This person positions the box in the lane, stands in it to brace the
box against the impact of the dogs triggering it, and loads balls into
the box for each dog. The boxloader should have a carrying voice, be
sturdy enough to move the box and hold it in position, know each dog by
name and the direction the dog turns in. It's a bonus if they have a
powerful, carrying voice and the dexterity to handle handfuls of tennis
balls without dropping them.
This person releases the start dog. The start dog is the first dog of
the team to race. They will have to learn their dog's start speed and
know how far back from the start line and at what point in the start
light sequence to release it. Good starts are judged by the hundreths
of a second, so timeing is very critical. The start dog handler should
be able to charge his/her dog up enough to sprint from a standstill
over and over again. Also, a high level of consistency in the way the
dog starts is important.
This person is running the smallest dog on the team, the dog from whom
the jump heights are set. Therefore, this dog is the one most
challenged by the jump heights. The handler has to be aware of the
dog's condition and fitness level and protect the dog from overuse
injuries. Height dogs are often terriers, usually Jack Russel Terriers.
You have to be the right kind of person to handle these little monsters
and get the cooperation and enthusiasm out of them. Even people who
like terriers often refer to them as "terrors".
These are the people who release the other two dogs on the team. They
each need to learn how their dog runs and encourage consistency so that
they can judge when to release their dogs so that they pass the
previous dog nose to nose at the start line. The handlers of the dogs
racing 2nd or 3rd in order will also need to be able to adjust for
variations in the speeed of the dog running just previous to their dog,
because they will be releasing their dog to pass the previous dog. If
the previous dog speeds up or slows down, it will affect the release of
their dogs. The second and third dogs will be passing another dog going
to the box and returning. These are two distinct skills that have to be
taught and practiced to gain any consistency.
The team captain helps the team function as a whole. They make the
split-section decisions of whether to re-run a dog that has a fault,
whether to switch out a dog who is having troubles with a dog that was
being held in reserve, which dogs run and in which order. The team
captain also communicates the racing order to the line judge and the
boxloader. Ideally, the team captain shouldn't be handling a dog. It's
just too much to keep track of, and it can be hard to see what's going
on with the other team members when you are focused on your dog.
However, on most teams, the captain is racing a dog and they manage
just fine.
All the dogs are racing down, getting tennis balls, then racing back
and spitting them out. The ball shagger collects all the loose balls so
that no one trips over them and breaks their neck and also so that the
team keeps track of their tennis balls. This is a good role for the
kids, the dogless, the dog-is-still-in-training types.
This person stands at the start line and calls out to the handlers
information on early or late passes. This helps the handlers adjust
where they release the dog, to make the closest possible pass. It takes
a quick eye, and even then you are usually off. A camera can be used to
achieve more accuracy, especially in practice, but you need a camera
operator.
This is a person who volunteers to line judge for races that your team
is not directly involved in. The line judge watches for faults and
calls them out to the head judge and records the times and dogs running
on record sheets provided by the host club. Common faults are: the dog
drops the ball before it crosses the finish line, the dog veers outside
of the start finish gates, the dog misses the last jump, or the dogs
run out of order on a re-run. The captain of the team running in the
lane you are judging will provide the information on which dogs are
running. Since the line judge only judges on races that the team does
not run in, any member of the team can volunteer, even if they have a
different role during actual races.
Positioned near the box at the end of the lane, this person watches to
confirm that the dog triggers the box, takes the ball, and continues
back over the jumps without dropping the ball or veering out of the
lane. Like the Line Judge, this person only judges races by other
teams, and so can be a volunteer who also fullfills another role during
team races.
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