Dear Readers,
When you read this Editorial, the Société Royale Saint-Hubert will have organised
the 2016 FCI European Section Show in Brussels.
More than 12,000 participating dogs have entered this prestigious event !!! Isn’t
it amazing? It depends on how you look at those figures! It’s amazing “per se”
as such an entry places the 2016 FCI European Section Show among the top 3 of all
the FCI Section Shows ever. It’s amazing because the World has been going and turning
somewhat wrong lately but still, exhibitors and breeders do want to live their passion
for dogs and keep taking part in all kinds of canine events, be it shows or sport
competitions. We do thank and congratulate them for that.
Read more
Yves De Clercq
FCI Executive Director
FCI Flyball Commission - Activity report
The main goal for the FCI Flyball community in 2015 was to finish the international
regulations. During the first year of existence of the commission, the national
differences turned out to be bigger than expected, so it was quite a challenge trying
to combine all different rules into one international set. The main rules were,
of course, very similar in all countries, but details prevailed in the discussions.
One of the main discussions was how the height dog should be defined. In Flyball,
the jump height for all dogs of the team is determined by the smallest dog, called
the height dog. Historically, the height at the withers had been used to determine
jump heights, but several organisations in the world changed into a new direction
over the last years. In this new method, the length of the forearm of the front
paw is the determining factor for deciding the jump height. The length of the ulna
bone is used in a formula to set the jumping capacity of the height dog. Not all
countries were already using this method, but after the FCI meeting, finally, everybody
came to a consensus. The formula was slightly altered, but in the new FCI regulations
the length of the forearm is converted into a jump height.
All other discussions also found solutions and after the meeting of the FCI Flyball
Commission at the DVG Schulungszentrum in Hemer (Germany). The final proposal for
international Flyball regulations were sent for approval to the FCI General Committee.
After a first discussion in Milan, the GC asked first for further information on
the measuring method, which was provided by the commission. At the meeting of the
FCI General Committee in Zagreb on November 13th, the regulations were
finally approved.
During 2015, several countries applied with new candidates on the commission. There
was a new delegate assigned from France and we got new delegates from The Netherlands,
Hungary and the Philippines. At the 2015 meeting, it had already been proposed
to host a World Cup of Flyball as soon as the regulations would have been approved.
It will be the main issue at the next meeting, to develop a protocol for such international
tournament. The next meeting of the FCI Flyball Commission will be held in Prague,
Czech Republic, on March 19th 2016.
Edwin Vinken
President of the FCI Flyball Commission