The flyball championships for NAFA and U-FLI will both be held in November and the focus of each is a little different and worth a look.
NAFA Champion System
NAFA regional champions are based on points earned by placement during NAFA tournaments and the team with the most points earned in the region at the end of the racing season is named the regional champions. It really does come down to the fastest team in the region. With regions with very few fast teams or maybe only one fast team, the regional champion is really a given. In our region we pretty much know who the regional champions will be before the start of the season. In other regions it may not be that way but it usually comes down to the fastest couple of teams and the amount of tournaments attended.
The NAFA champions are picked almost the same way. The 6 fastest times from the club’s best placement are averaged and the team with the lowest average time is named the champions. Co-champions are named if there is a tie.
The World Cynosport® Flyball Championship that NAFA just started in 2006 is not much different from how the regional champions and champions are picked. All of the teams entered run each other until elimination elevates the fastest team to the top to be named Cynosports World Champions. For more information on the World Cynosport® Flyball Championship please see the NAFA website.
When looked at this way, it’s pretty easy to see where the focus is - speed. In my eyes this is not a bad thing because after all that’s what flyball is all about. However, teams that are in the lower divisions will never be recognized within this system. Lower division teams will never be regional champions, champions, or Cynosports World champions.
U-FLI Champion System
Since U-FLI is not broken up into regions, there are no regional champions. However, for teams that want to compete for division championship they just need to complete in one of the U-FLI qualifiers held in different parts of the country. Teams placing first or second in their division at one of the qualifiers has a place in the championship tournament. For more information on the U-FLI tournament please see the U-FLI website.
Speed is still the main focus, but in this system lower division teams have a chance to be recognized.
The Focus
I think this is an interesting comparison because it shows the old and the new. Sometimes you just need to step back for a minute to have a fresher look. I’m not saying that either system is bad, just that one recognizes a segment of the flyball community that until now has been somewhat overlooked. What do you think?
Larry
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7 comments ↓
I’m so glad you brought this subject up. I have had a proposal for Divisional Champioships submitted to the NAFA Board for two years. I know there are problems with the proposal in the form I submitted it. It is a “draft” of a concept that needs input from the NAFA Delegates in order for it to become a reality.
The NAFA Board solicited such input by publishing my proposal on the NAFA Website, May 2006 News section .
To my knowledge, no one submitted comment to that proposal except for myself. According to the Abridged minutes of the NAFA BoD meeting held in Detroit on August 12, 2006, Dale Smith was appointed Special Project Leader to continue development of Divisional Champions.
Both Dale and myself are running for the NAFA Board of Directors this Fall. If the NAFA Delegates would like to see the concept of Divisional Champioships become a reality for NAFA, vote for us!
I plan to write an Article about Divisional Championships on my blog. I welcome constructive comments. I believe that the NAFA Board and the NAFA Delegates can work together to make this idea become a reality for NAFA competitors.
Thank You!
You can read Chris’ proposal here: http://www.flyball.org/news_05222006.html
Thanks Chris, I was unaware of your proposal as I am sure the majority of people were until now. I support your proposal in general in that divisional championships of some sort are needed. Many good teams out there deserve to be recognized even though they may not run in division 1.
The NAFA Regional Championship is certainly a battle of speed, but also endurance. There may be 10+ tournaments in a region and for those teams competing for that championship, attendance is critical.
The Cynosport Championship was a bit of an exhibition, but it is a step toward a true championship. Any team could enter, and based on the level of participation last year, any team that entered would have advanced. Certainly this will change in the future, but it’s still a learning process. Oh yeh, the NAFA “Championship” was run on grass!
U-Fli’s Qualifier/Championship system gives teams a goal to focus on throughout the year. We know exactly how many practices we have between now and the Championship in November and we will plan to use them wisely. It’s the “Big Game” approach. It really is a blast. I hope they don’t change a thing.
I think divisional championships would be awesome. I myself have struggled with weather or not I want to be in a club that runs div 1 or trys to set all teams up to score 25pt heats. It may sound like an after school special but for me it’s not always about winning. On the other hand I have a really fast dog so I’d like to know that we run as fast and as clean as possible within our division. I think a divisional champioship would increase competitivness and make it more fun for the lower divisions.
The concept of divisional champs is interesting to me. After reading about the Cynosport, I felt that the overall result was a step away from the general “fun, family sport” that most NAFA rules are designed to support.
I am concerned about “competitive” teams touring the country looking for smaller tournaments in which to build tournament points.
U-FLI, in not having regions, allows this to work.
By no means am I experienced in flyball or running for office.
Just my penny.
Thank you, eli! Yours is exactly the perspective I am looking for constructive input. I really believe that a fresh, “outside of the box” thinking is what will make “Divisional Championships” a reality for NAFA.
I would like to know more that you think would make this “fair”.
For instance, Do you think that for “Divisional Championships”, NAFA should do away with Regional identities? Make it one, big “National” championship divided into time divisions?
….and, as for Cynosports, I agree with you TOTALLY in that is was a a HUGE step away from the traditional, “fun, family sport” that NAFA has evolved to support. ….but, I attended Cynosports as a spectator only and I was amazed that so many of the so-called “slower teams” had such a blast and raved about how much fun they were having. Perhaps, the lower division teams are more “competitive” than anybody realizes?
Thoughts?
Chris,
I do not doubt that flyball will eventually make it into “extreme” competitions with sports media sponsors and all that hype. As for me, I much prefer the flyball that first drew me to the sport - fun with dogs and other dog lovers, bragging rights for a job well done, a hobby as expensive or cheap as you wanted to make it, with no cash incentives to set racing stables and start making a buck traveling the flyball circuit. The cameraderie enjoyed by most flyballers is the backbone that built this sport.
Flyball “Championships” today still represent teams that have the urge to travel. As in, the fastest team in a NAFA region or U-FLI qualifier may or may not be inclined to travel “to the next level”.
In light of this, I feel both NAFA and U-FLI should recognize racing year accomplishments with in regions and divisions, and let the “National Champion” be a “National Challenge” match. With time divisions. And disquals for break outs, flat out. End of story.
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