The Future Of Club Racing

[mutley]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

not enough dogs nowadays plus too many opens

 

[sherry]

not enough dogs nowadays plus too many opens

yes gaz we know all this wot we need to do is attract people back to clubs few great ideas which il help put into practice.

 

[Karen-Coral]

Our local library allowed me to display quite a generous board of whippet racing-past and present....

the local newspaper/radio were very interested because children were part of the sport/hobby....

this led on to quite a few tv spots and radio interviews for Harry who was about 8 at the time....

I also put some whippet racing booklets- 'beginner's guides' together-but although there was interest and a few regular spectators it was/is very difficult to keep a club together without a reasonable amount of dogs available.

Karen

 

[sherry]

Our local library allowed me to display quite a generous board of whippet racing-past and present....the local newspaper/radio were very interested because children were part of the sport/hobby....

this led on to quite a few tv spots and radio interviews for Harry who was about 8 at the time....

I also put some whippet racing booklets- 'beginner's guides' together-but although there was interest and a few regular spectators it was/is very difficult to keep a club together without a reasonable amount of dogs available.

Karen

yes i remember when harry was on tv. all can help i suppose we can only try. :thumbsup:

 

[comeonsteveuk]

Some great idea's on here. I just wondered what other clubs would do if they had a member/memberswhose attitiude to other club members was creating such an atmosphere that some members stop coming to the club

to race their dog, whether it be a club dog or an open class dog.

Me being stubborn ( or bloody minded ) can ignore this kind of attitude, but unfortunately some people

can't and it deters them from coming to support the club.

regards

Doreen

Doreen youve got to report it to the fed and bwra and have a agm and have a vote on that member and get him out and when you do fordingbrige members old and new will come back to the club its a shame cos its a lovly spot . so come on get them letters off for the sake of the club

 

[DavidH]

THINK ITS TO LATE 1 OR 2 OPENS EVERY WEEK. TO MUCH FOR GOOD TURN OUT AT CLUB :angry: 1 OPEN A MONTH WOULD BRING THE DOGS BACK.

EVERYONE WANTS A OPEN CLASS DOGS THESE DAYS NOT CLUB RACING UNLESS ARE SCHOOLING THERE PUPS,SAD BUT TRUE.

WE HAVE SOME GOOD NIGHTS AT AYCLIFFE, CLUB RACING TIME, YD LB IF ENOUGH USUALLY 10 TO 15+. HEALTHY TURN OUT OF PEDS, ODD GREYHOUND OR 2, LURCHERS TRIALING FOR THERE SIMULATED COURSING. LATELY PUPPY YDLB RACING.

MAYBE LOCAL INTER CLUB RACING( CLUB DOGS ONLY) WOULD HELP AND BE DIFFERENT?????????? :thumbsup: ALWAYS LIKED THE THOUGH OF MADAN RACES.

IF IT WASNT FOR THE CLUB DOGS SCHOOLING, THERE WOULDNT BE ANY OPEN RACERS. OUR SADIE HAS SCHOOLED MANY DOGS BOTH BEND AND STRAIGHTS MAYBE NOT THE FASTEST BUT SHE LOVES A GOOD GALLOP AND A PULL AND BARK. :thumbsup:

 

[Karen-Coral]

Our local library allowed me to display quite a generous board of whippet racing-past and present....the local newspaper/radio were very interested because children were part of the sport/hobby....

this led on to quite a few tv spots and radio interviews for Harry who was about 8 at the time....

I also put some whippet racing booklets- 'beginner's guides' together-but although there was interest and a few regular spectators it was/is very difficult to keep a club together without a reasonable amount of dogs available.

Karen

*Also took pups/dogs into school on numerous occasions, lots of interest once folk get past the idea/assumption that gambling is involved and they see that whippets really love racing and are not forced to....

Many negative images out there especially in Bookmakers windows of 'fierce looking greyhounds muzzled and looking menacing'...!

So many as you'll know/encounter don't know the difference between greyhound racing and whippets.

Flyers in pet shop/community windows inviting spectators can be useful too....but you still need dogs in the area.

 

[sherry]

everyone keeps saying too many opens but opens give clubs a,ot of revenue so we do need them, but wot we do also need is maybe for open class dogs to race @ their handicaps too so wot can we do to make people want to race @ the handicap even if their dog is open class?? that is the question....i wud say for a start u win more money @ the h/cap than wot u might 4 a class @ an open. anyway thanks to everyone weve got a load of ideas so weve made a start and made people sit up and look and answer this thread so thats got to b a good thing?

 

[sherry]

do u know b4 we actually raced we got a free paper/leaflet thing thru the door saying about different activites in the area etc and one was whippet racing @ bigges maine sports centre, we had been toying with the idea of getting a dog 4 a while and were prob goin 2 get a boxer dog, anyway peter went down to have a look one sat then decided it wud b a whippet we wud have and hes just reminded me wot i said... wot do u want one of them skinny little things for???? who wud think 16 years later ive got 5 with 1 in pup, i run the local club, i report on the north east dogs in the whippet news, i live and breath whippets???? so u never know if i got into it im sure others will lol;

 

[Karen-Coral]

Many local newpapers have a free 'whats on?' column for clubs etc....and grass root sports are quite fashionable at the mo. :thumbsup: :luck:

 

[sherry]

HERES THE E MAIL IVE SENT TO TERRY WITH THE IDEAS:

OK TERRY HERES ALL THE IDEAS EVERYONE HAS COME UP WITH ALTHOUGH A LOT KEEP SAYING THERES TOO MANY OPENS, THERES NOT A LOT WE CAN DO ABOUT THAT WE WANT TO ATTRACT NEW PEOPLE AND MAKE PEOPLE EVEN WITH OPEN CLASS DOGS WANT TO RUN IN HANDICAPS. OK HERE GOES I MITE HAVE ALREADY SAID SOME BUT IL JUST DO THEM ALL:

1. HAVE AN AGM EACH YEAR C WOT YOUR MEMBERS WANT

2, MIDWEEK EVENING RACING IN SUMMER MONTHS?

3. TRY AND GET A LOCAL (FREE) PAPER INVOLVED

4. PUT THE CLUB RESULTS IN THE WHIPPET NEWS EVERY MONTH AND ONLINE EVERY WEEK WITH TIME, PHONE NUMBERS, E MAILS WHEN U R CANCELLED ETC ETC

5. MAYBE TRY AND HAVE SOME DIFFERENT FORMATS AS WELL AS THE TIME H.CAP SCRATCH RACES OR A YARD PER 1LB, MAYBE TRY DIFFERENT DISTANCES I KNOW HARD @ W/HOPE BUT HEY WHOSE TO SAY U CANT HAVE A 100YARD RACE???

6. GET IN TOUCH WITH PEDIGREE WHIPPETS IN THE AREA AND IF ENUF HAVE A PED RACE

7. GET IN TOUCH WITH OLD MEMBERS, LET THEM KNOW WHEN U RACE ETC

8. HAVE 1 OR 2 SPECIAL TROPHIES A YEAR SAY 2 TROPHIES A YEAR WHICH WUD MAKE THEM A BIT SPECIAL TO RACE FOR

9. MAYBE HAVE A TOP TRAINER AWARD, MY INTERPRETATION OF THIS WAS A DOG THAT SCHOOLS OTHER DOGS IE ALANS JAY B JAY WUD HAVE DEFINITLY WON IT FOR A FEW YEARS.

10. CUD U HAVE A PUPPY HANDICAP ONLY ALLOWING FULLY SCHOOLED PUPS TO ENTER THOUGH, EITHER BY TIME HANDICAPPING OR YDS PER 1LBS

11. MAYBE BETWEEN US WE CUD DO A SORT OF TOP TEN COMPETITION BUT MAKE IT A TOP 5 LIKE DOGS CUD SCORE ON WINS @ BOTH CLUBS AND THEN THE TOP 5 CUD WIN SOME KIND OF PRIZES ( not sure wot yet??)

12. IM ALREADY THINKING OF DOING A MAGAZINE WHICH WUD INCLUDE BOTH CLUBS, RESULTS, MAYBE A PIECE ON A CERTAIN DOG COMPLETE WITH PHOTO ETC

13. HAVE SOME HAVE A GO SESSIONS, WHERE ANY DOG CAN COME AND HAVE A CHASE MAYBE CHARGE 50P A GO

14. ADVERTISE RACING IN THE WESTERHOPE/WALLSEND AREA @ THE LOCAL VETS, LOCAL LIBRARY. LOCAL PET SHOP, DOG TRAINING CLASSES, DOG CHARITIES, LOCAL RADIO, LOCAL DOG SHOWS ETC ETC

15. MAYBE BETWEEN US ONCE A YEAR WE CUD HAVE A CLUB MATCH THE RISING SUN V WESTERHOPE U CUD DO BEST BITCH, BEST DOG, BEST SCRATCH, BEST VETERAN ETC ETC TRY AND MATCH DOGS OF SIMILAR WEIGHT AND DO IT YDS PER 1LB I THINK THAT CUD B GREAT FUN.

16. @ THE RISING SUN WE HAVE TOP DOG AND TOP BITCH BUT WOT ABOUT CLUB CHAMPION THE ONE WITH THE MOST POINTS WINS MAYBE SOME MONEY BUT IT WUD HAVE TO BE SOMETHING WORTH WINNING LIKE MAYBE £100 THAT WUD B WELL WORTH IT.

HOPE U THINK THESE IDEAS R GOOD? LET ME KNOW WOT U THINK. CAROLE

 

[Trojan]

Have to agree with your ideas and if they haven't been tried at your club go for it, but sadly most of these things we have tried, feel free to look at our old fixtures list for ideas of different formats, we used to do quite a few different ones, 1/2 yd/lb over 100yards is brill for tight finishes if you have a good trapper :wacko: dogs/bitches separate, dog receiving 1 yard sex allowance, my old fave pre war handicap there are loads of formats, results were always printed in the local paper, whippet news and now internet. took dogs into school too like Karen/Steve, did annual trophies ( 1 every month) had top dog and top bitch on a points system, even had a couple of FREE meetngs before, just need the dogs and people. Good Luck with whatever you try and hope it brings the dogs in :thumbsup:

 

[sherry]

thanks karen dont think we cud do dog and bitch sep as not enuf but get your drift. :thumbsup:

 

[Susan]

When I stared racing in the 80's..I club raced the dog,,she was open class and ran her in the scot reg,,to go to the straight champs at Old Hall,,I had no idea the dog could run at a champ event,,I went and she did reach the final,,was well chuffed,,then the Highland Derby,,I had no idea what it was, but took her,,she did very well there too,,I thought back then a 18 year old lass with her wee dog, that there was opens in other areas,,I did know of the champ dogs at the club Ross's Gold,,Special One,,but I liked to just run the dog at the club,,to get to a final,,I was over the moon with her,,back then at Polbeth it was advance / retard,,I could to understand why a tiny 18lb dog have to give 10 yrds to a 26lb dog and she won,,not I know :clown: (w00t)

Club racing is where you learn,,the dogs too,,took me a few years to know what I had and how to get the best out of the dog as they like people,,different,,some need loads of walking others like ,My Robbie can have a wee walk,,huge rest and win at the champs,,I think Scotland are doing well with new members and dogs,,Think there are too many opens,,maybe 1 open a month,,or maybe everyone wants a Bonnie Tinker,,,a class bitch who won everything,,think non peds need to step back,,as clubs get folk racing,,so more club racing is needed,,my pennys worth,,hope it helps Carol :thumbsup:

 

[ocsar]

like i have always said a open class dog is still just a club dog i have ran my dogs in the club and trained pups too its the best way to keep your dog race fit

 

[alanjohnson]

Looks like you need money now or you would n,t be asking for ideas

So why don,t you ask members to pay yearly subs of say £10.00 don,t know how many members you have but this might pay or help pay the rent and the track will be there to come and go when ever they wish still charge the £1. for a run ups and £2.50 or what ever a race I have not been racing long and I have picket up not every one needs a handicap running small dogs against big dogs its a worry but every one needs a club to train and school I would call a meeting Terry

 

[sherry]

Looks like you need money now or you would n,t be asking for ideasSo why don,t you ask members to pay yearly subs of say £10.00 don,t know how many members you have but this might pay or help pay the rent and the track will be there to come and go when ever they wish still charge the £1. for a run ups and £2.50 or what ever a race I have not been racing long and I have picket up not every one needs a handicap running small dogs against big dogs its a worry but every one needs a club to train and school I would call a meeting Terry

dont think its anything to do with money alan its more to do with keeping the handicaps alive and not closing down. yes we have rent to pay etc but terry does raffles, domino card etc we @ the sun do dominos and have food on @ opens so we can actually keep on top of the rent but any money of course helps but like i say its more a case of keeping the clubs alive and not closing down. we after all only have 2 clubs left in the north east

 

[mollyxx]

I agree open racing does hinder club racing. My own gripe being those that come along, train their pups then are never to be seen again until they've got their next up and coming youngster that they wish to train with our regular club dogs / pedigrees.Dogs that don't make open class standard get a bum deal IMO. Their owners can either break their hearts letting them get beat in opens or get bounced about by every dodgy dog that comes along for trialling or free up space at home for something faster by selling them on.

There's 2 ways to go IMO:

Carry on, club attendances will run down and I suspect regardless of trialling passports there will be an increase in dogs tackling because some of these club dogs might be encouraged to race in opens where'll they'll become increasingly frustrated. Some dogs won't ever be passported properly because they never got the opportunity to clearly pass a slower dog. There'll also be another group of racers who'll take time out for a few years because their current dog isn't good enough or they'll sell on and get something else in that's faster. I personally think this results in less dogs running and less newcomers coming into the sport

Or we could promote club dogs, to me it's the only way your going to give anyone the incentive to keep a slower dog especially if they're wanting to race.

Ideas?

A top trainer award for dogs that trial with these up and coming open class dogs. Clubs keeping a points system for these dogs and awards being given for the winning dog within the club and a ''Top Ten'' feature being promoted in WN. I think prizes should be subsidised by both the BWRA and NNWRF as it is those organisations that have to endure a pile of hassle when dogs are not competently trained for racing.

Club opens to have on the day of their events a club dog racing class, a lurcher racing class and a peddy racing class, all done on time handicapping open to any dog from any club in the country.

Organisations and open event hosts to be informed about dogs being disqualified from an event. Disqualified dogs must return to club racing for re-training and no entry to any event without a written statement from the club assuring it's honesty.

I think our club does well for several reasons:

If it can chase a lure, it can run.

Many of us within the club have dogs that are not open class and prefer to keep our pets and run them at the club.

The vast majority of our club racing is on a time handicap.

For the straights we have a lurcher show that's always well attended, our George Hartley Memorial has pedigree racing and both the Valentine / Sailaway Open and our BWRA Bend Bonanza have races for peds, lurchers and even a dash for terriers. All of which have a good spread of trophies, velvet jackets and other goodies to be won.

 

[mollyxx]

Sorry about that! I don't know where my answer went!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An excellent idea Jacqui....I have been wanting to promote a competition for the club dogs, a Club Top Ten with prizes at the end of the year.

Wasn't sure how to compile it, anyone with good suggestions please email, as it would be good to put in place for 2011, including in the pedigree section!!!

Other than that, if it were to go to one event per month, the champs will take up 4 months; March, May, August & November, English & Scottish Derbies June & July, that will leave January, February, April, September, October & December for the rest, say for the BWRA; IBM, Lord Byron & Jack Cadman with 3 remaining months for the NNWRF.......either for G Jacket/Super League or Classics....

Clubs must be in full agreement not to have their Top Ten or stage any Additional Opens in order for this to work!

Would this mean that Scotland & Devon would hold only club racing as well as the Derby, with no other events (opens or championships).

Please clarify what it is you require for the changes, we could try it for a year to see if it makes any difference.

The clubs are the backbone of our sport, without them there would be no racing or any champions...get some ideas going to boost these much needed clubs x

 

[weathergirls]

Some great idea's on here. I just wondered what other clubs would do if they had a member/memberswhose attitiude to other club members was creating such an atmosphere that some members stop coming to the club

to race their dog, whether it be a club dog or an open class dog.

Me being stubborn ( or bloody minded ) can ignore this kind of attitude, but unfortunately some people

can't and it deters them from coming to support the club.

regards

Doreen

Doreen youve got to report it to the fed and bwra and have a agm and have a vote on that member and get him out and when you do fordingbrige members old and new will come back to the club its a shame cos its a lovly spot . so come on get them letters off for the sake of the club

If you have a member that is causing problems in this case I would call it "ungentlemanly conduct " the club committee should deal with the member in question with first giving him/her a verbal warning following if need be with a written warning then suspension for say 3 months. neighbouring clubs could be informed and asked to support this descision Most if not all clubs are affiliated to the BWRA and should be able to ask there regional committee to back them up if it gets to this stage, further down the road the NATIONAL BWRA COMMITTEE should withdraw the members card. (sure it wouldn't need to get this far)

The NNWRF unlike the BWRA have no control as such over clubs or their members however unless a member can school/race at a club they will be unable to obtain clearance without which they will not be able to race with the NNWRF