Hello to all! I am very happy and honoured to have been asked to be one of the judges at the 2007 Nationals.
I've been involved, as a judge, for all but the first two events. In 2006 I judged the pre-qualifier and was then able to help out with scoring and scribing during the actual event. I did run my Border Collie, Norton, in the 2002 Nationals at Palgrave and it was a fun and exciting event. I want to continue to help make sure this happens with this year's Nationals.
I first got into agility, with Norton, in 1994. Things have progressed considerably since then and I've witnessed a lot of changes both within the Agility Association of Canada as well as in the sport of agility itself. My current Border Collie Jackson and I are getting ready to join the fun.
In 1999, because I wanted to learn more about the sport and to see things from the judge's point of view, I signed up for a clinic and that year started judging at the Starters/Advanced level. I then followed up by upgrading to Masters level in 2000. Since then I have enjoyed judging and meeting many of the agility handlers and their dogs across Canada. It is something I really enjoy doing and certainly plan to continue to do so. I and my wife have also helped with the preparation and running of many Ottawa area AAC trials since 1996.
This year's Nationals promise to be one of the largest yet and are being setup and planned by a very dedicated and hard working group. Please come and join the fun - if you don't qualify at your Regional event (sorry!) perhaps you can volunteer for one of the hundreds of jobs that need to be done to make it a success!
