Down GRADING Champ Classes
The nip on my leg signals the successful end to another run. This time better than most, as I cradle my pretty little Meg, stopping further bites, self delusion takes over. This time I can’t think of any errors, there were no wide turns, I even visualize that the serpentine handling between 11 and 13 so tirelessly practiced, has gained me a second over the mere mortals who front crossed twice. I could not have done anymore. I tell myself I may have won…. I may get to Advanced level….run in Champ Classes ….the mind wanders.
12th .Well done…, my training partner interrupts visions of Olympia, and only 1.5 seconds behind me. You could not have done anymore. Reality hits home. This was as good a round as I could produce, but 11 people are better, the visions of that elite status fades, and the clenched fist of reality hits me hard on the nose.
At moments like this I, like most, then look for the good things, 12th in Senior jumping, that’s not bad. 5 years ago I swore I would never do a twizzle because it was effeminate, now it’s called a front cross and they are second nature. I knew nothing of turns, blind or false, now the former are treated with derision and the latter offered too frequently, like a sufferer of Tourettes. Two years ago, at the same venue, my then perfect, first ever, Senior clear round did not even gets placed in the top 20. I think its called progress. Is it really that important to run in Champ? I am improving, achieving the best I possibly can. That run was faultless. Be realistic, this is as good as it gets. Look at yourself, senior level is pretty good.
I suffer from arthritis, like most ex- sportsmen who did not know when to give up, I also have high blood pressure and diabetes and only enter my 54th year courtesy of the intricate mysteries of transplant surgery, so how should I dare to believe that I could run with the top practitioners of the sport. I remember seeing my 1st Champ class, I think it must have been 2002 and I remember the quiet assured handling of Toni Dawkins, the control and confidence of Greg Derrett, and how easy Jo Rhodes made it all look. This was agility at it’s best, like the top practitioners in any sport, it looked simple, maybe it was my naivety, but everyone looked good, they even got eliminated looking good. I also remember there were not that many either, all were household names, you recognized them, made conversation with them hoping to glean some magic secret that would help you be a little more competitive.
Would I ever be good enough??? NEVER……… nor should I be. The top few should have that extra quality. Champ classes should mean just that, the best that there is, exhibiting their own individual but nonetheless perfectly honed techniques for others to learn from. This class should be the window through which anyone aspiring to improve should look, and as for me I should be sat comfortably in anticipation of seeing the best that the sport could offer and enjoy it.
Enter the KC agility fairy. It is not December 2006 It’s January 2008, the venue Wilmslow and she has changed my Senior class into a Graded one, my 12th place beat all the other Grade 6 handlers so despite finishing 1.5 seconds behind my mate I am now a Grade 7 handler. I to the uninitiated at least, am as good as those aforementioned, I can join the elite in Champ, I can make the silly mistakes while Mssrs Dawkins, Rhodes and Derrett still make it look easy , I am still 1.5 seconds behind my training partner who is 1.5 seconds behind the winner.
Is this right???
Well before you answer lets assess the qualifications of this new Agility God. I do not consider myself to be a bad handler; I am committed to improving, serious or silly enough to commit to a weekly round trip of over 300 miles to train with the top trainer in the country. I have had a little success, Laser Pairs Winners (I have a good partner), Chum Team Final and an upcoming date at Crufts ( I have 3 good partners), minor triumphs winning Novice Rescue Dog of the Year 2006, and a 3rd place in the Royal Canin Final, but on the bigger stage my only clear round in a qualifier last year lasted a mere 10 seconds, that being the time taken to back jump the 1st and be rather cruelly eliminated. Commitment, abundant free time, and some useful mates is not necessarily the pre requisite of a champion.
The point, some may say I am laboriously making, is that the standard of the upper levels of the sport has been seriously diminished by the changes made at the beginning of 2007. My sudden elevation to the pinnacle, shows the wide gap emerging at this uppermost level, but just below, the gulf has widened even further, and the blame lies firmly in the grading system. We now rarely see combined 6/7 classes as in the old senior level, where the winner knew he was capable of living with the best offered on any particular day. I know there were complaints that you had to beat the best to join them, but what is the point of joining them if you cannot compete with them. Vanity ? Yes, you can tell your friends at work you are an advanced handler, in theory amongst the best in the country ,but this delusion .soon wears thin when you stand on the line facing the inevitable outcome.
Now you can finish 12th and gain the dubious prize of entering the same class as the elite. You know your best is probably 5 seconds off the pace and whilst your skills have been tuned to a high level, you know you are just a little short of the ultimate challenge and wonder …….should I really be here.?
Under the old system a Senior course was just that, you expected and generally got challenges that tested you, you continually found areas of ability that needed improving, you watched how the best did it and if you were serious you went to the training ground and practiced until, if not perfect, you had at least improved. Today the norm is for the graded classes to accommodate the lower level thus extending the gap between the good and the less so. The challenges are less and those with lesser handling skills can progress with a fast dog on a straightforward course, the result a combination completely unprepared in Champ. Last summer I have finished 2nd in a G6 class which had 3 clear rounds in total, and on numerous occasions seen top 10 places with faults, the courses were no different from the old Senior courses but I believe offered more of a test than what has become normal this summer. The difference is that the standard of G6/7 has fallen leaving the participants less able to complete the test successfully. I walked a combined 6/7 recently, judged by a well respected and experienced handler, the course was to me, just like the old Senior ones, an interesting start, need for good contacts, need for speed of handler ( sorted me out there), and the opportunity to handle parts in a number of ways. The overriding comment of those I listened to when walking was…just because it’s a combined class does not mean it has to be an advanced course…. This was not an advanced course, it was IMO perfectly suited for the level but it again epitomizes the fact that many do not have the skills to compete when faced with any more advanced challenges …… It was actually won by a G6 handler but with only 9 clears ( I think). As with the old system, the good up and coming handlers will always make it whatever the competition, but these handlers will be ready for the next level.
Why are courses easier? My view is that judges seem to err towards the lower level, possibly fearing the rebuke of competitors if the clear round ratio is not met. This viscous circle perpetuates because those progressing from G5 have a much easier route than before, therefore are less prepared for the trickier courses, and inevitably struggle for a clear thus reducing the ratio and indicating the need for even simpler courses. Prior to grading, the Novice/ G5 handler needed 2 wins to progress and the need for an agility win meant that contacts needed to at least be adequate, the chances of winning were also reduced as in the majority of cases only Novice classes offered the chance of a win. Now we have the ridiculous situation where in a graded 1-7 class you have 6 winners and the 22nd fastest combination progresses from G5 to 6 whilst the slow steady combination progresses from 2 to 3 with the only clear at their level. We also get the 54 year old arthritic progressing to champ with the 12th fastest round.
The final insult is the introduction of the 5 second dog walk into this arena, accompanied by the frantic, wait, find it, and touch commands and the manic sprint to the end of the equipment by the ill prepared handler. This new phenomena is strangely introduced at a time when the top dogs inevitably obtain a sub 2 second one, independent of the handler. Nothing epitomizes my belief that standards are lowering and the gap between the upper levels widening than this. The members of this class are those so called super jumping dogs who were so unlucky to have to win Novice jumping classes each time out, but really deserved to progress to the fringes of the elite without ever winning an Agility class, in fact theoretically without ever actually hitting a contact. What is the point of having such combinations compete with a group, the majority of whom would start with at least a 3 second advantage on 50% of their runs. These people cannot even compete at their own level so how do they suddenly become competitive at G6,where again it is the norm for the lowest placed here to be some 3 secs faster than the G5 winner.
In an age where the availability of good trainers and techniques has never been greater is it naive for me to expect these undoubtedly skilled handlers to spend a little time, work with their undoubtedly talented dogs on contact technique and move into an area that will offer them a chance of a place in an extra 50% of their classes. If the handler is not prepared to invest their time in this aspect, as others have done then they do not deserve to progress irrespective of the ability over jumping courses.
I would not expect to compete in the British Open Golf competition if I could not putt, no matter how good my game from tee to green.
In the short time I have competed in the sport, the standard of both handling and training has improved to a level that could not have been envisaged. One sees evidence every weekend when you compare the past stars whose methods have not progressed, with their latest counterparts. Whether you aspired to this level or merely wanted to improve you could until recently watch any Senior level class and learn, all the participants had something to offer, now I feel that for reasons stated earlier this level is in danger of being invaded by mediocrity and we need to give the best a stage on which to perform and a stage where once again we can all look and learn . The possible solutions are another matter, but do we really want to see Championship classes, with running orders into the 100’s? There cannot be that many people at the pinnacle of the sport, therefore the overall level is compromised, that fact cannot be contested, but I would suggest that this situation will be the norm next summer, then maybe changes will be made.
In the meantime whilst others newly promoted above their competence level search for surrogate handlers to run their dogs in the ultimate challenge I like Doc Graham in the film Field of Dreams will step up to the plate, look around, wink at the judge and enjoy my moment of glory. Like Doc Graham this may be my one and only venture, but it’s at Scunthorpe, my home club and the fees are reduced so why not? Who knows I may prove that I and all the others who would not have made it but for the grading system, can compete and praise the existence of the agility genie that granted so many their wishes.
April is not far away………
