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Newark 25/11/07
This was to be our last competition of 2007 and we were racing in our highest division of the year. We'd checked the times of other teams and some were running well under 20 seconds so we didn't expect to do too well. We all (well nearly all - no names no pack drill) arrived nice and early at Newark (except Bernard and Irene who were late) and Chris, Ellen & Kelly helped out with ring party duties. The comments concerning Ellen & Kelly's operation of the lights making the hall take on the ambience of a late 70's Disco Party we believe to be unfair and would like to state that everyone has to learn!
Onto the racing, Bracken, Barney, Poppy & Bella would be running most of the day's races. We lost our first race against Rotherham Rockets 3-1 but posted our fastest time of the day (20.56 seconds). We beat our local rivals Nuneaton Dodgers 3-0 in the next race, but then went down 3-2 against Dog Friendly Sprinters with some really close racing. Our next race was against the Wolf Pack, Jamie was introduced for this race and despite Irene imposing a 10 second 'senior moment penalty' for reasons the rest of us have yet to fathom, we won 3-0. The final race of the day was against the Doncaster Arctic Stars, how this result went meant we would finish anywhere from 3rd to 5th. The racing was extremely close and in each of the last 2 heats, Bella started her run as the 4th dog from the other team was almost at the 3rd outward jump. In both of these heats, Bella ran like the wind and came back through the lights 1st on each occasion. We won the race 3-1 and took 3rd place in the division - this is probably our best win result of the year!!
Sheffield 21/10/07
We were a bit concerned as we were down as 3rd seeds in division 3 for this tournament, but as we were to find out, the show wasn't over until the Fat Lady was ready to singh at Sheffield. All the teams in our division were posting times under 21 seconds so we knew we would have to be at our best to do well.
Our first race of the day was against the Wire Springs, racing was very tight but we won 3-2 with our best time of the day in the last heat. Our next 2 races were against the 6th & 5th seeds (West Riding Wizzards & Wilmslow Jackals) and we won these 3-1 and 3-0 in the first of these, both teams had a light for a fault in the 4th heat and Ellen managed to get Bella to rerun really quickly to enable us to win the race.
Our 5th race was against the hosts and 1st seeds, Sheffield Sprinters. We lost this race 1-3, again with some really close exciting racing. We won our next and last race against the Electric Wires 3-0 and were hoping for a second place rosette as we watched the last race.
But second place was not to be! In the last race of the day, Wire Springs beat Sheffield which left a 3 way tie for first place. The winners would be decided on fastest time of the day - us with our 20.55 second run against the next best time of 20.67 seconds (we won by 0.12 seconds).
We'd had another great day's racing, some philosophical discussions about a brummie Shakespeare, teacher training days (and their real purpose) and various headgear (did you notice it Toby?) and now look forward to our next & last tournament of this year at Newark.
The Warrington Flyball Tournament Lucy Lockett Trophy pictured on the right was awarded to Scallywags as a result of our 100% win record at the Sutton Fields tournament on the 15/09/07. Apologies for my reflection in the picture (what do you expect if you let me loose with complicated electronic equipment). Well done to all the team!
Portway 06/10/07
For this event, we were seeded 3rd in Division 5. Looking at our opponents seed times (all under 21 seconds) we knew we had a task on our hands to come away with a decent placing. The morning's 2 races did not go well!! In our first best of 3 races, whatever could go wrong did and we went down 3-0 to the Molten Metals with a best time of 27.15 seconds (we didn't complete a heat without having to run at least one dog twice due to faults). Our second race against Bristol Ball-istic Rockets went slightly better, with some close racing in the first 3 heats and a best time of 20.74 but we lost 3-1.
The afternoons 3 races looked as if they would be hard work but we managed to win our first 2 races of the afternoon against Molten Magic (3-1) and the 1st seeds the Wolf Pack (3-0) with a best time of 20.63 during some very close racing.
Our last race was against the Mansfield Young 'uns. They had posted some very quick times but we had 4 very close races with them (we posted a seasons best time so far of 20.42 and they achieved their best time of 19.99 seconds), but we lost 3-1 to finish 4th overall on the day.
We all enjoyed the day and the team performed very well overall. So far this year we have moved up 3 divisions, we are competetive in this division and we have again improved our best time.
The only unsavoury incident of the day was Bernard loosing the plot in our race against Molten Magic. His tactics to unsettle the other team included letting bracken go when the lights were still showing 'get ready' and then staying in place awaiting the next heat after racing had finished and everyone else was leaving the ring. Still takes all sorts don't it!
Cholmondeley Castle 30/09/07 (Sutton Fields)
Due to the recent Foot & Mouth scares, the event was moved to Sutton Fields. This time we had a full turnout of everyone in the team camping, even the more senior (in service and years) braved the elements. During the evening we told stories, jokes, sang songs and danced in the pale light of the moon (sorry I'm getting a bit carried away here!) Ellen won the award for longest penny drop time when after everyone else had finished laughing at the previous joke, she sprayed her mouthful of tea after finally 'getting it'.
Anyway on to the racing, we had again moved up a division due to previous time improvements and were seeded 3rd in Division 7. Our first race was really close against the Flyde Rollercoasters but we lost 3-2 with all of our heat times under 22 seconds and one heat having a time difference of a tenth of a second between the 2 teams. We then won all of our other races against the Springers, Peas in a Pod, Podlers and Wilmslow Jackals 3-2, 3-0, 3-1 & 3-1 respectively. During the days racing, all of the team took part at some point and a best time of the day of 20.83 was achieved in our first race.
Everyone enjoyed their experiences under canvas (no further details to be provided) although Irene apparently spent most of the night wedged between her and Bernards air beds as she couldn't free herself from her 'mummy' sleeping bag!!
Sutton Fields 15/09/07
Due to the recent improvements in our time (a new fastest time of 21.8 in case you hadn’t noticed), we’ve now moved up a division. Adam had checked the seed times of the teams we would be racing and even though we were seeded 1st, it looked as though we would have a job on our hands to get any results unless we were really on the ball (excuse the pun!).
Some of us had decided to go to Sutton Fields on Friday and camp. It was cold!! We had a pleasant evening ‘socialising’, but it was cold!! We thought that camping overnight would give us a more leisurely start to the day’s racing, but it was COLD!!
Anyway, on to the day’s racing.
We had 5 dogs in the team, Braken, Jamie, Barney, Bella & Poppy.
Our first race of the day was against the Killabytes. Braken, Bella, Poppy and Jamie won the first 2 heats and Barney replaced Jamie in the 3rd to allow us to win 3-0 with a time of (wait for it) 21.21 seconds in the 3rd heat.
In our second race against Sporting colours, we started Barney in the first 2 heats and Jamie in the 3rd to record another 3-0 victory with a best time of 21.31 seconds.
Our 3rd race was against Wired 4 Action, Jamie was rested for this race as this appeared to be the team to beat based on their morning times. We won this one 3-0 with a new fastest time of ……..20.5 seconds!!
In the afternoon we won all of our races against Blackpool Orion, Knutsford Momentum & Peas in a Pod 3-0 with Jamie and Barney swapping places in the team and with Braken, Bella & Poppy running every race. Our best time in the afternoon was 21.15.
Our slowest time of the day was 22.95, so we are currently consistently running under 23 seconds.
Since returning home, we have been told that we have won the Lucy Lockett trophy for most consistent team at the tournament. Bernard thinks this will end up on HIS mantelpiece but if it gets sent to someone else’s address, we may have to discuss this.
Health & Safety Issues
Unfortunately due to the excitable nature of the dogs competing in Flyball, from time to time we do have to sadly advise of injury to members of our team. Sutton Fields was one such occasion. During racing in the afternoon, Bella was overcome with excitement and sank her teeth into the rear end of one of our female handlers who shall remain nameless. Kelly was o.k. though, but her journey back down the M6 couldn’t have been the most comfortable drive she’s ever had!
