Yes, it can be quite difficult...
There
has been a lot of debate in the agility magazines recently about the suitability of courses for
a particular type of class. Some competitors are quick to criticise when things are not right
for them, but very rarely give praise when things go well. Judges too, can misunderstand what
their objective should be when designing a course. Barrie Harvey, Chairman of The Agility Club,
puts forward his point of view and says go with the flow.
I am sure some of you will disagree with what I have to
say, but then that is what makes us all different. I believe that there are a few rules to
observe when designing a course, some of which I list below.
1. Type of class i.e.
Starter, Novice, Senior etc.
2. Number of entries
3. Time pressures
4. Responsibility
Type of class
This is generally where most judges make their mistakes. It is
very difficult until a judge has some experience
to
know just how to pitch the level of difficulty. My advice to the
inexperienced judge is to err on the side of simplicity, rather than make it too complicated.
There are many books published that deal with this subject - and I would recommend you read
them - but I will tell you how I work.
I believe that ALL courses should flow. By flow I mean
that the sequence of obstacles should be fairly logical. With each different class there should
be at least one part of the course that requires handling carefully, and also at least one
change of side. All that the judge needs to do is to increase the amount of handling and change
of sides, as the class categories increase.
To illustrate - on an Elementary course, the jumps should
be approached straight on in a logical sequence, whilst on a Senior course by changing the
angle of the jump you can increase the level of difficulty. Now before you all start shouting
at me - I am not for one minute suggesting that a Senior course will be the same sequence as a
Starter course, it obviously will not, but we really do not have to make courses so difficult
that they are almost impossible to negotiate.
How
can you tell if a course is good or bad?
Just listen to handlers on a course. If they are shouting at
the dog after every obstacle to change the dog's direction, it is probably a bad course. Good
courses work well, look good, and are terrific to judge. Bad courses, are a nightmare to
handle, are no fun to watch and whilst they may be easy to judge you will know by the handlers
and spectator reaction that it is not going well.
As a judge, it really beats me how anybody can get any
satisfaction from eliminating large numbers of handlers. You expect some to be eliminated, but
if more than 50% of the runners get eliminated, I would suggest that the course is wrong.
The other consideration when designing your course is -
how are you going to judge it? By this I mean, where does the judge need to be to judge the
obstacle. I once saw somebody judge the weaving poles from the other side of the ring, with the
handler between them and the dog.
Number
of entries and time pressures
Two of the key pieces of information you need to know is how many
dogs are there in the class and how long have you got to judge them? With the increasing class
sizes, many shows have to schedule two or more classes in a ring during the day. There may be
another judge following into your ring once you have finished or at lunch time. If you have 300
dogs to judge in one class, and you have all day to do it, you could design a course of 20
obstacles. Alternatively, if you have 300 dogs to judge but there is another class in your ring
after you, you may decide to design a course of only 17 obstacles. The other factor to build in
is a split start and finish that will speed up the changeover process.
As a general rule of thumb with Novice or higher classes
- and if you take no tea breaks during the class - you can judge 60 dogs per hour for Jumping
and 50 per hour for Agility on an 18 obstacle course. For Starter or lower classes, you should
work on 50 per hour for Jumping and 40 per hour for Agility. This is no reflection on Starters
etc. It is simply a fact that Starter handlers and dogs are less experienced, and it takes
longer for them to get ready and to negotiate the course.
So using these figures 300 Novice jumping dogs will take
five hours to judge, and 300 Novice agility dogs will take six hours. One other fact to
remember in a class of 300 running, about 10% will not run.
So
how do I design courses?
For Agility classes I put the prime obstacles in first, (i.e.
A-frame, Dogwalk, See-saw, Weaving poles). I work out where I need to be to judge them, and
then fill in the other pieces to give me time to get to the position I want to be.
Each course should have a 'handling' section. The way I
work is to have this section towards the middle in a Novice class and at the beginning and end
of an Intermediate/Senior class. For Starters I DO NOT
put it at the beginning of a class, the reason being that you can demoralise them even before
they start. By having it later in the course, if they make a mistake, at least they feel the
got most of the way round the course before the encountering a problem.
Don't let anybody kid you that course design is easy. It
is difficult, and nobody gets it right 100% of the time. Your course very rarely comes out the
same in the ring as it did on paper, so be prepared to be flexible. Please bear in mind that
the course you put up should be enjoyable to work, watch and judge.
My favourite class to judge is Seniors. If you design the
right course it is very exciting to judge and to watch. You must build in some good handling
parts. In my experience, if you give them a course they can really have a go at, it makes a
very exciting competition for everybody, including you.
Your
responsibility
As a judge you have a number of responsibilities:-
1. To the club
that asked you - You owe it to them to do the best job you can.
2. To the handlers and
dogs - After all it is them who paid to enter this class, and they expect to be
given a chance. Remember safety is paramount primarily to the dog, but also the handler
3. To the sponsor
- They trust you to do the very best job you can.
4. To yourself -
Remember, one day you are the judge the next you are a competitor. Nobody wants to get
a reputation for doing a poor job. I have known judges who put up bad courses just so
nobody else asks them to judge. Come on, have the courage to say NO in the first place.
Judging
and course design is a serious business. Accept your responsibility, and do the very best you
can. Design a course that is fair and will test the ability of the dog and handler. You will
never get it right 100% of the time, and you will never please everybody who is entered in your
class, but make sure that the majority have a good chance. Good luck with your judging and if
you want individual advice or help, just contact me at shows.
About
the author
Barrie Harvey has been competing in
agility since 1984 and has been judging classes since 1988.The Harvey family all handle dogs
and they own five dogs between them all competing at different levels.
He is chairman of the British Agility Club and has been
involved with the club for 15 years. He is a founder member of both Mid Downs and Crayford
agility clubs and can be found almost every weekend at a show somewhere in the UK.
Credit: Clip art thanks to Danny Clarke
Clean
Run Course Designer
You download the program from the Clean Run site. When you buy it they will send you
an activation code.
You can use Course Designer for free without an activation cord for 30 days.
After 30 days you can only view courses. They also have a course designer tutorial that you can
get for free.
Feedback
From Mick Chambers...
Fortunately I am still at the stage where I am not bothered about what the course is like.
Variety is the spice of life and it would spoil agility if you could predict the courses. Our
performance is not related to the type of course, I have done well and appallingly on similar
tests. I thought Barrie Harvey made sense in his article on Agilitynet about how courses should
vary according to the class. (30/10/01)
From Caroline Griffin...
Enjoyed the article gave a new insight to courses. Run some horrible
ones so I can understand the hard bit!! (10/10/02)
Top
|