For anyone who occasionally does NADAC but doesn't have the time to keep up with the ever-changing rules....
Per Sharon on the list this morning:
By next year, you will probably start to see them. Think about it when
you see dogs falling down in tight tunnels and wonder just how bad it is to
teach them to go around a round object and have the ability to not have the
slick tunnel take their footing away!
If you think about a barrel from the "dogs" point of view, it is a no
brainer. But from the handlers point of view, it can be tough to have to teach
the dog something new.
Sharon
Yes, that would be another non-traditional agility obstacle that is going to be making its way into all regular NADAC trials (vs. EGC where the barrel saw its inception, along with gates).
I always figured they would end up taking jumps away (we see more and more hoops these days), but never did I think the tunnels would start to disappear as well. It's a ground speed obstacle -- but apparently since their 9 yps dogs keep wiping out in tunnels, now they are bad and dangerous as well.
When EGC was first introduced, I told everyone to wait and see -- eventually it would make its way into NADAC trials. Well, here we are. Last year people rioted against gates and Sharon said she would limit their use to EGC (and had a pretty big pouting fit about it, I might add). Competitor grumbling be damned, it sounds like barrels are coming whether you like it or not.
Clubs are going to be so enthused about having more "specialized" equipment to purchase and store. People who train at home now have to worry about one more thing to budget into their agility life. I'm sorry, but I don't have the time, money nor inclination to even consider this.
I've been moving away from NADAC recently as it is, but the day that the EGC equipment gets merged into normal trials is the day I stop completely. I wrote that to the list this morning, but surprise, my e-mail didn't get posted.
