Hello Everyone!
A few people have notified me that recently ESPN & AKC made an announcement regarding a multiyear agreement for broadcasting a number of dog events. In that announcement was a list of events that included ¡°AKC Flyball Championship¡±, which has naturally raised a lot of questions!? To answer the biggest question, I am pleased to say that, yes, the event listed is NAFA's CanAm Classic! NAFA has been working with AKC, and in particular AKC TV, to gain some more exposure for our sport. AKC has been very excited to stream NAFA flyball, and the feedback they, and ESPN, received from the ESPN Dog Day in August 2019 was very positive. In fact, we¡¯d worked with AKC TV on a plan for 2020 that include streaming a number of events, including CanAm, which unfortunately had to be abandoned. However, we are excited to work with AKC TV in 2021. We are still working through some logistics and will provide greater detail as it becomes available.
I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe,
Neil Flood North American Flyball Association, Executive Director
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NAFA 2020 / 2021 Election Ballots
NAFA 2020/2021 Election ballots should have been delivered to your email inbox if you are a Club Owner, Regional Director, Approved/Supervising Judge or Board Member. If you have not received the ballot email, or if you have any questions about the election, please contact elections@.... Polls opened December 1st, 2020 and close Wednesday, January 13th, 2021 at midnight CST. Results will be announced at the Virtual AGM on Saturday, January 16th, 2021. As a reminder, you can meet this year's nominees for the Board of Directors here:
Thank you, Steve Corona
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Get To Know Your Candidates!
Election News - Get to Know Your Candidates! Biographies for the four Board of Directors candidates have been posted to the NAFA Blog. You can find them here: This year we are going to use a slightly different format than our usual BoD Nominee chats. The new format will consist of two written Q & A sessions and one live online chat. The Q & A sessions will consist of NAFA members submitting questions for the candidates. The Election Committee will compile the questions (weeding out any duplicates) and then submit them to the candidates. Candidates will have one week to submit their answers back to the election committee. Those answers will then be published on the NAFA Blog. The one live online Chat will continue to run as it has in the past. Below is the timeline for these sessions. 1. First Round - Written Q & A a. Questions will be solicited from the members November 24-28. b. Candidates¡¯ answers will be posted December 8. a. Mid December (exact date TBD) 3. Second Round - Written Q & A a. Questions will be solicited from the members December 21 - 27 b. Candidates¡¯ answers will be posted January 5 To submit questions please send an e-mail with your name, region and club name to: elections@... NAFA reserves the right to deny submissions should they be deemed to violate our Code of Conduct.
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Phishing Attempt - Subject "COVID-19 Request"
Please be aware that an email circulating with the subject "COVID-19 Request" is a phishing attempt and not a legitimate email from NAFA.
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NAFA Tournament Sanctioning Update
All,
This weekend the NAFA Board of Directors met (via video teleconference) to discuss amongst other things when we may reopen for tournaments. While our hope was to potentially allow sanctioning to resume, the current spike across the US and Canada coupled with new restrictions on gatherings dashed these hopes. We continue to monitor the health recommendations by the CDC, Health Canada, as well as guidance provided by leading infectious disease medical experts and individual states and provinces. We are also encouraged by the news that an effective vaccine may soon be available. I want to provide our host clubs and participants as much lead time for planning as possible therefore, based on the current situation, NAFA will be suspending flyball events through the end of February 2021. The Board will meet again in mid-December to continue to evaluate the situation and communicate with the NAFA community on a monthly basis with the hope that we will be able to return to racing soon. While we would all prefer to be out playing flyball in a safe and healthy manner, our first priority is the health and welfare of our members and the communities that we all live in. In the meantime, we are working on a set of recommendations / guidelines for host clubs and competitors for keeping everyone safe when racing does resume. These will be released well before racing resumes. As we enter into the holiday season, the entire board hopes that you and your families remain safe and healthy during this time. We look forward to the time when we can meet again in the lanes.
As always, don¡¯t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions.?
Sincerely, Neil Flood North American Flyball Association, Executive Director
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Agenda for Board of Directors November 15, 2020 Teleconference
The agenda for the upcoming Board of Directors teleconference on Sunday, November 15, 2020 has been posted on The minutes from the August and September Board teleconferences have also been posted for review.
Thank you, Steve Corona
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The Logo Shop store is still open to purchase the winning designs on the item of your choice. All orders received by midnight November 8, 2020 will be shipped to home November 23. Orders received after November 8 will be shipped later.?
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For Canadian destinations, the orders will be sent USPS.?? The least expensive way will be to send the orders to one person per team. ?The orders will be tallied and mailing calculated.??
The Logo Shop will contact the team members and get payment for their orders including the shipping.?
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Canada orders can be placed without putting in the credit card number.??
There are two options at bottom of checkout page:?
-?????? PO number (Canada orders)? -? enter? CANADA in the box?
-?????? Credit card number (US orders)
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The nominations for the three board positions are posted here:? See the remaining nominees for "Clyde Moore Memorial Hall of Fame", "Regional MVP" and "Judge of the Year"?at? Thank you.
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NAFA Apparel Contest Winners
NAFA is proud to announce the winners of the?apparel design contest for this year!
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Two designs have been chosen and will be available for sale later in October.?
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Here are the winning designs submitted by Elizabeth Theesfeld and Angela Graczyk
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Congratulations to both!
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Tournament Reopening Status Update
All,
First, and foremost, I hope all our flyball members and their families are continuing to stay safe and healthy during the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. These are certainly trying times for everyone, and we¡¯ve continued to monitor the health recommendations by the CDC, Health Canada, as well as guidance provided by leading infectious disease medical experts. ? While we would all prefer to be out playing flyball in a safe and healthy manner, our first priority is the health and welfare of our members and the communities that we all live in. The NAFA Board of Directors met this weekend and discussed the timing of returning to racing.? While some geographies are improving others are seeing a rise in positive tests and hospitalizations and we still don¡¯t know the impact of the overlapping influenza and COVID-19 seasons. ? I want to provide our host clubs and participants as much lead time for planning as possible, therefore based on the current situation, NAFA will be suspending flyball events through the end of January 2021.? The Board will now begin evaluating the situation on a monthly basis with the hope that we will be able to return to racing soon.? The Board will also be putting together some recommendations and best practices for host clubs and competitors for keeping everyone safe when racing does resume.? ? As always, don¡¯t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions. I hope everyone remains safe, and I look forward to the time when we can all meet in the lanes. ? Sincerely, Neil Flood North American Flyball Association, Executive Director
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Get your NAFA nominations in!
Don't forget! Get your NAFA nominations in!
Elections this year are for Board of Directors (three positions), Judge of the Year, Clyde Moore Memorial Hall of Fame (up to two inductees) and Regional MVPs!
All nominations must be received no later than?September 30, 2020.??
You can find the online nomination forms here: ??(for Clyde Moore Memorial Hall of Fame) ??(for Judge of the Year) ??(for Regional MVP)
? (for Board of Directors). Once your nomination has been submitted you should expect to receive an emailed acknowledgement from NAFA within 24 hours.??
If you do not receive this acknowledgement, please let us know.??
Please direct any questions you have to the chair of the nominating committee, Terry McClean, at?nominees@....
Thank you. NAFA Nominating Committee
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NAFA Apparel Design Contest
The competition is still open, so send in your designs to marketing@...? The design does not need to be CanAm related.?? Closing for entries is midnight, September 13, 2020.?? Thank you and good luck! Here's your chance to design the artwork for this year's NAFA apparel; hoodies, t-shirts, etc.! ? Even though CanAm is not happening this year, we still want to receive your creative designs to be offered for sale in October when CanAm would have been held.?? The winner will receive an apparel item and bragging rights! *NAFA reserves the right to make design changes to facilitate and expedite production*
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Junior Participant Pin Contest Winner
NAFA is proud to announce the Junior Participant pin design contest winner this year is
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Jaslyn Brandt, club Skidmarkz, with this creation:
Congratulations, Jaslyn!
Thank you to everyone that sent in design entries
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NAFA Apparel Design Contest
Here's your chance to design the artwork for this year¡¯s NAFA apparel; hoodies, t-shirts, etc.!
Even though CanAm is not happening this year, we still want to receive your creative designs to be offered for sale in October when CanAm would normally be held.?
Competition is open, so send in your designs to?marketing@....
Closing for entries is September 13th, 2020.
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Visit??for a look at past designs.?
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The winner will receive an apparel item and bragging rights!
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Thank you and good luck!
*NAFA reserves the right to make design changes to facilitate and expedite production*
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All, First, and foremost, I hope all our flyball members and their families are continuing to stay safe and healthy during the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. These are certainly trying times for everyone, and we¡¯ve continued to monitor the health recommendations by the CDC, Health Canada, as well as guidance provided by leading infectious disease medical experts.
While we would all prefer to be out playing flyball in a safe and healthy manner, our first priority is the health and welfare of our members and the communities that we all live in. The NAFA Board of Directors met this weekend and discussed the timing of returning to racing. Many factors were considered: - ?Current rates of infection in the United States and Canada - What has happened as schools, universities and sporting events have tried to reopen even with safety measures in place - Decisions by major athletic organizations such as the Big Ten and Pac-12 NCAA Football Conferences both deciding to cancel the fall season - Overlapping Influenza and COVID-19 seasons in the Fall and early Winter
I want to provide our host clubs and participants as much lead time for planning as possible, therefore based on the current situation, NAFA will be suspending flyball events through the end of December 2020. We will look to provide another tournament sanctioning status update in early October.
As always, don¡¯t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions. I hope everyone remains safe, and I look forward to the time when we can all meet in the lanes.
Sincerely,
Neil Flood North American Flyball Association, Executive Director
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Upcoming Board teleconference agenda has been posted.
Please note, the agenda for the?upcoming?August 22nd, 2020 Board teleconference, has been posted.
Thank you, NAFA
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NAFA nominations are open!
Elections this year are for Board of Directors (three positions), Judge of the Year, Clyde Moore Memorial Hall of Fame (up to two inductees) and Regional MVPs!
All nominations must be received no later than September 30, 2020.?? You can find the online nomination forms here: ??(for Clyde Moore Memorial Hall of Fame) ??(for Judge of the Year) ??(for Regional MVP) ? (for Board of Directors). Once your nomination has been submitted you should expect to receive an emailed acknowledgement from NAFA within 24 hours.??If you do not receive this acknowledgement, please let us know.??Please direct any questions you have to the chair of the nominating committee, Terry McClean, at?nominees@.... Thank you. NAFA Nominating Committee ?
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Junior Participant Pin Design Contest!
How would you like to design the next Junior Participant Pin? The design contest is still open to all junior competitors, ages 5-17 years of age!
Visit??for details and past pins.
The contest will end July 13th.?
Also, visit???
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Board minutes from May 2nd and June 7th teleconferences
The minutes from the May 2nd and June 7th board of directors teleconferences have been posted. ? Please visit for details. ? Thank you.
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Tournaments suspended through September 30, 2020.
We hope this finds our flyball family staying safe and healthy as we all navigate our way through these tumultuous times. During a Board of Director¡¯s teleconference held on Sunday, June 7, 2020, the NAFA Board, in conjunction with Executive Director Neil Flood, has unanimously decided to suspend all tournaments through September 30, 2020. While many states and provinces have begun increasing the number of people allowed to gather at one time, the team aspect of flyball makes it extremely difficult to follow social distancing guidelines. While clubs may, at their own discretion, elect to hold practices or even scrimmages, ultimately the Board decided against sanctioning any tournaments for the remainder of the 2020 NAFA racing year in the best interest of competitors. The Board of Directors will meet again in early August to evaluate the then current guidance from the WHO, CDC and Health Canada as well as state/provincial regulations to determine sanctioning for the 2021 racing year beginning October 1, 2020. As a side note, the option to list a judge as ¡°TBD¡± has been added to the online sanctioning form for those clubs wishing to submit requests for the 2021 racing year. While we all continue to miss playing flyball and seeing our friends at tournaments, the safety and well being of all is most important. We hope to see everyone in the lanes soon. Please take care and stay well. Steve Corona NAFA Chairman of the Board
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Steve Corona
Lynda Mantler