IFCS World Agility Championships!

The 4th IFCS World Agility Championships (WAC) will be held in Ingelmuster, Belgium, from May 9-11, 2008 - this Friday through Sunday. Check-in and warm-up will begin on May 8th.

This IFCS (International Federation of Cynological Sports) event promotes nondiscriminatory practices, the betterment of the sport, and the association of competitors among nations. It is held every two years in different locations around the world. The WAC features standard agility, jumping, gamblers, snooker, and relay, both in individual and team competitions.

Each team can have a maximum of 12 members with no more than three competitors per jump height.

Official IFCS height breakdowns are as follows:

Toy - 30 cm (11.81 in) and under, jumps 30 cm
Mini - 40 cm (15.75 in) and under, jumps 40 cm
Midi - 50 cm (19.69 in) and under, jumps 55 cm
Maxi - Over 50 cm (19.70 in) jumps 65 cm T

The United States Dog Agility Association is the United States representative for team selection to participate in the IFCS World Agility Championships. Here are the US team members:

Toy class:
Mike Murphy, Bailey , Jack Russel Terrier
Dana Pike, Tangle , Mixed Breed
Kimberly Sisak , Devo, Papillon

Small class:
Elizabeth Evan, Hemi , Pyrenean Shepherd
Suzi Cope , Jib , Miniature Poodle
Suzanne Wesley, Sonic , Miniature Poodle

Medium class:
Mary Ellen Barry, Fizz, Border Collie
Kate Moureaux, Driven, Border Collie
Anne Andrle, Ski, Border Collie

Large class:
Rachel Sanders, Fable, Border Collie
Stuart Mah, Qwik, Border Collie
Lisa Bowers, Slick , Border Collie

If you'd like to read more about the team members, the USDAA website has interviews with nearly every one attending. Here is the list of all participants from Belgium, Japan, Canada, South Africa, Great Britain, Russian Federation, The Netherlands, Spain, and Australia.

Individual events will include: Agility-Standard, Jumping, Snooker, Gamblers, Biathlon (Agility-Standard + Jumping), All around (Agility-Standard + Jumping + Snooker + Gamblers). Team event will include the Triathlon (Agility-Standard + Jumping + Team Relay). There will also be a non-championship class - Power & Speed, which is a combination of contact obstacles, weave poles and a spread hurdle for the power section, and speed with accuracy during the second section (consisting of hurdles and tunnels) of the course.

The USDAA selected its US team members based on a compilation of the points earned by hopefuls from their first three Regionals (Grand Prix Finals, Steeplechase Finals, and each Team Class) as well as from the 2007 Cynosport World Games (Grand Prix Semifinals and Finals, Steeplechase Semifinals and Finals, and each Team class). Such information was calculated for those competitors who submitted Intent To Compete forms by the September 21st deadline.

Team USA has won three past team gold medals and has been the leader in the medal count each event dating back to the inaugural event in Moscow back in 2002. Team USA is eyeing their fourth Team gold amidst a growing, competitive international community. Good luck to all the competitors!

And for a little history - Here are the results from 2002, and from 2004. And here are the 2006 results and courses.