american agility rating system (want to know)

B

Bejilia

Forums Regular
Hi to all american agility-people, :wink2:

I've read about points, titles and classes, but can't really understand the competition rules or rating system.
It sounds to be very different to the german rules and rating - perhaps it isn't :confused2:

So is there someone who can explain it in a short, easy way or is there something on the internet, that explains it with examples?

Thanks :smile2:


R. m. Q.
 
American Agility Rating System

I am not sure what venue you want to know about as there are many different choices for people to compete in.The two most popular would be AKC wich is American Kennel Club or USDAA wich is United States Dog Agility Association.I mainly do AKC.In AKC you start out in Novice if you have never put a title on a dog in Novice you start out in Novice A but if you have titled a dog then you would start in Novice B.If you knock a bar in any of the classes you are disqaulified and they call it and NQ.You are allowed two mistakes in Novice one in Open and a time fault in Excellent A .So after you get your Novice title you then move into Open and also you need three qualifying scores to get your title in Open and then you move up to Excellent A and you also need three qualifyinfg scores in that and once you get them you move into Excelllent B where you need ten scores to get your MX(Standard) and ten scores to get your MXJ( wich is jumpers with weaves).To get your MACH (Master Agility Championship you need twenty qualifying scores in Standard and Jumpers and 750 speed points.If you happened to have a very fast dog and all the scores and poits you can try out for the AKC nationals.You need six qualifying scores and 750 speed points.People who have slow dogs can compete in it also as long as they have the scores to go.You are competing against the best dogs in the United States.You can also try out for the World Team.You can go to www.akc.org and they can tell you the requirements for World Team and The Invatational.:biggrin2:
 
Thank you.

I see, it's very complicated and much more complicated than the german system :eek2:
But now I understand more than before, so you've helped me a lot. :smile2:

For the moment I have just one more question to the AKC competitions: How do you get speed points? :confused2:


R. m. Q.
 
Here's a question for you then.... :) How does the German system work?

As for speed points, in AKC, you have to be in Excellent B (highest level) to earn what we call a MACH (master agility champion) title. Points are earned by how fast you run, compared to the SCT (standard course time). So, if the SCT is 125 seconds and the dog ran the course in 100 seconds, then he earns 25 MACH points. Not sure if that's the same as "speed points".
 
Yes, MACH points are the same thing as speed points.
You earn one MACH point for each second under course time.
One clarification- to qualify for nationals, you need 400 MACH points earned in the qualifying year, not 750, though you do need that many for your MACH.
 
Agility

HopeShelties said:
Yes, MACH points are the same thing as speed points.
You earn one MACH point for each second under course time.
One clarification- to qualify for nationals, you need 400 MACH points earned in the qualifying year, not 750, though you do need that many for your MACH.
Click to expand...

Thanks Stacey on the clarification on the points for Nationals.
 
Thank you very much. :winkgrin:

k9kreationz said:
Here's a question for you then.... :) How does the German system work?
Click to expand...

OK...
First: We have just one assiocation, that makes the rules and two types of parcours - agility (we always say "A-Lauf", means "a-run") and jumping. Agility is with contacts, jumping without and both types are offered on 99% of competitions.
Then there are three official levels to compete: A1, A2 and A3. To start with A1 you have to solve an obedience-test, which has nothing to do with agility...:rolleyes2: For those, who fail the test or who just want to try competing, there are fun-competitions on the inofficial level "A0", where is no seesaw or wavepoles in the parcours.
And no dog earns points or gets a title for reaching a new level. Your dog just gets a title, if he/she wins a special competition, like a state-championship or the german championship and sometimes there are cups of normal clubs, where you can get an inofficial title.
Furthermore the rating system is the same on each level. You have mistakes (like dropping a bar, jumping over a contact area or touching the dog), refusals (like running around an obstacle or jumping off contact obstacle on the way up) and disqualification (like running the wrong way, leaving the course or skipping an obstacle) and of course time mistakes for going beyond the maximal time. A mistake or refusal makes 5mistake-points and you get a disqualification by the third refusal, time mistakes are a point per second.
To reach a new level, you have to get three clean runs in the a-run plus 1., 2. or 3. position or five clean runs without. (A clean run means a really clean run without any mistake or refusal.) The rating or positioning in the jumping is only important, if you start in A3 and want to get qualifyings for special competitions.
For special competitions (where you can get titles :wink2: or a team membership for germany on international competitions) you need special qualifying runs and sometimes there are some special rules, but this depends on the individual competition.

I hope there are no mistakes caused by my miserable English... :rolleyes2:


R. m. Q.
 
Wow! I have to say, it sounds so much less complicated than our systems. LOL. And there's only one of them. But then, I've noticed things in Germany seem a lot more "to the point"....minus the 20-letter words. Granted, when you break them down, it's easy too. Makes me want to retake my German classes.

Now I can understand more when you or lunatic face posts about your dogs accomplishments.

Thanks for taking the time to explain.
 
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