I hope all our flyball family and their extended families are doing well during these uncertain times. We all certainly miss racing and seeing everyone. Yesterday the board meeting had a board meeting, done entirely over video conference. Below are the highlights from the call.
TOURNAMENTS CANCELLED THROUGH JULY 31, 2020
All NAFA tournaments will be cancelled through July 31, 2020. We have been closely monitoring the
situation in each state and province, and many locations are beginning to ease restrictions - earlier than
projections had suggested. In light of that information, the board felt it prudent to take a holding
pattern and see the impact after 3 weeks of restrictions being lifted. While this may undoubtedly be
disappointing to some, we felt it best to have a more cautious approach as opposed to potentially
opening up too early. The board will review the situation and will provide an update in early June for
tournaments from August 1 onwards.
A decision regarding holding CanAm will be made in June.
The board will be seeking input from Club Owners regarding their team¡¯s participation in CanAm.
The CanAm T-shirt design contest is on hold until a determination regarding holding the event is made.
To encourage innovation in box design as our sport evolves, NAFA is relaxing box dimension restrictions
The new maximum dimensions will be: 36¡± wide x 24¡± high x 36¡± deep.
Boxes shall not exceed 36 inches in width, nor 24 inches in height from the bottom surface of the box
excluding mat grabbing devices/materials and outdoor staking devices. The body of the box shall not
exceed 36 inches in depth. The base that the boxloader stands on may exceed 36 inches.
AWARDS IMPACTED BY COVID-19
IRON DOG: The board has decided to waive the ¡®point earned¡¯ requirement in FY2020 (October 1, 2019 ¨C
September 30, 2020) for the Iron Dog award. Dogs eligible to run in FY 2020 will be given credit for
fulfilling the one point earned requirement in FY2020.
We have an unprecedented situation this year with many tournaments being cancelled. As a result,
there are many clubs that have not and will not have the opportunity to participate in enough
tournaments to meet the minimum requirements for the overall NAFA Awards. The board felt that
parity was important when it came to these awards and therefore has come to the difficult decision that
there will be no NAFA Champion, Regional Champion or Regional Overall Club Champion awards in
FY2020. We will still go forward with awards for Regional MVP, Judge of the Year and Clyde Memorial
JUDGES AND JUDGES IN TRAINING
The Board has decided to waive the minimum judging requirements for Approved and Supervising
In addition, Apprentice, and Provisional Judges, have been given an extension of 12 months to complete
their minimum assignments.
The Judges Committee plans to host a judge¡¯s video chat in the near future to touch base with our
officials. One of the topics will be to seek input regarding a continuing education program for all active
JUNIOR HANDLER PIN CONTEST
The design contest for the Junior Handler Pin will be announced shortly and published on the NAFA website, NAFA News, and social media pages.
Full minutes of the meeting will be posted when available.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me.
North American Flyball Association, Executive Director
