What is Flyball?
Cascade Comets Dog Sports Club • 425-228-3359 • www.cascadecomets.com

Flyball is a team sport for dogs that was invented in California in the late '70s when the first tennis ball launcher was developed. Legend has it that Herbert Wagner first showed it on the Johnny Carson Show to millions of Americans. Soon afterwards dog trainers and dog clubs were making and using Flyball Boxes. In the early 80’s the sport became so popular that the North American Flyball Association (NAFA) was formed and they are the worldwide authority for Flyball.

Flyball is a relay race that matches two teams of four dogs each, racing side-by-side over a Flyball course. The course consists of a starting line, four hurdles spaced 10 feet apart, and a box. The first hurdle is six feet from the starting line and the box is 15 feet from the last hurdle for a 51-foot overall length. The dogs jump the hurdles and step on a spring loaded box that shoots out a tennis ball. The dog catches the tennis ball and then runs back over the four hurdles. When the dog crosses the starting line the next dog goes. The first team to have all four dogs run without errors wins the heat.

Tournaments are usually organized in a round robin format. A race in a round robin format can contain three to five heats or be best three out of five. Based on the number of wins in a race, teams earn points towards their standing in the tournament.

The hurdles’ heights are dependent on the height of the dogs on the team: 5” below the shoulder height of the shortest dog. Seven inches is the minimum height and 14” is the maximum height.

Flyball races offer fast-paced action with plenty of excitement for dogs, handlers, and especially spectators. Many teams run all four dogs through the course in less than 20 seconds. The NAFA world record is now 15.22 seconds.

NAFA tournaments are divided into divisions so that teams complete against other teams of equal abilities. All dogs including mixed breeds are eligible to compete and earn titles in NAFA sanctioned tournaments. Titles are earned via a point system based on the time it takes a dog’s team to complete each heat.

NAFA is charged with standardizing the rules of Flyball racing, keeping records of tournaments, and guiding the overall development of Flyball racing. Interest and participation in Flyball has soared since its beginning and is now enjoyed throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and other countries. NAFA has over 700 registered clubs with thousands of registered dogs.