A New Sighthound Sport

[glennSKii]

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hello,

i have been designing a new sport for sighthounds for the past year or two (mostly in my head).

since autumn, i've been speeding up a bit... making MSword documents, definitions, and started to make films this winter.

things will continue to speed up in the spring, as i need good weather to make most of the films.

I couldnt find a Sighthound category here in K9, so i put it here in Whippets because i am guessing that probably over half of the sighthounds that take part in the future will be whippets. (yes, i am expecting this sport to catch on sooner or later).

This sport is meant to be for the whole sighthound group, but probably the following will excel the most...

Whippet, Lurcher, Saluki, Sloughi, Azawakh, Greyhound, Magyar Agar, Galgo, and other medium to medium-large hounds.

and possibly the IG.

the sport is called Sighthound Disc Sport (SDS).

it incorporates aspects of dog-disc (dog-frisbee), coursing, and perhaps in some ways, racing.

i plan to add more info to this thread with time. i hope you all will become curious and will join in a discussion with me. i've always really liked the people here!

it may seem like a radical idea for you at first, but please give it a chance. if the humble beginnings dont convince you, please check back often and see how things are progressing and see what info and multimedia have been added.

the YouTube site is brand new.

only one film there so far. the next is in the works.

this film has polish subtitles available (you need to find the button in the lower-righthand corner of the video frame)...

other languages to follow. in a way, other languages are already there, cuz the polish can be set to translate (not perfectly) on the fly from the polish subtitles.

here is the youtube site:

http://www.youtube.com/user/SighthoundDiscSport

and the link straight to the video is:

 

[glennSKii]

A Preliminary Introduction to Sighthound Disc Sport (SDS)

SDS is made up of 3 categories:

1-“Long-Distance”, 2-“Mini-Distance”, and 3-“Disc-Coursing & Freestyle”.

Competition 1: SDS Long Distance:

In SDS Long Distance, teams attempt to connect on a reception where the dog completes a catch at the furthest possible distance downfield from the location of the throw. The dog cannot cross the start-line until the disc leaves the thrower’s hand. Any type of throwing disc that the thrower and judge has found safe and fitting will be permitted. Ring style discs such as the Aerobie are permitted. Competition may be such that it may become difficult to win with a standard fastback dog-disc.

Each team gets two initial throws. Those teams which make at least one successful reception over a minimum distance will receive two additional throws. The longest of all successful receptions wins this competition. Any type of record-breaking reception should be recorded and recognized. Teams are encouraged to realize the potential of sighthound speed, range, and eyesight.

Competition 2: SDS Mini-Distance

SDS Mini-Distance is similar to most dog-disc mini-distance competitions. The main difference is the fact that ALL catches completed during the allotted time are counted in scoring. In this way, the teams are rewarded for speed (both in pursuit of the disc and during retrieval) – not just for the catching alone.

Three zones are marked off. The first zone starts at 10 meters from the throw-line. Each zone is 10 meters deep. So, successive zones start at 20 and 30 meters. The third zone has no upper limit. Unlike Long-Distance, the mini-distance field is bound by sidelines.

A throw that leaves the thrower’s hand before time runs out is considered a legal throw. This means that a successful reception by the sighthound would count in scoring even though time has run out. The judges are to announce when 20 seconds remain and then count down from 10 seconds so that the teams are able to plan their final throw.

Competition 3: SDS Disc-Coursing & Freestyle

The Disc-Coursing & Freestyle field has an elongated elliptical shape. The field surface can be grass, sand, or even beach sand. The thrower stands in the middle. To his or her left and right are the short poles (shown here in red). In front and behind, at a further distance, are the long poles (shown here in blue). The long poles are to be 70 to 150 meters apart, and the short poles are to be significantly closer in. These poles are used by the teams to give changes of direction to the trained sighthound (as pulleys produce in lure-coursing).

Disc-Coursing & Freestyle is a hybrid event made up of two aspects which are contained in the same event. One aspect, “Sighthound Disc-Coursing” is inspired by the established sighthound sport of lure-coursing, while the second aspect, “Sighthound Disc Freestyle” is similar to other dog-disc freestyle events (made up of disc tricks, catches, fetches, vaults, etc). Teams are permitted to use any disc-type or a combination of types, as well as props, tools, other objects, or even costumes. The performance can to be set to music, but this is not a rigid requirement if a given team’s performance relies on verbal communication over long distances.

Optimally, a Disc-Coursing & Freestyle performance should be a balance of sporting skill, team-cooperation, artistic and/or musical-interpretation, timing, and especially, shows of speed, agility, and coordination. The scoring system is designed to reflect this as much as possible.

Future films and other documents will discuss how to train and prepare separately for SDS in more detail. Each of the three competitions will be discussed separately.

 

[glennSKii]

now also on Facebook:

"Sighthound Disc Sport"

 

[glennSKii]

thanks in advance for comments, favoriting, commenting, and subscribing to the YouTube site.

and for friend-ing the Facebook site.

glenn

 

[Sadie]

This looks great fun. I'm not familiar with whippet racing or coursing but can appreciate the whippet breed is made to do both.

This new sport looks great for the beach but not so sure if the continual landing on hard surface ie grassy field would do their joints any good.

Good luck with it anyway. Rocket looks a lovely boy!

Hannah x

thanks in advance for comments, favoriting, commenting, and subscribing to the YouTube site.
and for friend-ing the Facebook site.

glenn

 

[glennSKii]

hi,

nowhere is it said that the hounds are to land on the grass from heights.

the only discipline that has vaulting is the third one of the 3. and it has a field that has sand in the middle.

the vaulting is to be done in the center, where the sand is.

in addition, vaulting is not a required maneuvre.

and as far as simply jumping to catch the disc, surely this isnt unhealthy.

if it was, it would mean sighthounds are mutants... and they arent.

glenn