United States Dog Agility Association Continues to Host Successful USDAA@Home!™ Events

News Release

 

For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Betty Weibel
216-956-4034 / bw@yp-pr.com
Photos Available Upon Request

 

Plano, Texas—March 3, 2022—Although live dog agility and rally obedience events have returned following the ease of national COVID restrictions, the United States Dog Agility Association, Inc. (USDAA®) continues to see success from its innovative USDAA@Home!™ program that it launched for online training and competition in April 2020 in response to the pandemic.

For more than 30 years, competitors from around the world have celebrated camaraderie and athletic excellence between dogs and handlers through USDAA® participation. “The USDAA@Home! program brought the sport to a virtual stage with thousands of participants from across the nation and beyond. The program continues to allow dog owners to practice their training and competition skills in rally and agility without traveling outside of their community, and in some cases, their own backyard,” said USDAA President and founder Ken Tatsch.

USDAA@Home! offers a variety of courses and exercises for everyone to enjoy from the comfort of their homes. New events targeting beginner, intermediate, and expert levels are posted every few weeks, and handlers of dogs registered with USDAA® can record and track their results online. Those who enroll in these events can also earn credit toward title qualifications. 

The program has also benefited clubs that have reopened with appropriate COVID restrictions in place. For @Home participants who were not able or chose not to set up courses at home, many facilities around the country began renting ring or field time. With some classes still suspended or available in a limited capacity, hosting @Home courses helps them pay the rent. 

“During the 2020 lockdowns, Diablo Peak Dog Sports started offering @Home agility events, and our students embraced the program,” said club owner/operator and trainer Le-Ann Elgie from Martinez, Calif. “It offered a safe, fun way to trial for me and my students while working on weekly course challenges to continue to build our skills. We still offer @Home courses during weekend events, which has drawn the interest of students who were already trialing in agility pre-pandemic as well as those just starting out. Many plan to continue their participation in USDAA® events, both @Home and live.”

To encourage program participation and a competitive spirit, USDAA® hosted a USDAA@Home! Fall Festival in October 2020, and the first Intercollegiate Dog Agility Association Holiday Bowl was created at the end of 2021. Both events were open to all registered USDAA® competitors. 

About USDAA^®
The United States Dog Agility Association, Inc. (USDAA®), the world’s largest independent authority for the sport of dog agility, with more than 45,000 registered competitors and more than 200 different breeds of dogs, including mix breeds. Credited with bringing the sport to North America in 1986, USDAA® is dedicated to promoting dog agility as a recreational family sport that fosters responsible pet ownership. Today, the organization represents more than 150 affiliated groups conducting over 1,000 days of events each year throughout the continental United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan and beyond. USDAA® also supports special programs such as the Intercollegiate Dog Agility AssociationSM (IDAASM), World Cynosport Rally Limited (WCRL), and USDAA@Home!™. For more information, visit www.usdaa.com. 

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