Mach-Speed Whippets

Sighthound Disc Sport

Introduction:

This document is a general outline of the beginnings of a new sport for sighthounds and their owners. This document will describe the initial idea of SDS – Sighthound Disc Sport. Three disciplines of SDS will be proposed below: 1-“Mini-Distance”, 2-“Long Distance”, and 3-“Disc-Coursing (& Freestyle)”. The goal of this document is not to declare permanent, rigid rules and regulations, but instead to offer a preliminary idea for the rules which can later be altered, “fixed”, and fine-tuned after the sport gets its footing through group and individual experiences.

The idea of a separate dog-disc sport for sighthounds came up for a number of reasons. First of all, there is always room for more ways to give sighthounds ways to enjoy a nice run. Secondly, many other sighthound sports involve expensive machinery and/or infrastructure. Thirdly, the many dog-disc sport organizations around the world, although truly wonderful, do not encourage the type of performance in which sighthounds could excel. Generally speaking, the various dog-disc rules of the various organizations have been built around the abilities of either the “herding” breeds (e.g. Border Collie, Australian Shepard) or, to a certain degree, around dogs as a whole. The best way to overcome this obstacle, for sighthound owners, is to “start from scratch” – creating new sports and competitions that can better bring out the abilities found in sighthounds.

Not all dog breeds from the sighthound group are built for all of the maneuvers, jumps, catches, and tricks that will be put forward here, but it is a goal in SDS to find ways to make the sport playable to as many sighthound breeds as possible (if not all). We can expect that the center of focus will be the hounds like the Whippet, Saluki, Galgo, Magyar Agar, and Lurcher. But hopefully, owners of larger sighthounds (and perhaps Italian Greyhounds) will take an interest, and can find their own niche. Other breeds can also take part – especially breeds and mixes that are somewhat similar to the sighthounds. Even the dog-disc teams from traditional dog-disc sports may choose to dabble in SDS Coursing (and most likely borrow from it in some ways), but it is important that SDS, as it forms and evolves, keeps its focus on athletically satisfying (and showcasing) the sighthounds as well as bringing out their full athletic potential. This is so essential because there are no dog-disc sports groups or games that can really satisfy the unique situation of the sighthounds. This group of breeds excels in different areas, and has difficulty in others. So, since other dog-disc sports are anything but designed for the sighthound, SDS must be designed for, and catered to, the sighthound. Other breeds and mixed-breed teams are welcome to take part, but they should not expect to have any influence upon the further creation and evolution of the sport – as well as its rules and scoring system.

For more information and videos, please see the following links:

www.facebook.com/sighthounddiscsport

www.youtube.com/sighthounddiscsport

I. Mini-Distance (MD)

A. Description of the Mini-Distance Competition

SDS Mini-Distance is similar to most dog-disc mini-distance competitions. The main differences are: a) how it is scored in general, and b) 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 disc and during retrieval) – not just for the catching alone.

Four 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, 30, and 40 meters. The fourth zone has no upper limit. All four zones are 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 announcers/judges are to announce when 20 seconds remain and count down from 10 seconds so that the teams are able to plan their final throw.

B. Mini-Distance Rules

Teams have 3 minutes (180sec) to accumulate as many points as possible. Any disc type can be used, but Dog-Disc Fastbacks are recommended (Hero, Hero Whippet, Hyperflite, and Pocket-Rocket for example). One disc is to be used for the entire 2–minute period.

The dog must be behind the zero-meter line (start line) at the time of start. The thrower must be behind this start line at start time, when throwing, and when receiving the disc from the dog. If the thrower needs to run up to help the dog that, for example, has lost the disc or failed to properly retrieve, the thrower AND the dog must both return to behind the zero meter line before continuing.

Throws must be caught inbounds (between the 2 sidelines) for the catches to count in scoring. If a dog jumps from a point inbounds and then catches the disc before landing out of bounds, the catch will be scored as successful – but with a 1 point penalty. If a dog launches from one zone, catches the disc in the air, then lands in an adjacent zone, points for the zone of higher value are awarded.

In Mini-Distance, the dog is NOT required to be behind the zero-meter line before the disc leaves the throwers hand, BUT the dog must pass over the zero-meter line into the backfield before each throw. For the sake of clarity, trainers are recommended to train and/or command their dogs to pass FULLY into the backfield – with all four paws.

C. Mini-Distance Scoring

1 point for a reception in zone 1

2 points for a reception in zone 2

3 points for a reception in zone 3

4 points for a reception in zone 4

In the case of a tie between 2 or more teams, the tie is broken by comparing the percentage of successful receptions.

If this does not break the tie, then the distance of the final throw will determine the winner (if this throw was successfully received).

D. Mini-Distance Notes

Bonus points are not awarded for airborne catches in order to keep the competition focused on speed, pursuit, catching, and retrieval speed – and not on jumping. Vaulting and high jumping for some larger sighthounds can be unhealthy or dangerous, so the number of airborne catches need not even be recorded by the judges.

II. Long-Distance (LD)
A. Description of the Long-Distance Competition

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. Any type of throwing disc that the thrower has found safe and fitting will be permitted – including ring-style discs such as the Aerobie.

B. Long-Distance Rules

Unlike most other Long-Distance Dog-Disc Competitions, SDS will allow any type of flat, rotating plastic or rubber flying object with no power source. The object should fly through the air on generally the same principles as standard discs such as Frisbees. Dog owners/throwers should know that the object is safe for his or her dog to catch. In addition, no team in a given competition should be using a particular disc model for the first time. If the judges are not convinced of the safety, the judge may choose to not permit the use of the flying object, but ultimate responsibility for the dog’s safety lies with the owner. Each team must come to the event with the disc they plan to use. Participants are asked not to borrow discs from other competitors at the event. Sometimes certain types of discs might be for sale at some events, but competitors should not rely on this as their only source of discs.

The organizers and judges cannot control the weather. The final decision for the direction of throws will be made shortly before the competition. All throws by all competitors will be made in the same direction. Organizers and judges are not responsible for weather changes (like wind speed and direction, rain, etc.) that take place during the event. By no means should a participant expect to make throws with the wind. In fact, throwing against the wind is often the best choice for the organizers.

C. Long-Distance Scoring

SDS Long-Distance scoring is simple:

The longest throw of the Long-Distance competition that is completed with a successful catch by the dog wins the competition (Irrespective of when the reception was made – in Round 1 or 2). No false-starts allowed.
Each team is allowed 3 initial throws (Round 1)
All teams that make at least 1 throw over 40meters in the first round and record at least one successful catch will be allowed to take 3 additional throws (Round 2).
The distance of 40meters in the above point can be changed by the judges just before the competition. This judge’s decision is to be based on atmospheric conditions, skill levels, and disc types being used at that event. This distance is called the “minimum distance”. Unless otherwise stated at a given event, the minimum distance will be 40 meters.
This competition will be split into thrower gender classes in the future – when the number of competitors makes this sensible. Nevertheless, record-breaking distances will be kept for both genders separately from the first competitions.
The dog must be completely behind the starting line as the disc leaves the owner’s hand. Teams that have problems avoiding false-starts can either be trained to stay back a few meters behind the thrower, so that the throw can launch the throw before the dog reaches the zero-line. Another option is to have an assistant hold the sighthound behind the line, as is done in lure-coursing. Yet another option is to train the sighthound to circle around an object well-behind the throw-line. This solution also allows the sighthound to reach a faster start-speed.
Judges are to keep track of potential record-breaking receptions for both SDS and overall dog-disc in all categories (e.g. – fastback & open disc).
Special recognition should be given to the best result with a normal dog-disc of the day (If the overall winner used an Aerobie or other far-flying disc).

D. Long-Distance Notes

The Aerobie Pro and Aerobie Sprint flying discs would be a good choice for many sighthounds in the SDS competition if the dog has practiced with such a disc (and has been trained to not destroy the disc with his/her teeth). Aerobies are a bit pricey (compared to normal discs) and they can be destroyed easily by any dog, but they fly amazingly far -- and trained sighthounds have shown that they can see them, overtake them, and catch them. Long-Distance is a competition where sighthounds have a potential to truly excel in the sport of dog-disc. The world record for long-distance in Dog-Disc sport is held by a Whippet.

Participants should not ask other competitors to lend their personal flying discs at a given event. This is because this practice would put the competitor in an awkward situation of lending his/her prized disc which may then be lost or damaged by a thrower who has little or no experience with the borrowed disc. The lending team may also lose their competitive advantage that they worked hard to obtain. If a thrower wants to throw a particular type of disc, then they should read up on the subject, order/buy beforehand, practice, etc. Someone throwing a given disc-type for the first time can easily lose control of a throw. This can endanger the dog or can cause a valuable disc to be lost in a tree, in a body of water, etc. Competitors who are asked for use of their discs on the day of the competition on the competition grounds are expected to politely refuse lending their disc – sighting these rules as the reason. The event organizers may or may not have fastbacks to lend to potential competitors. It would be best if competitors do not count on this. Yet organizers should try their best to have fastback discs at the events... if not for loan, then at least for sale.

III. Disc-Coursing & Freestyle (DC&F)
A. Description of DC&F Competition

SDS Disc-Coursing & Freestyle is a hybrid event made up of two aspects which are contained in the same event. Sighthound Disc-Coursing is half of the event. It is inspired by the hound sport of lure-coursing, while the second half, “Sighthound Disc Freestyle” is similar to other dog-disc freestyle events (made up of disc tricks, catches, fetches, vaults, etc – set to music). Teams are permitted to use any disc type or a combination of types, as well as props, tools, other objects, or even costumes, etc. The performance should 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. Nevertheless, some teams will prefer to set their performances to music. They should bring their music to the event on a CD in audio format or on a pendrive in mp3 format.

The music chosen can be anywhere from 2:30 to 4:30 in length. 2:45-3:45 should be considered optimal. The audio track that is given to the organizers should already be of an acceptable length.

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

In the future, the first competitors and organizers may find they will want to make this category solely about disc-coursing and not about freestyle – either overall or at given events. For example, this category could be Disc-Coursing alone at Sighthound meetings, and it could be Disc-Coursing & Freestyle at Dog-Frisbee events.

DC&F Field: (see diagram 1.3)

Surface - The field can be grass, sand, or even beach sand.

Poles – Four poles designate the field and serve as turn-points for the canine

Distance between long poles – 50-150meters (set by the thrower)

Distance between short poles – 10-50meters (set by the thrower)

B. Disc-Coursing & Freestyle Rules

Disc-Coursing, as stated earlier, is inspired by lure-coursing. The “Disc-Coursing” throws should challenge the sighthound. In fact, we might even say that “bad throws” are in fact very good throws, if the sighthound succeeds in catching the disc. The more difficult the throw is to catch, the more valuable the successful catch. Throws should bring out the speed, agility, acrobatics, and thinking of the canine participant.

“Freestyle” by definition means some show of skill and style with no real rules. So, in SDS’s Freestyle competition, there are no rules other than: 1) the set length of time, and 2) the mandatory use of one or more (safe) flying discs. The discs are to be the center of focus of the team for at least the majority of the performance. On top of this, Freestyle is coupled together with Disc Coursing in the same competition. So, in fact, SDS teams are performing Freestyle and Disc-Coursing at the same time. This means that teams are fulfilling the requirements of Disc-Coursing at generally the same time as they freestyle. A team may cover these two aspects together or separately during their performance, but even if separately, the performance should be once continuous show of 2:30 to 4:30 in length.

On the internet, there are large amounts of material (including films and photos) of dog-disc freestyle events on the internet. SDS participants are urged to look there for inspiration and ideas for what to do in SDS freestyle. It is important, though, to keep in mind that sighthounds are very different from many of the popular breeds of today’s dog-disc freestyle competitions. For example, throwers with large sighthounds may want to skip the idea of vaulting altogether. There are plenty of other exciting tricks, and displays of athletic ability in which sighthounds would excel and would not be at high risk of injury.

C. Disc-Coursing and Freestyle Scoring (0-100)

Judges will score from 1-20 (where 20 is the best score), the following categories:

Sporting Skill and Execution – catches, tricks, maneuvers, throws, etc. (Included here are also the required actions of a “roller”, a long-distance sprint-throw, and at least 1 “trick” throw. Detailed description will be given later.)
Show of Speed and Agility – speed, endurance, cornering, agility, stopping, use of the poles, jumps (if applicable), vaults (if applicable)
Team Cooperation & Communication -- cooperation, communication timing, teamwork, “team telepathy”, projection of fun and positive energy.
Art/Music Interpretation – moves fitting to the music, artistic performance, timing to the music, choreography, etc. If music is not used, then this category will be split into the subcategories of “General Artistic Performance” and “Verbal Communication”.
Overall Effect & Audience Response – (Judges will try to keep in mind how much audience response is based possibly on nepotism and how much is coming from the overall effect.)

D. Disc-Coursing & Freestyle Notes

Dogs are not required to jump or vault. Points are not deducted for a lack of jumps or vaults. But, if an owner feels that their dog can jump or vault safely, this may be added to the routine and can, of course effect the scoring by making the show more varied and exciting. But judges are not to allow a lack of vaulting or jumping to adversely affect a team’s score if the show is otherwise solid, varied, creative, entertaining, and shows the spirit of sighthounds as the sporting dogs that they are. Jumping and vaulting are considered both “tricks” and “shows of agility and athleticism”. Fortunately, there are many other tricks and many other ways for a sighthound to show athleticism without jumps and vaults.

The Disc-Coursing portion of this event requires the following tasks to be performed by each team:

A) 4 or more “Rollers” -- properly retrieved

B) 2 or more “Sprinters” -- successfully caught

C) 2 or more “Trick Throws” -- successfully caught

D) 2 or more “Long” or “Difficult Throws” -- successfully caught

E) 4 or more “Pole Manuevers”

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General Training

DEFINITIONS

Types of Throws:

Roller – A disc throw where the disc rolls quickly on its side on the ground. (DC&F)

Sprinter throw – Any type of throw that forces the dog to truly sprint in order to make the successful catch. (Usually a low and fast throw)

Trick Throw – Any throw that involves a difficult and tricky maneuver on the part of the dog or the thrower or both. (DC&F)

Difficult Throw – A throw that significantly tests the dog’s ability to maneuver, predict trajectories, or overcome other exceptionally difficult circumstances.

Long Throw – Throws significantly over 35 meters. (This can be changed by the judges at a given event, based on weather and conditions, age or gender of thrower, etc)

Vault – A canine jump where the dog uses some part of the thrower’s body as a “launching pad”. (DC&F)

Fly-by – A canine sprint past the thrower. This sprint is usually brought about by the “promise” of a throw in the opposite direction of the dog’s initial location in respect to the thrower. It might be compared to the running of a bull (through a red cape) past a matador. A perfect fly-by would involve a fast sprint, a very close passing of the thrower, timing of throw to keep the dog’s speed at a maximum, the dropping of previously caught disc as close as possible to the thrower, and a successful reception at the end of the run. (DC&F)

Action Sequence – Set-Up + Reception Route + Throw + Reception (plus anything that occurs during this sequence).

Canine Manoeuvre – Any sports-oriented movements by the canine involving braking, turning, acceleration that aids the canine in performance (i.e. successful and impressive disc receptions).

Hook – a very sharply performed U-Turn (a turn around and near the pole involving skilful manoeuvring. (DC&F)

U-Turn – a sharp-angled canine manoeuvre around a short or long pole.

Hair-Pin Turn – a sharp turn by the dog which is 180 degrees or more. (DC&F)

Head-Stand – a potential team feat where the canine has 2 or more feet on the head of the thrower. (A “Complete Head-Stand” is where the canine has all 4 feet on the thrower’s head). (DC&F)

High-Speed Corridor – the lane between long posts where the sighthound can reach high speeds in a straight path. (DC&F)

Hoop Jump – The canine jumps through a hoop formed by the arms of the thrower. (DC&F)

Parrot Manoeuvre – The canine climbs up the back of the thrower and stands upon a shoulder (like a parrot). (DC&F)

Poles – The 4 vertical poles used on Sighthound Disc Coursing field. (DC&F)

Long Poles – Vertical poles that are relatively far from the thrower – at opposite ends of the field. Used to stretch out longer runs, straighten the canine’s path, and create U-Turns and Hooks. (see field diagram)

Short Poles – Vertical poles that are located relatively close to the thrower – to the left and right sides of the field. Used to add angles and forms to the canine’s reception routes. (see field diagram)

Pole-Turn -- Any sharp turn by the canine around one of the 4 poles.

Receiver’s Anticipation – Canine reaction to a given situation without the need of a command or signal (thanks to repetition, practice, “telepathy”, team improvisation, etc)

Receiver – The catcher (in all or most cases, this is the dog)

Reception – the Catch

Side Reception – Canine reception route where the dog runs left to right or right to left.

Angled Reception – Canine reception route involving an angle intermediate between a Standard Reception and a Side Reception.

Approaching Reception – Potentially dangerous reception where the canine is running towards the thrower. (illegal if the given throw is considered dangerous by the judge(s)).

Standard Reception – Canine reception while running in the same direction as the flying disc

Complex Reception – Canine receptions involving complex attributes – and therefore not fitting the above reception types.

Retrieval – The carrying back of a disc by the canine to the thrower.

Partial Retrieve – A retrieve where the dog drops the disc at a point relatively near to the thrower (but not to the thrower’s hand).

Complete Retrieve – A retrieve where the dog hands the disc to the thrower.

Drop-Off (Retrieve) – A type of Partial Retrieve where the canine drops the disc off near the thrower as he/she makes a Fly-By.

Directed Retrieve – Use of hand and/or verbal signals to direct a dog to a motionless disc to be retrieved (when the thrower sees but the dog does not).

Route (Reception Route, Receiver’s Route) – the path of the canine in anticipation of a reception or its attempt. (similar to American Football).

Short-Pole Slant – Canine detour around a short pole (used to set up various angles and receiving routes) (DC&F)

Short-Pole Bend – Like a Short-Pole Slant, but involving a slow-curved path. (DC&F)

Saturn Carry (Aerobies & rings) – This is a particular way for a canine to carry a ring like the Aerobie. One side of the ring is in the mouth, while the other side is resting on the back of the neck. The dog’s head is in the middle of the ring. This type of carry allows the dog to run safely and quickly.

Set-Up – Any sign or command by thrower and the connected canine response, to create a given Action Sequence.

Sighthound (often called “gazehound”) – the group of dog breeds that were bred to hunt by sight. These are often racing hounds. Examples: Greyhound, Whippet, Borzoi, Afghan, Azawakh, Galgo Espanol, Magyar Agar, etc.

Slalom (Walking Slalom) – The canine runs a “slalom” through the thrower’s legs as the thrower walks. (DC&F)

Static Slalom -- The canine runs a “slalom” through the thrower’s legs as the thrower remains stationary. (DC&F)

Thrower – The player who throws the disc(s) (in all or most cases, this is the human.)

Thrower Zone – the area in the middle of the Disc-Coursing field where the thrower is generally based during the disc-coursing run.

Turn-Point – a filed location where the canine performs a turn. (usually a pole or the thrower’s location)

Vault – a canine leap from any “launching pad” on the thrower’s body (e.g. thigh, back, soles of shoes, chest, etc). (DC&F)

Verbal Que – A verbal/vocal signal given by the thrower to the canine (word, whistle, noise, etc).

Visual Que -- A visual/body movement signal given by the thrower to the canine (waving, pointing, kneeling, directioning of body, and even the use of body language, for example).

Important Abbreviations:

SDS – Sighthound Disc Sport

MD – Mini-Distance

LD – Long-Distance

DC – Disc-Coursing

DC&F – Disc Coursing & Freestyle

FB - Fastback

Other Abbreviations (Used only on Judges Score-Cards):

OE&AR – Overall Effect & Audience Response

SS&E – Sporting Skill & Execution

SS&A – Shows of Speed and Agility

TC – Team Cooperation