Competitors New to Agility Are Bound for the AKC Agility League Championship

Freshman division competitors bitten by the bug, the agility bug, that is, are making plans to join their teams at the second annual AKC Agility League Championship Aug. 29-31, 2024, at Purina Farms in Gray Summit, Missouri.

“It will be super fun to see my teammates run and cheer them on,” says Fran Hinkelmann of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who is going with her 5-year-old male Miniature Poodle, “Yankee” (CH Yankee Doodle Von Maklaschei CD BN RM NA NAJ ACT2J SWM SCME CGCA TKA).

“I am excited to see people from all over the country and to celebrate with them and their dogs,” says Hinkelmann, who is a member of the Earning Our Wings team that practices at the Durham (N.C.) Kennel Club.

Team camaraderie and training support are the crux of the League program that has become increasingly popular since it began in 2022.

“It is fun being part of a team. Everyone in the class cheers you on and helps you. We run the same day as the Senior division. They show you things you didn’t think of like instead of doing a front cross trying a rear cross,” says Aubrey Scheuer of Raleigh, North Carolina, also a member of the Earning Our Wings team.
 
“The League is a great training experience for all agility dogs,” says Penny Leigh, AKC Director of the League. “Dogs get to run on their home turf where they are comfortable but with a competitive twist. They are being judged and timed, plus handlers want to do well for their teams. It is wonderful preparation for the ‘real’ agility ring.”
 
The League consists of teams of three to eight dogs that train at their home facility and record their scores over six rounds. Teams participate in Freshman (Novice), Sophomore (Open), Senior (Masters) and Ph.D. (ISC) divisions that include regular and preferred jump heights.
 
“The League also has the awesome opportunity to be coached and mentored by the captains and other experienced members of the clubs or schools that host League teams,” Leigh says. “It is a very nurturing atmosphere as teammates cheer each other on and give each other encouragement.”
 
The League Championship is like a traditional agility trial with dog-handler teams being scored on their first run. In contrast, during the 12-week League seasons, there are ample chances to improve on rough spots and record a dog’s best score. A new course alternating among Standard, Jumpers with Weaves, and Hybrid, a mix of both, is offered every other week, and handlers can study and practice.
 
“The championship will only be our second time going to a venue to compete,” says Brihanna Contreras of Westover, Alabama, who trains with her 2-year-old red and white female Border Collie, “Shook” (VR Didn’T See That Coming CA DCAT).
 
“I still consider myself a baby handler. I am learning how to support her in her runs,” says Contreras, a member of the WestRover’s So Fresh, So Clean team at WestRover (Ala.) Agility Club.
 
Dogs and their handlers may have trained, and even earned titles, in other companion sports. As the Freshman division is the equivalent of the AKC’s Novice, or beginner, agility level, they are learning new skills with challenges to master.
 
Old English Sheepdog “Kitty” (CH RACH Aurora Blue Kittyhawks Wright Flyer CDX PCD BN RM5 RAE3 OFP CAA FCAT ACT2 RATN CGCU TKA) at 6 years of age is a rally and conformation champion and holds titles in obedience, Fast CAT, barn hunt, Fast agility, lure coursing and trick dog. Learning to run Standard and Jumpers with Weaves courses has been a new experience for her.
 
Scheuer, her owner-handler, says, “This has given her a lot more ring experience, and it has been fun to be part of a team. I’ve noticed Kitty’s skill set is improving. She is building confidence on skills she will need on a regular AKC course.”
 
The agility partnership experience has been eye-opening for the handlers new to the sport.  

“Just a slight change in my body movement like a shift of my shoulders or hips, and Yankee decelerates and changes in that direction,” Hinkelmann says of her first agility dog that is a natural with his love of jumping and flexibility.
 
Contreras agrees. “Shook is sensitive to my body language and reads me quickly and easily. If a toe is out of place, she looks at me as though to say, ‘You want me to go that way?’”
 
Kitty, the Old English Sheepdog, has proved to be an exuberant, sometimes overexcited agility dog in her two League seasons. 

“We call her ‘Sass Mouth,’” Scheuer says. “She runs fast and barks loud if I am not going fast enough.”
 
Yankee has discerned the results of a successful run.
 
“He loves to do it right and get rewarded, and he hates it when I say, ‘Oopsie’ and no one claps for him,” Hinkelmann says.
 
“The Summer 2024 season, the League’s seventh, included 270 teams in the Freshman to Ph.D. divisions with 1,600 dogs from across the country,” Leigh says.
 
Part of the fun for participants is monitoring their rankings based on individual and team performances. Team scores are the average of all dogs’ scores on the team, and individual dogs are ranked separately in their division, skill level and jump height class.
 
The only requirement to enter the AKC Agility League Championship is to have completed one League season between Fall 2023 and Summer 2024.
 
Hinkelmann and Yankee will run their last Freshman division agility runs at the 2024 championship since he recently earned the NAJ (Novice Agility Jumpers) title.
 
“He titled in three trials,” she says. “Boom, boom, boom, and he earned all three legs.”
 
“Once a dog earns an AKC Novice Standard or Jumpers with Weaves title, they must graduate to the next level of Sophomore for the next season,” Leigh says.
 
The championship will provide an opportunity for dogs to earn titles, so there is a good chance others will be moving up as well.
 
Most of all, as Hinkelmann says, “The championship promises to be a celebration of everyone and our dogs.”