Glossary

A list of both official and commonly used flyball terms and a definition. Please contact us to add or amend this list.

Although we try to keep this as up to date as possible, any references to the BFA or BFA Rules and Regulations should be checked up on their website for the most up to date information: www.flyball.org.uk

Anchor Dog

The dog running last (fourth) in the team.

BFA

British Flyball Association. Formed in 1994, the BFA sanction the majority of flyball in the UK (except Kennel Club/Crufts) and you can find out more information about the organisation on their website: www.flyball.org.uk

Box

Spring loaded mechanical device which dogs retrieve tennis balls from. Holes are located in the front of the box to load the balls into, and they are released upon the dog hitting the trigger mechanism. Boxes used in the UK have anything between one and four holes, depending on the direction the dog turns, or size of the tennis balls. However most boxes have just two holes to accommodate dogs turning either left or right. Teams must provide their own boxes at tournaments in the UK.

From the BFA Rules (5.8):Boxes shall not exceed 24" in width, 18" in height or 30" in depth. The dimensions do not include any platform the box loader uses to hold the box in place.The boxes may be painted or decorated as the team wishes.

There are three main types of box used in BFA Flyball in the UK. There is great debate over which of the designs gives the fastest box turn or less impact on the dog:

  • Boomerang - a curved box which is probably the most commonly used. Click here to see an example of this type of box.
  • CanAm - also known as an upright box, this design is becoming increasingly popular and is more akin to those used in the USA. Click here to see an example of this type of box.
  • Combination Box - a mixture of the above two boxes is making a comeback.Click here to see an example of this type of box.

Box Judge

A member of the ring party who sits by the box to ensure that the dog completes it successfully. Boxjudges will put their hand up to indicate faults, including (but not only): a dog not triggering the box, bringing back the wrong ball, missing jumps or dropping balls.

Box-loader

The job of the box-loader is to place the balls in the box, and give verbal encouragement to the dogs as they come towards and leave with their ball. There is a set of rules laid out for box-loaders in competition, which can be found on the BFA website. Boxloaders must be current BFA members.

Box Malfunction

A problem with the box itself in competition. If the box fails to trigger on several occasions, will not load balls, or the box-loader believes there to be any other problems with the box's functionality then they must stand in front of the box. Nobody must tamper with the box whilst the division judge comes to inspect whether there should be a rerun. Full rules regarding this are on the BFA website.

Box Turn

The motion in which the dog joins arriving at and leaving the box; ie how they turn on the box. The ideal turn on the box is described as a "Swimmer's turn" which you can see here. The front paws hit the box as the dog gets the ball, to then use the back legs to push off the box. Ideally a fluid motion with no periods of stopping still or going widely out of line of the jumps. The main aim is to create a turn that is safe and fast for the dog - not hitting it straight on at speed, known as a "Slammer's turn".

Break Out

A break out time is one 0.5s below a declared time. If a team runs faster than this time when they are running on a declared time, they are said to have "broken out" and forfeit that leg. If a team "breaks out" three times at one tournament they will be disqualified and come last. This applies to all divisions except for Division 1. Please see the BFA Rules and Regulations for more information.

Chute (aka Shoot)

A device used to help in training a box turn or the basic retrieve in flyball. See the topics on our forum for more information on using the chute. First used by the Scotia Dust Devils, you can see plans for the chute here.

Crossover (aka Change-over)

The way in which the dogs pass on the start line. They should cross nose to nose at the sensors. To achieve faster times, teams aim for changeovers to be as close as possible. Ideally a team should also have a member stood in line with the sensors (ie “on the line”) to see how close the changeovers are, and indicate to the handlers whether they have any room left to tighten their changeovers up.

  • Early Change - the next dog passes the sensors before the previous dog has completed their run. This results in a fault light for the incoming dog.
  • Late Change - a big gap between the previous dog and next dog running. No faults are incurred however late changes waste time. However they are often necessary if the team in the other lane has lights - playing it safe, as it were.

Crufts Flyball

Up until Crufts 2009, this type of flyball has run on a slingshot type box (which you can see here) that required dogs to press a paddle and catch the ball. In the 2009 qualifying competitions, this was changed to use boxes similar to those used in BFA flyball (such as the Boomerang and CanAm), and Crufts 2010 will be the first time the old style box is not used.

Even though the box has changed, there is still a huge difference between the two organisations. Crufts flyball does not have electronic timing or lights, changeovers are done by eye and has a whistle start. Also there is a reduced runback area due to the constraints of the main ring at Crufts. However Crufts flyball is often televised (on More4 for 2010) and the atmosphere is a lot different to BFA tournaments.

Declared Time

Submitted by a team as an estimate of what they will run. Often used if dogs have not run together before and the club does not already have a seedtime similar to what they are running. The team is allowed to run half a second faster than the declared time, any faster and they “break out”.

Divisions (aka Divs)

The groups which teams are put in to race each other, div.1 being the fastest. Divisions are arranged on seedtimes and have anything between five and seven teams.

False Start

A false start is given when the lead dog crosses the start line too early. After one false start, a whistle is blown by the judge and the lead dogs are called back and the race is started again. If the same dog has another false start (and the other lane does not), then the race will continue and the lead dog is given a fault light and may be required to re-run.

(The) Flyball Record

The BFA Flyball publication, produced four times per year with seedtimes, judges’ reports and articles sent in from the flyball community. Past issues are available on the BFA website.

Handbag

Lifting a dog up on to two legs in the ring, so that they cannot put all four feet on the ground, or lifting them off the ground completely by their harness or collar. This is deemed unacceptable and judges can pull handlers up on this. See the BFA Rules and Regulations for full details of this (5.17a).

Height Dog

A dog that is less than 19inches to the shoulders. Height dogs lower the jumps for the team in which they race, so as they are jumping 5inches below their height at the withers - a minimum of 7inches and a maximum of 14inches. The height dog must be running in the team for height changes to be implicated, not just standing by. If a height dog is taken out of the team, the jump heights must be raised to either full height, or the height of the next height dog in the team.

Lane

There are two lanes at tournaments, the RED lane (right hand side) and the BLUE lane (left hand side). A team will race in each lane, which consists of 4 jumps, a set of electronic timers, lights and a box. Along with this each lane has a box judge, a scribe and a line judge, the latter operates the lights for that lane.

The spacings of a lane are as follows:

  • Box to first jump: 15ft
  • Spacing between jumps one to four: 10ft
  • Jump and start line: 6ft
  • Total: 51ft

Lead Dog

The dog that runs first in the team.

Leg

Two teams of four dogs running against each other one time. Races are best of five, so dogs can race anything between three and five legs in a single race - this does not include warm ups, ties or re-runs.

Lights

Lights are used for two primary reasons in racing; to start the race and to show dog faults.

  • Start lights: This starts the race with a sequence of three lights, the lead dog should cross the line as the final light shows. Any dogs passing the line before this light as given a false start, indicated by the fault light.
  • Fault light: This shows up when there is an early change and this prompts the line judge to put on a dog light.
  • Dog light: There are four lights to indicate dog faults; one for each dog. A light is put on if the dog doesn't complete the run cleanly or has an early change. If the first dog faults then the first light is put on, and so on.

Milestone Awards

The BFA Silver award (10,000points) and above

NAFA

North American Flyball Association. One of the governing bodies for flyball in North America.

Points

Points are awarded for each leg a dog competes in and the team successfully clocks a time for. The points are given as follows:

  • Under 22s = 25points
  • Under 26s = 10points
  • Under 30s = 5points

Race

A race is the best of five legs, and takes place between two teams.

Recall (aka Runback)

One of the first things taught when learning flyball and commonly used in the warm up time, a recall involves the dog being held at the box and released to the handler who is calling them at the end of the four hurdles.

Re-Run

When the leg is to be re-run from scratch, with a clean slate. This is at the judge’s discretion and may be due to any number of reasons, examples include; light failures and jumps broken or knocked in a manner that they are dangerous to the dogs.

Ringparty

The group of people required to run the arena along with the judge. Duties comprise of: scribing, line judging and box judging - all defined individually on this page. The ring party changes with each division and is usually made up with people from two teams, this is specified on the running orders.

The BFA run Ringparty Training days, visit their website for more information. However the majority of people learn by shadowing a team member and learning what it comprises that way. Often clubs will provide a reminder in the ring, such as a laminated sheet, outlining any duties as a refresher.

Scribe

This term can be used in two ways:

Team Scribe - a member of the team who looks after the team’s personal team sheets. They will tell the ring party which dogs they want to run, record times and possibly make notes on dog running orders and lights. Often this job is combined with the captain or person watching the line if the team is short staffed.

Ringparty Scribe - one of the members running the division, will fill in the official paperwork for the tournament. They will fill in which dogs are running, whether the leg was won/lost/tie and the times the team has run. The scribe in one lane will also fill in the master sheet of times. It is also a good idea for the scribe to look at the jump heights and ensure they are the same as those written on the team sheet.

Seedings

A list of seedtimes put in order from fastest to slowest. Seedings/Seedlists for all teams that run under BFA rules can be found on the BFA website; there is one list for open, and another for multi-breed. Sometimes seedings are referred to in terms of divisions - ie if someone says they are seeded third, they have the third fastest seed time of teams running in that division.

Seedtime

The fastest time a team has run in the last three sanction BFA tournaments they attended. Seedtimes over 4months old two weeks prior to the tournament do not count. For full details on this, see the BFA Rules (4.5).

Starters

A competition that can be entered by new dogs and those aged between 12months and 18months. Technically not BFA sanctioned, with only guidelines set down, there is no requirement that says dogs have to enter starters before open. Although no set rules, it is generally considered that a dog is no longer eligible for starters once it has gained 200points (and the Flyball Dog Award). In exceptional cases and with tournament organisers’ permission, dogs which already have their FD may enter starters again.

The main (but not only) differences between Open and Starters Racing:

  • Generally hurdles set at 7”, though teams can put them up if they wish
  • Dogs can retrieve the ball from either the box or off the floor
  • The box loader can give as much encouragement as they deem necessary
  • Lanes are netted in
  • Starters can vary between tournaments, some will be run on hand timing, some will be best of three, it is all about the dogs gaining experience

UFL-I

United Flyball League Inc. One of the governing bodies for flyball in North America.