Bravo Jean in Lyra, 18 mesto na sveto ni kar tako!!!
OK, let's not exaggerate.
This doesn't mean we're the 18th best in the world, or even in the top 100...plenty of great frisbee dogs weren't at this tournament. And in fact the guy who won the qualification on Friday (Lawrence Frederick) put his back out and didn't even enter on Saturday. We still have a LOT to learn and work on. And this experience has helped us do that.
I still think our 1st freestyle was scored a bit low, especially the canine score. I heard a few people on Sunday complaining about that--their dogs were scored unusually low as well, compared to scores in past events. It's one thing if the judge scores everybody on the low side (because it doesn't affect the overall order) but that wasn't the case here--some dogs got very high scores, other dogs who were nearly as good much lower. But that's the way these things work, any of you who have been to dog shows have no doubt experienced something similar--one judge thinks your dog is terrific, another on another day isn't impressed. So it goes.
Sunday was PERFECT weather for frisbee, especially freestyle. Part of me was sorry we weren't competing in freestyle, because conditions were so much better than Saturday's, but another part of me was happy just to relax and enjoy the show. We did the first Super Pro T&F event (National Finals), but didn't do well enough to make the cut (top fifteen) for the International Finals. The wind was funny--there wasn't a lot of it, but just enough to affect long throws, and it kept switching direction! The T&F competitors kept switching ends of the field, because the wind would do a 180-degree shift. In my case (and probably a few others) during the first round it happened while I was throwing.
So I started with a tail wind, then the third and fourth throws were into the wind, then I had a tailwind again at the end (and various crosswinds at various times). The second round was on a different field that was more sheltered from the wind. I had three catches for 10.5 points in the first round and 4 catches for 15 points in the second, total of 25.5 (I think), not quite good enough. Would have needed one more catch to advance. Darek and Ulfi had two great rounds of 22 points each, and tied for third place in the National Finals. Ron Watson and Ryder won. So the top fifteen from the Nationals were invited to the International Finals. Unfortunately Darek bombed
, mainly due to nervousness. He made throws even Ulfi couldn't catch, and his very last one in the second round went way way sideways into the judge's tent
. So he finished something like 13th or 14th. Ron Watson was last. Just the way it goes--someone who's brilliant in one set of rounds can completely blow it in another.
The freestyle was very nice to watch. I think the final order was 1. Mark Muir and BC Rocket 2. Mona and Toah (a Japanese woman and her incredible Malinois) 3. Tracy Custer (last year's champion) and Raccoon Jack (Australian cattle dog) 4. Shaun Hirai and BC Shack. Full results will be online later.
Best part for me and Lyra was at the end, when the most people had gone home and the field was clear and the lights were on, perfect throwing conditions, I practiced some really long throw (Quadruped stuff) first without her and then with her. She made four catches in a row, each time they were between 50-60 yards (not quite as far as the same figures in meters). We did a bit of freestyle jamming, too, it was great because there was no pressure, just total frisbee fun. I didn't work her too hard, though, because I want her rested for the trip back. Afterwards Darek and I and Ron and Apryl and a few others went out to eat together. In this part of Georgia you can't buy alcohol anywhere on a Sunday
, not in restaurants, bars, or stores, so I had to wait till I got back to my hotel room to have a beer (which I'd had the foresight to buy earlier in the week).
Dominant breed was BC, plenty of aussies, too, some cattle dogs (Tracy Custer has a bunch of them), couple of Malinois...culto, I didn't see any PRTs
, and just one JRT (from Japan). The whole competition was videotaped professionally, and the CD will be available for purchase in a couple of months. I'll try to get some stuff from Darek before then.
We both need breakfast now, and then I have to pack. I'll try to check in one more time before we leave for the airport, then the next time will likely be via sms to cacy from Frankfurt.