Setting a Course for Judging

The sad thing in my view is that when young and inexperienced dogs at Starter/Novice level are faced with too many areas of difficulty on a single course, they make too many mistakes. Handler error counts for a lot of faults, but when a dog just cannot do something it takes the joy out of the round.

Obviously the level must be taken into account when setting a course to judge, and there are a few unwritten rules here.

Elementary In Elementary maybe the handling is all on one side or with just one or two changes at easy to do places. (fig 1) The course should be flowing with no tricks or choices – that is each obstacle leading easily from the one before.	Click here to view the course Elementary (fig. 1)
Starters In Starters I think that turns are needed with angles rather than curves in places to show that the handler can control the dog and the winner has skills not just speed. Bearing in mind that a lot of the class will be first time dogs or dog and handler in their first season I would still aim at a level where the majority of the class can be successful. That does not necessarily mean 100% clear rounds but an element of success for all is achievable. (fig 2)	Starters (fig. 2)
Novice Going on to novice classes the possibilities really widen out and in the last few years I have seen novice classes change from ‘up and down’ to very complex, angled and quite difficult combinations. I feel that novice courses should have one or two areas of difficulty but also allow for success on the whole. A handler and dog missing a pull through or a sharper weave entry can at least come off the course and say they only had 5 or 10 faults. The best dog on the day will win! There are a lot of combinations which can be included at novice level – slaloms, pull throughs, boxes, sharper angles, call offs etc. but not all on one course. I like to either start with a straight part, put in some handling and then have a fast finish. Or handle at the start, go into a flowing section and then a controlled section later on. This tests the dogs ability to be controlled and to speed up and the handlers ability to understand and work with the dog. (fig 3)	Novice (fig. 3)
Judging tips At one show I had to judge Novice, Open and Senior in one ring so set a course where no obstacles were moved, just some numbers. (fig 4) This was fun to set and to work out. I always set out my courses on my training field and run them myself, and recently I have been lucky to have a Standard Novice, a Standard Senior and an Advanced Mini to test the courses. I also try them out on my club members, provided naturally that they are not entered at the show in question!	Novice, Open, Senior (fig. 4)

Another thing which may or may not be taken into consideration when setting a course is the show. If it is mainly a Starter show with just one Novice class, then most of this class will be Starters. At a limit show, the winner will not graduate to Senior so the course again could be aimed towards a higher success rate. I usually feel pleased if about 20% or more are clear and under 25% eliminated. Less clear rounds probably means that the course is too difficult or that there are one or two problematic areas. More eliminations means the same thing.

When I first started judging a friend told me that the first 20 dogs were the worst and that still applies; what an awful feeling when 19 dogs have run and there are still no clears. Thank goodness for dog number 20.

An important factor in working out my course is deciding where to stand and where to move around the course. This especially applies on agility courses as I am not the fastest mover (!) and need to be able to see those contacts when Speedy Manic Dog flies over the dogwalk and is gone. I do like to move around when judging jumping too as standing in one place is more tiring, so I always plan my route depending on tunnel entrances, weaves etc. and try not to get in anyone’s way.

I believe that generally judges should have experience and understanding of dogs of the height, type and level they are judging and can get this either by running them in competition or by training them. There are excellent all-round judges who have not progressed through the classes with their own dogs as there are very successful handlers who have maybe forgotten what ‘Starters’ really means.

Finally I read and observe. I watch a lot of course at shows and sometimes walk those I am not actually running. There are a lot of good videos, web sites and magazines with a special interest in course building including the American magazine Clean Run which has technical articles about building and running sequences and full courses.

I have a book with every course I have ever run or set and then some. I am waiting for the call to go on Mastermind... specialist subject ‘Agility Courses – The Last 15 Years’. At nearly pension age, I am an Agility Anorak!

About the author...
Lin Bergan has always had dogs, mostly Border Collies. She has trained dogs for obedience, working trials and sheepdogs but has always enjoyed agility most.

Her first agility dog was a perpetual starter, but she went on to get new puppies and rescue dogs and has had some success with them in teams and in flyball. Her best dog to date has been Tip who is now 12 years old and retired. She won out of Starters and into Senior and qualified for several national finals.

Millie, her mini dog is Advanced and has qualified for Crufts in six separate events, coming third in the Mini/Maxi pairs in 2002 with Stuart Carter and Storm. She has been in almost every national Mini final and they have been near the top of the Agility Club tables on several occasions, the best being second in 2002.

Gwen is a five year old WSD rescued dog but she has hip displasia. She loves agility and is super fast but they often have jumps down because of her disability.

She now has Todd (16 months) who will start this year. He is the dog she has always wanted as he is not too wizzy and quite sensible… unusual for her! She also has an eight month bitch called Trim who is related to Tip and is just starting training.

Lin is a member of Mid Downs and Tunbridge Wells clubs and trains at KIS agility, too. She also runs her own club, Sunniday which was sixth in the Premier Division of the Agility Voice tables in 2003.

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Have just read the article on course planning for the right level. I totally agree with the author, but I sure hope she has some rocket shoes to be capable of judging her elementary course!! No time to get to the A-frame! (17/02/04)
Relinde Peschier

It's a very interesting article with some very good points - however, I wouldn't fancy trying to get past the weaves in the starters course without impaling myself. Mind you, I have managed to trip over a seesaw in a similar place so these things do happen in our shows sadly. I also think the Starters course is too 'compact' - probably suitable for Mini starters but wouldn't fancy a fast Standard height dog's chances of getting to the tunnel - even if the handler could get past the weaves. (17/02/04)
Penny Garner-Carpenter

Setting a Course for Judging

Getting it right

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