IADSA championship show

Our first championship show took place yesterday. The show took place in a large indoor arena, the first agility show in Ireland in years to take place indoors!

Mr. Maynard Rea judged in ring 1. He put up lovely flowing courses that also required a bit of handling! The dogs loved the surface in the arena and were flying around the courses! From the nursery dogs to the championship classes, handlers and dogs enjoyed themselves and set a high standard. Our championship classes were made up of a Masters Agility & a Masters Jumping round. The scores from these classes were combined and 5 large dogs, 3 medium & 3 small dogs went through to the championship agility final. The final was run last and the atmosphere was tense. There was a hushed silence as each handler & dog ran the course. There was a great appreciation from the spectators for the quality of the runs and great support was given to every handler. The winner of the large dog championship final and perpetual trophy was Joanne Holland & Maddie, 2nd was Andrea Gilpin & Otis, 3rd was Andrea Gilpin & Ruby. The medium winner was Cheryl Harkness & Beanie, 2nd was Karen Kelly & Shep, with Thereze Szauer-Barnicle in 3rd with Katie. The small dog winner was Mary Morgan & Misty, 2nd was Anna-Maija Gronlund with Rosi, and in 3rd was Cheryl Harkness & Fidget. All three winners had clear rounds in the final which means that the wins count towards becoming a champion.

Ring 2 was the pay on the day ring and was judged by Ms. Mary Kennedy. This ring did extremely well and went a long way towards producing the atmosphere of camaraderie that pervaded throughout the day. The classes included fastest recall, scurry retrieve, individual flyball, weave challenge and biathlon. The flyball proved to be extremely popular. This is a new IADSA sport and many of our members got the chance to try it out for the first time. We hope to run a flyball competition in 2009.

Many thanks to everyone who supported the show with their entries, and to everyone who made the show a success by helping and competing.

Schedules will be out for our 3rd January show shortly.

Sarah.

IADSA championship show!

IADSA is running its first championship agility show on Sunday 9th November! It is an indoor show and it will also have a pay on the day ring for fun classes.

Schedules are available now, email: sarahjliddy@yahoo.ie

Show dates confirmed

The following show dates have now been confirmed:

Saturday 23rd August - Working Canine Association of Ireland are running their second agility show under IADSA rules in Co. Carlow. Schedules available from Nuala O'Brien in the next week.

Sunday 9th November - IADSA indoor show, Dublin

Saturday 3rd January 2009 - IADSA indoor show, Dublin

Please remember that all IADSA shows are only open to handlers registered with IADSA. Membership is €10 per year per handler, or €15 for family membership. Dogs are
registered for free. Forms are available from myself: sarahjliddy@yahoo.ie

Forthcoming events

6th July – Midwest DTC show in The Racecourse, Clonmel.
2nd August – Agility demonstration in Tipperary
10th August – Agility demonstration at the Tulllamore Agricultural show
Late August (TBC) – Agility show run by Working Canine Association of Ireland (WCAOI)in Carlow
November (TBC) – Indoor show
January / February (TBC) – Indoor show

Schedules are now available for Midwest DTC's IADSA show in Clonmel on 6th July. Contact Mark O'Brien for a schedule, or I can forward you a soft copy.

Sarah.

IADSA AGM

The IADSA AGM took place last Sunday in the Spawell, Templeogue. The committee remains unchanged for the coming year: Mark O'Brien (Chairperson), Sarah Liddy (myself - secretary), Nuala O'Brien (Treasurer), Nicola Rice and Helen Dignam.

I can be contacted at: sarahjliddy@yahoo.ie

Working Canine Association of Ireland show

The Working Canine Association of Ireland (WCAOI) held their first agility show yesterday, which was under IADSA rules. The committee did a great job organising the show which ran very smoothly, even the rain held off for most of the day! Miranda Moriarty was the judge and put up lovely, flowing courses. The courses ran well and were appropriately difficult for the various grades.

As well as being the club's first show, it was the first time competing for many of the handlers. A special mention goes to the young dogs in the nursery class who were very impressive. Well done also to our junior handlers who not only competed well in the junior class, they also gave the adults a run for their money in the other classes!

The next show under IADSA rules will be run by Midwest DTC on Sunday 6th July at the Racecourse in Clonmel. Schedules are available now from Mark O'Brien.

AGM

The IADSA AGM will take place on Sunday afternoon, 11th May. The details of time and venue will be communicated to members shortly.

Sarah.

WCAOI show

The Working Canine Association of Ireland are holding their first agility show on Saturday 10th May, which will be held under IADSA rules. This show is open to all IADSA members. Schedules can be obtained from myself or from the show secretary Nuala O'Brien (nulikimgtdanes@eircom.net). Entries must be received by 2nd May.

Sarah.

Local media coverage of the agility display

The Weekender





The Echo

Agility display

IADSA members took part in an agility display at Ratoath SNS, Co. Meath on Friday 29th February. It was a wet and windy day but a good time was had by all!

IADSA committee

The IADSA committee consists of Mark O'Brien (Chairperson), Sarah Liddy (myself - secretary), Nuala O'Brien (Treasurer), Nicola Rice and Helen Dignam.

If you wish to get in touch with me, I can be contacted at: sarahjliddy@yahoo.ie

Irish Agility & Dog Sports Association

The Irish Agility & Dog Sports Association (IADSA) was created last April. Its purpose is to develop and promote a variety of dog sports in Ireland, and to encourage handlers from a broad spectrum of the population to become active in dog sports.

The primary focus of IADSA at the moment is on agility, but we expect to include additional dog sports in the future.

Events to date
We ran a three day agility event at the International Sheepdog trials in Kilkenny last September. This involved two days of agility displays, and culminated with a show on the third day. The event was thoroughly enjoyed by participants and spectators alike.

Future events
Further shows are planned for the upcoming season, details will be posted shortly. All IADSA agility shows are run at the three FCI heights.