Linda Carter, Professional Dog Trainer

Flyball

Flyball offers fast pace action with plenty of excitement for dogs, handlers and spectators alike.

Flyball was invented in California in the early 1970's. Dog training clubs quickly picked up on the sport and began holding Flyball tournaments. With ever increasing popularity, the necessity for one set of Flyball rules became apparent. Therefore, in the early 80's the North American Flyball Association (NAFA) was formed and became the worldwide authority for Flyball.

Flyball is a team relay race with 4 dogs on a team. The course consists of a starting line, 4 hurdles spaced 10 feet apart and a box. The hurdles' height are dependent on the height of the dogs on the team. (Hurdles are to be 4" below the shoulder height of the shortest dog on the team - 8" is the minimum height and 16" is the maximum height.) The first hurdle is 6 feet from the start/finish line and the box is 15 feet from the last hurdle for an overall total course length of 51 feet.

Flyball races match two teams of four dogs each, racing side-by-side over the 51 foot long course. Each dog must run in relay fashion, over the jumps, triggering the Flyball box, releasing the ball, retrieve the ball, and return over the jumps. The next dog is released to run the course but can't cross the start/finish line until the previous dog has returned over all 4 jumps and reached the start/finish line. The first team to have all 4 dogs finish the course without error wins the heat.

Dogs can earn points towards NAFA Flyball Titles based on the team's time:

Each dog on the team earns 1 point if the team time is less than 32 seconds.
Each dog on the team earns 5 points if the team time is less than 28 seconds.
Each dog on the team earns 25 points if the team time is less than 24 seconds.

NAFA Flyball Titles:	Abbr:	Points:
Flyball Dog	FD	20
Flyball Dog Excellent	FDX	100
Flyball Dog Champion	FDCH	500
Flyball Dog Champion Silver	FDCH-S	1,000
Flyball Dog Champion Gold	FDCH-G	2,500
Flyball Master	FM	5,000
Flyball Master Excellent	FMX	10,000
Flyball Master Champion	FMCH	15,000
ONYX Award	ONYX	20,000
Flyball Grand Champion	FGDCH	30,000
Hobbes Award	HOBBES	100,000

The United Flyball League International (U-FLI) was founded in 2005. In U-FLI tournaments the jump heights are lower and the point system for Flyball titles earned is different but the Flyball race course is basically the same. In U-FLI tournaments, they also offer single dog racing and pairs racing in addition to the standard team racing.

UFLI Flyball Titles:	Abbr:	Points:
Top Flight	Top Flight	100
Top Flight One	TF-I	500
Top Flight Two	TF-II	750
Top Flight Three	TF-III	1,000
Top Flight Executive	Top Flight Executive	2,500
Top Flight Executive One	TFE-I	4,000
Top Flight Executive Two	TFE-II	5,500
Top Flight Executive Three	TFE-III	7,000
Top Flight Premier	Top Flight Premier	9,500
Top Flight Premier One	TFP-I	12,000
Top Flight Premier Two	TFP-II	14,500
Top Flight Premier Three	TFP-III	17,000
Top Flight Expert	Top Flight Expert	20,000
Top Flight First Class	Top Flight First Class	20,500
Top Flight First Class One	TFFC-I	24,000
Top Flight First Class Two	TFFC-II	27,500
Top Flight First Class Three	TFFC-III	31,000
Top Flight Ace	Top Flight ACE	35,000
Top Flight World Class	Top Flight World Class	35,500
Top Flight World Class One	TFWC-I	40,000
Top Flight World Class Two	TFWC-II	44,500
Top Flight World Class Three	TFWC-III	49,000
Top Flight Champion	Top Flight Champion	50,000
Top Flight Extreme	Top Flight Extreme	54,500
Top Flight Extreme One	TFX-I	60,000
Top Flight Extreme Two	TFX-II	65,500
Top Flight Extreme Three	TFX-III	71,000
Top Flight Specialist	Top Flight Specialist	75,000
Top Flight Ultimate	Top Flight Ultimate	77,500
Top Flight Ultimate One	TFU-I	84,000
Top Flight Ultimate Two	TFU-II	90,500
Top Flight Ultimate Three	TFU-III	97,000
Top Flight Elite	Top Flight Elite	100,000

Flyball Books:

Flyball Links:

Dependable Paws Flyball Team
North American Flyball Association (NAFA)
United Flyball League International (U-FLI)