved the weather). The temperature ranged from the mid to the high 80's, and we had an on and off breeze that came in just often enough to tease a competitor or two. There were so many competitors it would be too dificult to mention all the standout moments and performances, suffice it to say, dogs and people had a great time!

Super Pro

Reviving last year's battle, Sung Hyun, Steve Malmlov, and Donna Malmlov battled it out once again. And the results were exactly the same. Congratulations and an awe inspired acknowledgement to 3 very consistent and talented teams! As this is Bailey's website I thought I might mention that Bailey and I turned in our best Freestyle scores to date, and had we been able to turn in a normal round of Toss & Fetch (I guess Bailey was too focused on his Freestyle moves) we might have given our championship trio a run for their money. Chris Cabral, as usual, madethe crowds cheer with his great freestyle routine. George, of the Al Erikson stable, took a tumble while performing a foot-stall in his first round of freestyle; but the duo came back strong in the second round of frestyle to grab 7th place overall (lil George was just fine, just a lil hurt ego was all).

1st Place - Sung Hyun & Tag - 113.49
2nd Place - Steve Mahmlov & Foster - 110.89
3rd Place - Donna Mahmlov & Sydney - 108.59
4th Place - Joel Zucker & Bailey - 107.76
5th Place - Chris Cabral & Caine - 105.09
----- Top 5 invited to Kentucky USDDN Finals -----
6th Place - Bruce Brantley & Casey - 104.09
7th Place - Al Erikson & George - 101.72
8th Place - Ron Cole & Arrow - 101.43
9th Place - Pat Wilkins & Sky - 99.54
10th Place - Robin Northam & Rip - 98.04
11th Place - Robin Northam & Kobe - 97.28
12th Place - Bruce Brantley & Haley - 94.22
13th Place - Jaeleen Sattler & Storm - 94.13
14th Place - Alan Thibido & Jasper - 89.91
15th Place - Bradley Sattler & Sonic - 86.39

Open

In the Open Division we had a newcomer from Las Vegas take top honors. There were great performances all the way through the Open Division, and in fact, many of them could have had a strong showing in the Super Open Division had they been so inclined. Connie with her stage presence and choreography, and Aycia with her vaults were the cream of the crop of this strong class.

1st Place - Connie Barlow & Phoenix - 57.855
2nd Place - Aycia Patencio & Bella - 53.485
3rd Place - Al Erickson & Gracie - 52.955
4th Place - Luis Marin & Boo - 51.225
5th Place - Valerie Walsh & Rascal - 47.590
6th Place - Kathy Miller & Ruckus - 46.300
7th Place - David Procida & Maverick - 46.225
8th Place - Tony Crumly & Mercury - 41.145
9th Place - Nikki Sattler & Storm - 40.305
10th Place - Helen Baun & Winkus - 31.230
11th Place - Lisa Baker & Miss Ginger - 0.000

Intermediate Toss & Fetch (Saturday)

1st Place - Steve Romine & Itsy - 20.5
2nd Place - David Procida & Lobo - 17.5
3rd Place - Chris Fanning & Boomba - 17.0 Tie Breaker
4th Place - Tony Crumly & Deena - 17.0 Tie Breaker
5th Place - Jodi Massey & Roland - 14.0
6th Place - Brian Wilkins & Sky - 12.5
7th Place - Ruben Travis & Aires - 12.0
8th Place - Julie Baker & Beetle - 10.5
8th Place - Mike Miller & Ruckus - 10.5
10th Place - Jasmine Hyun & Clutch - 9.5
11th Place - Ron Holewinski & Dakota Red - 9.0
11th Place - Pat Erikson & George - 9.0
13th Place - Tony Crumly & Gena - 7.0
14th Place - Greg Wallace & Buddy - 6.5
14th Place - Donna Malmlov & Ashley - 6.5
14th Place - Neil Furukawa & Boo - 6.5
17th Place - Julie Baker & Quiz - 6.0
18th Place - Jeff Hill & Sidney - 3.5
18th Place - Luis Marin & Pepper - 3.5
18th Place - Marie Doremus & Kendall - 3.5
21st Place - Brian Wilkins & Hanah - 2.5
22nd Place - Frankie Maudlin & Kendall - 1.0
23rd Place - Matt Meilry & Buck - 0.0
23rd Place - Cary Evans & Audrey - 0.0

Novice - Top 10 (Saturday)

1st Place - Tara Minsow & Mystic - 13.50 Tie Breaker
2nd Place - Terry Bachman & Zoey - 13.50 Tie Breaker
3rd Place - Jeff Hill & Sydney - 12.50 Tie Breaker
4th place - Doug Hovanlec & Epic - 12.50 Tie Breaker
5th place - Cheryl Kamikubo & Riley - 12.50 Tie Breaker
6th place - Tony Radna & Zeke - 12.00
7th place - Tajmeen Terry & Boomba - 11.50
8th place - Stacy McIlveen & Sketch - 11.00
9th place - Kathy Haney & Torry - 10.50
10th place - Stacey Coleman & Calamity - 10.00
10th place - Dan Balza & Rico - 10.00
10th place - Stacey Fleischer & Cooper - 10.00
10th place - Sue Cohen & Tilly - 10.00

Pro Toss & Fetch (Sunday)

1st Place - Ron Cole Arrow 1 17.50 19.5 37.00
2nd Place - Benny Wong KD 2 15.50 19 34.50
3rd Place - Ed Barlow Nicky 3 12.00 21 33.00
4th Place - Alycia Patencio Aires 4 15.00 16.50 31.50
5th Place - Chris Cabral Maxx 5 17.50 9.00 26.50
6th Place - Robin Northam Kobe 6 12.50 13.00 25.50
7th Place - Ron Cole Austin 7 13.50 11.5 25.00
8th Place - Ron Cole Annie 8 15.00 7.5 22.50
9th Place - Jaeleen Sattler Sonic 9 12.50 4 16.50
10th Place - Bruce Brantley Haley 10 11.50 3 14.50
11th Place - Donna Malmov Sydney 11 13.50 n/a 13.50 Scratch
11th Place - Steve Malmov Foster 11 13.50 n/a 13.50 Scratch
13th Place - Mike Miller Ruckus 13 11.50 n/a 11.50 Scratch
14th Place - Joel Zucker Bailey 14 11.00 n/a 11.00
14th Place - Robin Northam Rip 14 11.00 n/a 11.00
16th Place - Jaeleen Sattler Storm 16 9.50 n/a 9.50
17th Place - Ron Cole Bullet 17 9.00 n/a 9.00
18th Place - Chris Cabral Caine 18 8.00 n/a 8.00
19th Place - Alan Thibodo Jasper 19 7.50 n/a 7.50
20th Place - Bruce Brantley Casey 20 7.00 n/a 7.00
21st Place - Pat Wilkins Sky 21 6.00 n/a 6.00
22nd Place - Luis Marin Boo 22 3.50 n/a 3.50
22nd Place - Steve Romine Itsy 22 3.50 n/a 3.50
22nd Place - Brian Wilkins Hannah 22 3.50 n/a 3.50
23rd Place - Ron Cole Sadie 25 0.50 n/a

Intermediate Toss & Fetch (Sunday)

1st Place - Luis Marin Pepper 1 15.00 15.00 30.00
2nd Place - Doug Hovaniec Epic 2 12.00 13.50 25.50
3rd Place - Julie Baker Beetle 3 12.00 11.00 23.00
4th Place - Julie Baker Quiz 4 16.50 5.50 22.00
5th Place - David Procida Lobo 5 11.50 9.50 21.00
6th Place - Brent Diciolla Riley 6 17.00 2.50 19.50
7th Place - Jodi Massey Roland 7 10.00 8.50 18.50
8th Place - Ron Cole Flash 8 10.50 6.00 16.50
9th Place - Chris Fanning Boomba 9 10.00 5.50 15.50
10th Place - David Procida Maverick 10 10.00 3.50 13.50
11th Place - Tony Crumly Gena 11 10.00 3.00 13.00
12th Place - Pat Erikson George 12 8.50 8.50
13th Place - Taline Snell Sadie 13 7.50 7.50
13th Place - Reuben Travis Bella 13 7.50 7.50
15th Place - Tony Crumly Mercury 15 6.00 6.00
16th Place - Jeff Hill Sydney 16 4.00 4.00
17th Place - Matt Meiring Buck 17 3.50 3.50
18th Place - Marie Doremus Kendall 18 3.00 3.00
18th Place - Tony Crumly Deena 18 3.00 3.00
20th Place - Mike Miller RT 20 2.00 2.00
21st Place - Steve Romine Dylan 21 0.00 0.00
21st Place - Terri Romine Itsy 21 0.00 0.00
21st Place - Marshall Munger Abba 21 0.00 0.00

Novice Toss & Fetch (Sunday)

Jason Largent Jasmine 1 15.50 14.00 29.5
Keith Power Gracie 2 11.00 17.50 28.5
Cheryl Kamikubo Riley 3 14.50 12.00 26.5
Stacey Coleman Calamity Jane 4 11.00 11.00 22
Mark Forsyth Spur 5 11.00 10.50 21.5
Sue Gillitt Karma 6 10.50 9.50 20
Marina Verdugo KD 7 10.50 9.00 19.5
Sue Cohen Tilly 7 11.00 8.50 19.5
Sonja Schiller Gracie 7 11.00 8.50 19.5
Paula Stephan Flash 10 10.50 7.00 17.5
David St. Clair Sketch 11 9.50 9.5
Michelle Martin Harley 11 9.50 9.5
Eric Besserud Jack 13 8.50 8.5
Phil Cohen Kyleigh 14 7.00 7
Jennifer Hill Toony 15 6.50 6.5
Kathy Fleminz Cheyenne 16 6.00 6
Sue Gillitt Glory 16 6.00 6
David Procida Ace 16 6.00 6
Rachel Bickel Ally 19 5.00 5
Krystal Emery Gittalong 19 5.00 5
Grace Goff Zeke 19 5.00 5
Barry Motte CeCe 22 4.50 4.5
Stacey Coleman Sadie 23 4.00 4
Phil Vilar Nellie 23 4.00 4
Vanessa Gillett Fromage 25 3.50 3.5
Karyn McCulloch Splotches 25 3.50 3.5
Carol Parks Rory 25 3.50 3.5
Greg Wallace Buddy 28 3.00 3
Lynn Kozubal Natasha 29 2.50 2.5
Vanessa Gillett Shaitan 29 2.50 2.5
Jana Kay Carter Peter Parker 31 2.00 2
Marlene Fritz Toby 31 2.00 2
Kyle Trumbull Clark S'more 33 1.50 1.5
Bethany Goble Oso 34 1.00 1
Larry Van Willigan Tyree 35 0.00 0
Marla Van Willigan Tyree 35 0.00 0
Ally Kenley Jolie 35 0.00 0

Juniors Toss & Fetch (Sunday)

Tajmeen Terry Boomba 1 10.00 5.00 15.00 Tie Breaker
Hannah Barlow Phoenix 2 7.50 7.50 15.00 Tie Breaker
Jonathon Hayes Muncie 3 7.00 7.00 14.00
Kirby McIlveen Sketch 4 2.50 9.50 12.00
Christina Wallace Buddy 4 4.50 7.50 12.00
Nicole Sattler Sonic 6 4.00 6.50 10.50
Jeremy Northam Jasper 7 3.50 6.00 9.50
Mariah Gaines Rain 8 2.50 4.50 7.00
Leianne Handin Kato 8 0.00 7.00 7.00
Nicole Sattler Storm 10 1.00 4.00 5.00
Kristen Hayes Jeffree 11 1.00 2.50 3.50

Recap - Cypress 05/06/06 - SkyHoundz Local Championship

2006-05-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

Yet again I'm here to report on another wonderful day of Disc Dogging. The weater was great, and the doggies came out in droves!

We had 3 divisions comprised of a total of 48 teams!

Open Division

The Open Division showcases the best talent at the competition in a display of skill and choreography as the teams perform a custom routine to music for 90 seconds. The teams then must go out and demonstrate their skill in a round of distance accuracy.

A hearty congratulations goes out to Benny Wong and KD for their first 1st place finish of the year. The Wong family has been through a tough Disc Dogging year as one of their first disc doggers passed away at the ripe ol' age of 15 earlier this year. It was a rough time for them, but I'm sure this victory is being dedicated to their pup in the sky, Sammy Wong. In addition, Benny turned in the second best freestyle of the day with an impressive 30.75 score. Alan Thibodo and Jasper, always somewhere near the top of any leaderboard they are involved with, grabbed a second place and turned in the best freestyle score of the day at 32.75 points! In third place an up and comer in freestyle Luis Marin and Boo posted a SOLID freestyle score and one of the best Distance Accuracy (D/A) scores of 14 to slide into the third spot. The third best freestyle round of the day went to Bailey and me at 29 points. Figures, the day Bailey and I score decent in the Freestyle portion of the competition (doesn't happen often) we come out and post our WORST Distance Accuracy score ever. Oh well. Bailey still had fun. :-)

Open Division standings:
1st Benny Wong and KD (11+30.75x2=72.5)
2nd Alan Thibodo and Jasper (6.5+32.75x2=72)
3rd Luis Marin and Boo (14+27.5x2=69)
4th Robin Northam and Rip (9+28.25x2=65.5)
5th Joel Zucker and Bailey (6+29x2=64)
6th Bradley Sattler and Sonic (12+24.75x2=61.5)
6th Robin Northam and Kobe (3.5+29x2=61.5)
8th Jaeleen Sattler and Storm (6+27.5x2=61)
8th Greg Mauldin and Kendall (6+27.5x2=61)
10th Nicole Sattler and Storm (6+26.25x2=58.5)
11th Kathy Miller and Ruckus (0+28x2=56)
12th Ron Cole and Arrow (4.5+25.25x2=55)
13th Ron Cole and Annie (2+27.75x2=53.5)
14th Matt Meiring and Buck (5+22.75x2=50.5)
14th Tony Crumly and Mercury Bill (8+21.25x2=50.5)
16th Red Dash Northam and Jasper (1.5+23.75x2=49)
16th Heather Crumly and Gena (3+23x2=49)
18th Chris Fanning and Hula (10.5+18.75x2=48)
19th David Procida and Maverick (7.5+19.25x2=46)

Intermediate Division

The Intermediate Division is the stomping grounds for our more experienced and talented teams that have not yet made the jump into freestyle.

Ron Cole visits the top of the leaderboard once again riding the amazing, leaping Austin into the top spot in the Intermediate Division. A powerful 30 points in 2 round of D/A, and posting the highest single round of 16 points. Great job Ron! In second place another high fly act of Ruckus catching Mike Miller's steady throws to achieve an outstanding score of 25 in two rounds. Neil Furukawa and Belle, always a strong team, tied Pat Erikson and one of our smallest competitors, George for third place at 20 points.

The Intermediate standings:
1st Ron Cole and Austin (16+14.5=30.5)
2nd Mike Miller and Ruckus (10.5+14.5=25)
3rd Neil Furukawa and Belle (10+10=20)
4th Pat Erikson and George (11.5+8.5=20)
5th Tony Crumly and Deena Marie (10+8.5=18.5)
6th Neil Furukawa and Boo (12.5+3.5=16)
7th Jasmine Hyun and Tag (10.5+4.5=15)
8th Luis Marin and Pepper (14.5+0=14.5)
9th David Procida and Lobo (8+4.5=12.5)
10th Jasmine Hyun and Clutch (7+4.5=11.5)
11th Jasmine Hyun and Snap (3.5+4=7.5)
12th Chris Adams and Jack (4.5+1=5.5)
12th David VanDerGiessen & Brisbane(5.5+0=5.5)
14th Tajmeen Terry and Hula (0+1.5=1.5)
15th Bradley Sattler and Taffy (0+0=0)

Sport Division

The sport division is the place for our younger competitors and newbies to gain experience. The sport division was comprised of two rounds of Distance Accuracy.

At the top of the Sport division was the newbie team of Mike Udukas and Rocky. This amazing duo scored a rocking 29 points over two rounds of D/A!!! Heck, they would have placed second in the Intermediate class. Sorry bud, no more Sport class for you, welcome to the big leagues, and everyone else, you've been given notice. Rocky scored again by also taking second place with the disk spinning Joe of the Udukas clan. And Taline and the amazing high flying Austin grabbed third. Congrats to you all!

The Sport standings:
1st Mike Udukas and Rocky (17+12=29)
2nd Joe Udukas and Rocky (11+3.5=14.5)
3rd Taline Snell and Austin (5+9=14)
4th Taline Snell and Arrow (7+3.5=10.5)
5th Andrew Rock and Olive (6.5+3=9.5)
6th Mark Forsyth and Spur (6+3=9)
7th Michele Clark and Cody (1.5+7=8.5)
8th Iilandia Englesby and Lobo (7.5+0=7.5)
9th Alex Kingard and Hula (4+0=4)
10th Pat Erikson and Gracie (3.5+0=3.5)
10th Kriste Sorensen and Casey (1.5+2=3.5)
10th Nicole Rand and Tazzie (1+2.5=3.5)
13th Rod Hansen and Champion (3+0=3)
14th Noah Hyun and Clutch (1+1.5=2.5)

Thanx to Sung, Bruce, and Al for a great job officiating. And a big thanx to Robert Shackleton for hosting another year of the Cypress event. May we have MANY more years in Cypress!