FLYBALL

What is Flyball?

Flyball is essentially a relay race.
A team of 4 dogs independently race down 4 hurdles, collect a tennis ball from a box and race back to the handler, negotiating the 4 hurdles on return. Once the dog has crossed the start/finish line, the next dog then takes its turn. If a dog drops the ball on the way back or does not come back over the jumps, the dog is required to run again.

The winning team in the first team back with 4 clear runs.

A team can consist of up to six dogs and handlers but only four compete in each round. The ball loader has to ensure a new tennis ball is loaded on each occasion and shouts instructions to the dogs.

The sport is fast and frantic, and of course noisy! All breeds of dogs can take part as the hurdles reflect the height of the smallest dog in the team.

However, it used to be Border Collies that dominate the sport due to their speed, agility and desire to work but to compete for Crufts, there must be at least one "non collie". Scunthorpe do however run some very quick Labradors and Crossbreeds in their teams.

Membership and Fees

Annual Membership

£10.00 per year club membership (January - December). Membership to be paid by end January for the full year includes all members/dogs of same family.

Class Fees

All flyball classes are £2.00 per class per person

Training Times - A very noisy occasion!!

Summer Training

Day - TBC
Time - TBC

Winter Training

Saturdays 10.00am - 11.00am (please arrive 15 mins early to help with set-up of class)

Meet our Trainer

Vaughan Bailey

Vaughan is the trainer for both our adult and junior flyball teams. Vaughan took over the flyball training in 2005 and since then has qualified many of our teams for Crufts.

General Information

Always bring your dogs favourite toy and some tasty treats.
Always keep your dog on a lead unless the instructor says otherwise.
Be aware of other dogs and owners, respect their distance for safety's sake.
Always clean up after your dog – bin provided near the gates.
It is wise to arrive early to exercise and toilet your dog before class. Try not to feed your dog a meal before training.
No bitches in season please.
Dress for the weather - all training will take place outdoors.
Reward based methods only – NO Harsh handing, no full check chains or physical punishment etc. allowed.
Parking available - please ensure access for all other cars in both classes - and access to the field must be available at all times for emergency services if required.
All our trainers are non-paid volunteers who want to share their knowledge on how to train dogs using positive reward based methods only. As our trainers are volunteers, they may change for each class dependent on availability.

We appreciate your cooperation to make classes as safe and as fun as possible. Thank you.