Flyball teams from across the continent raced to Scottsdale, Arizona once more for the 2008 World Cynosport Flyball Championship held October 31st through November 2nd. The North American Flyball Association (NAFA) hosted flyball teams hailing from as far away as Saskatchewan and British Columbia and as close to home as the host state itself.
For the third year, the WestWorld Equestrian Center was the site of the championships, held in conjunction with the USDAA Agility Championships. Flyball clubs from colder climates welcomed the warmer temperatures that Scottsdale offered, but also employed canopies, small swimming pools and small generators that powered fans to combat the heat as the mercury rose throughout the weekend.
Creativity could be seen across the flyball crating areas as the clubs set up their own 'home' for the three day event. Each 'tent city' had its own personality, which included Halloween decorations, club colors and mascots. NAFA judge Danny Fitts could be found utilizing a solar powered oven to prepare lunches, cookies and brownies.
Three days of racing was available to all NAFA clubs, with Regular, Multi-breed, Open and Veterans classes available. New and established racers from California, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming rounded out the field of competitors for the weekend, along with the Canadian and Arizona teams.
The Friday and Sunday tournaments had division based racing, with racers competing against like-seeded teams for some close and exciting heats.
Descending seed times were used to determine Saturday's four 'bracket' divisions. The first division was made up of 1st, 5th, 9th, 13th and 17th seed, with the other three divisions seeded in a similar manner.
The Championship class, with its eight qualifier positions, was part of the Sunday tournament. The first four qualifiers for the Championship class were determined by the winners of the Saturday's bracket racing. The final four qualifiers were based on best times from Friday and Saturday's racing.
The eight qualifiers that made it into the championship class were Online K9 (AZ), The Flying Squad (BC), Total Anarchy with two teams (BC), Bark in the Park (CA), Heat Wave (AZ), D.E.O. Speedwaggin' (CO) and Launch (CO).
With the final race determining the championship, Total Anarchy and The Flying Squad battled it out for 1st and 2nd place. As the crowd's cheering spurred on the dogs racing, Total Anarchy came away with the trophy.
NAFA Chairman Lee Heighton of Michigan said "It's great to see a team from Canada win the Cynosport Cup. Along with the previous winners from Michigan and Texas, this shows the diversity of the winning clubs. Who knows where next year's winner will hail from?"
This was the third trip to the championships for Nancy Garcia, a newly elected NAFA Board member from Houston, Texas. "Watching the teams from various regions was exciting and it was obvious that they all enjoyed racing each other. The finals on Sunday were quite exciting. Watching the Total Anarchy team literally jump for joy as the winning heat was completed was a thrill to witness."
Total Anarchy's name will join the previous winners on the World Cynosport Flyball Champion Cup as the 2008 winners. The Flying Squad took second and Bark in the Park placed third.
Engraved placement plaques were also awarded to each of the three top teams, along with medallions and ribbons.