BFA Flyball Roadmap
Following the UK government's announcement of their roadmap to the end of covid restrictions, the BFA Committee have been working out what that means for BFA flyball and our members. This new BFA Roadmap explains how we see our return to competitive flyball over the coming months. No restrictions have been lifted yet but we dare to be a little more positive than we have been and it's never too early to plan! The first step will be fitness and conditioning for our dogs (and maybe the handlers too!), ensuring they are a good weight and have the right strength and fitness to begin flyball training when we get the chance; you could even do some chute work at home if you have one. Come April, it looks like small group training will be allowed, so the dogs can be reintroduced to the box and some jumps, work on those muscles getting used to the flyball specific techniques. Mid-May will hopefully allow for full team training outdoors and the allow small group training indoors, with a possible return to sanctioned open competition from 21 June.
Although the government guidance suggests that some competitive flyball activities may be able to take place outdoors from 17 May, as no teams in the UK will have been able to conduct full team training before that date the Committee have decided for the safety and welfare of the dogs, that it will not sanction open racing before 21 June.
The BFA have just finished another free-to-access flyball training video which will be released shortly followed by the re-publication of all our previously released training videos to provide flyballers with a bit of advice and a few suggestions of how to tailor your training in the coming months, including techniques that can be done at home on your own and those that can be practised when small group training is allowed.
Acknowledging the year-long lay off, the Committee will also be running a series of web-based seminars in May to ensure everyone is back up to speed. The Regional Reps will be running a virtual Ring Party seminar(s) as a timely reminder of what needs doing in the ring and a chance for Q&A from the members; the Judges Board will be running a virtual Judges Seminar(s) to bring all judges up to speed with the new rule changes and ensure they can all remember the old ones too!; and the Committee will be holding a Tournament Organiser's seminar to advise and assist all those TOs who will be looking to host a tournament over the summer.
Please note the dates on the BFA Roadmap refer to the restrictions in England; the Devolved Assemblies have not yet been specific about the end date for covid restrictions in NI, Wales and Scotland, but the same principles will apply when restrictions ease there as well and we are keeping our fingers crossed for a summer of flyball for all.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LdbzqV8_ijde0dl0fWzXfTU5zronbXcg/view?u...