Hosting League Play

Requirements

For Air Canines Freestyle league play, a minimum of 4 handlers (aka pilots) must participate at each scheduled session. Each participant MUST be scorekeeper for a minimum of three other teams in addition to performing with their own dog (aka flyers).  If any handlers plan to perform with more than one dog, it will require others to score more than three teams, so this should be considered in advance and coordinated with other club members to assure there will be three scorekeepers available for each performance team.  Each cluster of league play teams shall be referred to as a “flight.”  Each flight coordinator (aka captain) decides and communicates where and when they will meet and play.  The coordinator is also responsible for submitting scores to the club historian.  Scores may be submitted after each session; however, at a minimum all scores must be reported no later than midnight EST of the last day of each quarter.

Each of the scorekeepers must use a printed copy of the Throws, Catches, or Tricks scoresheet for the category which they will be judging.  While calculation information is included on the scoresheets, it is not necessary to perform the math during the league session.  At the conclusion of each league play session, the tic marks are totaled on each scoresheet for each of the performing teams.  The scoresheet details are then entered into the spreadsheet provided by the league which will calculate the scores automatically.  The completed spreadsheet is forwarded to the AAC historian (jhoke2415@gmail.com) to be rolled up with those submitted by other “flights” and for subsequent posting at https://www.aircanines.com/ 

While music is a critical element at any true Freestyle tournament, the DOGS system does not consider music at all, so it is really an optional element for league play outings. A good alternative to dragging out a sound system to league play outings is a belt clip personal speaker like the JBL clip 4.

A 90-second timer with appropriate audible cues is necessary (visit https://discdoguniversity.com/timers/ to download wave files).  Scoring and the clock start when the first disc is released.  All maneuvers performed prior to the first disc release are considered pre-routine and are not recorded on any of the scorekeepers’ scoresheets.  Teams are limited to using 5-discs during their 90-second routine.

Schedule

The Air Canines Freestyle League Play series begins January 1 and runs for the full calendar year.  Each Flight may play as often as once a week or as little as once per quarter: 

  • Q1 = Jan, Feb, Mar
  • Q2 = Apr, May, Jun
  • Q3 = Jul, Aug, Sep
  • Q4 = Oct, Nov, Dec

Two training sessions (one disc throwing training session without dogs, and one Freestyle scorekeepers training session with dogs) may be scheduled in the autumn or spring as a launch to the upcoming season.  

Top awards are based on a team’s highest score from each quarter.  Failure to play at all during a quarter will result in a score of zero for that quarter, but only in the “Top’s Awards” category.  The “Ratio’s Awards” and the “Most’s Awards” categories are not impacted by partial year play.  So, of the 15 total annual awards, only the top 3 are significantly impacted by partial year play.

Annual Awards

The Air Canines Freestyle League Play is exclusively available to club members and included as part of the annual club membership fee (see annual membership form for current cost).  Non-club members may participate in training clinics at $10 per handler.

Each team’s best weekly score within each quarter will count as their quarterly high score which in turn will be rolled up to determine the year’s Freestyle Champion.   Additionally, a single activity point is earned for each weekly performance, and these are used with all other scoring attributes to produce a variety of annual recognition award categories.

  • Top Awards (Q1 High + Q2 High + Q3 High + Q4 High)
    • Top Pilot (Handler Throw Points)
    • Top Flyer (Canine Catch Points)
    • Top Team (Team Total Points)
  • Most Awards (total from all performances)
    • Most Active Team
    • Most Active Pilot (Handler)
    • Most Active Flyer (Canine)
    • Most Active Flight (Coordinator)
    • Most Throws (Handler)
    • Most Catches (Canine)
    • Most Tricks (Team)
  • Ratios (percentage from all performances)
    • Chief Pilot (advanced throws; grips & style tricks)
    • Frequent Flyer (leaping & flipping catches)
    • Team Magic (flipping & balanced catches; dog & team tricks)
    • Success (catches vs. throws)
    • Perfection (average of all ratios)