Flyball is a

dog sport Dog sports are competitive activities specifically designed for dogs. Dogs typically participate in sports with the help of owners, although some dog sports do not require human participation. A 2015 survey found that dog owners of all classes pa ...

in which teams of

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

s race against each other from the start to the finish line, over a line of

hurdle A hurdle (UK English, limited US English) is a moveable section of light fence. In the United States, terms such as "panel", "pipe panel" or simply "fence section" are used to describe moveable sections of fencing intended for agricultural u ...

s, to a box that releases a

tennis ball A tennis ball is a small, hollow ball used in games of tennis and real tennis. Tennis balls are fluorescent yellow in Professional sports, professional competitions, but in Amateur sports, recreational play other colors are also used. Tennis bal ...

to be caught when the dog presses the spring-loaded pad, then back to their handlers while carrying the ball. Flyball is run in teams of four dogs, as a

relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switc ...

. The course consists of four hurdles placed apart from each other, with the starting line from the first hurdle, and the flyball box after the last one, making for a length. The hurdle height is determined by the ulna's length or the smallest dog's shoulder height on the team (depending on the association). For example, under current North American Flyball Association (NAFA) rules, this should be below the

withers Withers are the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, this ridge is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, catt ...

height of the smallest dog, to a height of no less than and no greater than . United Kingdom Flyball League (UKFL) uses a patented ulna measuring device, measuring the distance between the 'elbow' and bone of the stopper pad with a minimum height of and a maximum of . Current EFC (European Flyball Championship) rules limit the height to no less than 17.5 cm and no greater than 35 cm. Each dog must return its ball all the way across the start line before the next dog crosses. Ideal running is nose-to-nose at the start line. The first team to have all four dogs cross the finish line error free wins the heat. Penalties are applied to teams if the ball is dropped or if the next relay dog is released early.

History

Flyball started as a dog sport in the late 1960s and early 1970s in Southern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Some dog trainers combined scent hurdle racing with the dogs bringing back a tennis ball to the finish line. Then a tennis ball-launching apparatus was added, and the first flyball box was born. Herbert Wagner is credited with making the first real flyball box, and he also demonstrated flyball on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...

''. The first flyball tournament was held in 1983 in the United States. Flyball has now expanded into many countries, including Australia, Canada and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an countries such as Belgium,

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, Germany, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, Austria, Hungary, France and the United Kingdom have national flyball tournaments and also hold joint annual European championships. The European championships, which are the largest international Flyball championships, were held in the United Kingdom in 2007 and 2012, the Czech Republic in 2008; Poland in 2018; Belgium in 2009, 2010 and 2013; Germany in 2011, 2015 and 2019; and France in 2014.

Nature of the sport

Flyball provides an entertaining and active way to interact with one's dog and other dog enthusiasts in an enjoyable environment while allowing the dogs exercise and enjoyment. It is an especially effective way to burn off dogs' energy with a high drive to

work Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an ani ...

, such as

Border Collie The Border Collie is a British list of dog breeds, breed of herding dog of the collie type of medium size. It originates in the region of the Anglo-Scottish border, and descends from the traditional Sheep dog, sheepdogs once found all over the ...

s and

Staffordshire Bull Terrier The Staffordshire Bull Terrier, also called the Staffy or Stafford, is a purebred dog of small to medium size in the terrier group that originated in the northern parts of Birmingham and in the Black Country of Staffordshire, for which it ...

s. A large part of flyball's popularity stems from the fact that it is one of the competition activities available to

mixed-breed dog A mongrel, mutt, or mixed-breed dog is a dog that does not belong to one officially recognized Dog breed, breed, including those that result from intentional Dog breeding, breeding. Although the term ''mixed-breed dog'' is sometimes preferred, m ...

s, allowing rescued mutts and non- pedigree dogs to shine alongside their

purebred Purebreds are cultivars of an animal species achieved through the process of selective breeding. When the lineage of a purebred animal is recorded, that animal is said to be pedigreed. Purebreds breed true-to-type, which means the progeny of l ...

canine counterparts. Though

herding dog A herding dog, also known as a stock dog or working dog, is a Dog type, type of dog that either has been trained in herding livestock or belongs to one of the dog breed, breeds that were developed for herding. A dog specifically trained to he ...

s currently dominate the courses, many champion teams have mutts on them. Dogs earn titles and awards based on points earned by their team in racing. As the sport has developed, better dog training regimes have been introduced as knowledge has increased within the sport. Specific training has been developed to promote the dogs using the 'swimmers' type turns on the Flyball box when catching the ball and turning. Flyball is not limited to the breed's size, as smaller dogs such as

Patterdale Terrier The Patterdale Terrier is a breed of dog descended from the Northern terrier breeds of the early 18th century, originally bred in Patterdale, Lake District. Description Appearance There are three breed standards for the Patterdale Ter ...

s, Jack Russell Terriers,

Whippet The Whippet is a British breed of dog of sighthound type. It closely resembles the Greyhound and the smaller Italian Greyhound, and is intermediate between them in size. In the nineteenth century it was sometimes called "the poor man's raceh ...

s and even miniature

poodle The Poodle, called the in German () and the in French, is a breed of water dog. The breed is divided into four varieties based on size, the Standard Poodle, Medium Poodle, Miniature Poodle and Toy Poodle, although the Medium Poodle is no ...

s, often compete with great success in mixed-breed teams (teams consisting of dogs of various sizes and breeds). Smaller dogs are often prized as the hurdle height is based on the height of the smallest dog in the team, commonly known as a ''height dog''. Their only limitation is whether they can trigger the release pad, and small dogs often have to fully jump on it to do so. Flyball is one of the non-

hunting dog A hunting dog is a Dog, canine that hunts with or for hunters. There are several different Dog type, types of hunting dog developed for various tasks and purposes. The major categories of hunting dog include hounds, terriers, cur type dogs, and ...

sports in which dogs and people work as a team. Many casual

pet A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive/ cute appearances, inte ...

owners use their flyball time more as a way to relax and socialize with other dog owners than as a competition, and many champion flyball dogs are essentially

dogs with a hobby, rather than dedicated sporting or working dogs. On the other hand, modern flyball has become the fastest-growing team sport, a sport for dogs, handlers and coaches. First division teams have well-trained dogs and handlers and are trained and coached to perform. Some teams use dedicated specially bred sport dogs. Dogs lining up to race

Competitions

Competitions are usually hosted by a specific local flyball club but under the sanction of a national governing body. The host club may be devoted solely to flyball or to many other types of

dog sports Dog sports are competitive activities specifically designed for dogs. Dogs typically participate in sports with the help of owners, although some dog sports do not require human participation. A 2015 survey found that dog owners of all classes p ...

. The host flyball club uses Head judges who are licensed by the national sanctioning organization and the club will apply to the national sanctioning organization for permission to hold a competition on a specific date or weekend; most competitions are two-day weekend events. Although competitions may vary, teams are normally seeded into divisions against other teams of similar speed. This allows the races to be closer and much more exciting. Each team in the division will usually race against all the other teams in a round robin format. The overall winner is the team with the most wins in a race. In competitions all teams will also be trying to improve their own individual team's best race time. Teams that underestimate their speed may "break out" of their division in competition. The break-out time for a division is typically set at 1 second faster than the top seeded team in each division. The break-out rule is intended to encourage teams to seed themselves accurately, as any heats where a team breaks out do not count and are recorded as losses. The largest single regularly held flyball competition is the North American Flyball Championships which is called the CanAm Classic. In the 2009 Championships there were about 300 teams competing held over a three-day event. U-Fli hosts their Tournament of Champions at Purina Farms. A slightly smaller scale to NAFA's CanAm Classic, it hosts over 100 teams and runs 3 to 4 rings of races over the course of three days. Dog in competition

Technology

While flyball tournaments can be run manually utilizing stopwatches and line judges, electronic systems to facilitate accurate judging are the norm. NAFA refers to their system as the Electronic Judging System. U-FLI refers to their system as the Digital Scoring System. These systems are similar in nature, with the following primary components: A light tree to indicate the countdown to race start, optical gates positioned at the start/finish line to detect line faults, and a high-precision digital clock to time the race.

Pass Calling

Flyball teams with fast dogs and tight passes run into the limits of human perception when it comes to accurate estimation of the distance between the dogs when the returning dog passes through the plane of the start/finish line. Some teams use digital video cameras to record the pass, and then review frame-by-frame to develop an estimate of distance, but the traditional frame rate of 30 frames per second (FPS) can present a problem in that it is unlikely to capture a frame of the exact moment the returning dog breaches the plane of the start/finish line. More recently, high-speed consumer cameras such as the Casio Exilim EX-FH100 have been used to record video at much higher frame rates. Some teams have started using software designed for other sports, such as the cSwing Golf Analysis tool, to aid in the capture and review of high speed camera footage of flyball passes.

Fastest recorded singles time

Wire (owned and trained by Jayne McQuillen) from Skidmarkz flyball team from Iowa City, Iowa, US, recorded a time of 3.386 seconds at Jefferson, Wisconsin on 2 September 2023. Fume (owned and trained by Barbara Bunday) from Paws on the Run flyball team from Leicestershire, UK, recorded a time of 3.40 seconds, recorded at Horseley Fen 31 December 2021.

National Record Times

Australian * The curren
AFA
record is 15.987 seconds and is held by Norwest Thunderdogs 1 (set at Canberra show on 26 February 2022). The Norwest Thunderdogs 1 team consisted of Ivy (Australian Kelpie), Link (Koolie), Inferno (Border Collie), and 9 inch height dog Swift (Koolie) . British * The current record is 14.23 seconds and is held by Raptors (set at a UKFL event at Newark showground 2024) * The current multi-breed record is held by Tails We Win flyball team who set the record of 15.42 in May 2023 * The current Crufts Flyball record is 14.27 seconds and is held by Roadrunners Beep Beep, set 11 March 2023. They are also the first non-UK team to win the Crufts flyball tournament, and on their first attempt. Belgian * The current Belgian record is 14.16 seconds and is held by Roadrunners Flyball Team based at Zonhoven. It was set at Beersel on 16 July 2023. Roadrunners Beep Beep, part of The Roadrunners flyball team, attained the record using a height dog, jump height 27.5 cm. The record was set outdoors at a Super Cup competition. Poland * The current Polish record is 14.84 seconds and is held by Fractal Flyball Team based at Gdańsk. It was set in Gdańsk on 19 September 2021. EFC * The current record by European Flyball Championships ruling is 15.31 seconds and is held by Roadrunners flyballteam from Zonhoven, Belgium, and was set at EFC 2018 in Poland. The EFC tournament is an outdoor competition. North American * The curren
U-FLI
record is 14.182 seconds and is held by Touch N Go. It was set on 12 April 2014 in Hurricane, Utah. * The curren
NAFA
Regular record is 14.433 seconds and is held by Border Patrol. It was set on 5 June 2016 in Rockton, Ontario.

Governing bodies

* US and Canada: The first flyball organization, the North American Flyball Association (NAFA), was created to design uniform competition rules and to promote the sport. * US and Canada
North American Flyball Association (NAFA)United Flyball League International (U-FLI)
* Canada: The main flyball organization is th
North American Flyball Association (NAFA)
* United Kingdom. There are two organisations in the UK: Th
British Flyball Association (BFA)
formed in 1994, and th
UK flyball league (UKFL)
formed in December 2017. * Australia: The sport is overseen by th
Australian Flyball Association (AFA)
* Belgium: The main flyball organization is the Belgische Flyball Belge (BFB). *

: The main flyball organization is the South African Flyball Dog Association (SAFDA).

References

External links

Australian Flyball Association

British Flyball Association

Flyball Teams and Information

Guinness World Records Largest Flyball Tournament
{{Authority control Dog sports