01/09/2026
A serious one from us for a change…
Foundation matters. Little League matters. Ring Time matters. Beginners matter.
Whatever name your organisation gives it, those first few steps are where the future of flyball is built.
And I genuinely believe we need to talk about that more.
Whether you race British Flyball Association , UK Flyball League , United Flyball - Outdoor , another organisation in the UK, or somewhere overseas, the principle is the same:
Every great flyball dog once knew absolutely nothing about flyball.
Every Division 1 dog.
Every Cup-winning dog.
Every sub-4 second dog.
Every dog we stand beside the ring and admire.
At some point, somebody stood beside that dog and taught them their first turn, their first jump, their first recall and their first run down a lane.
That part deserves just as much respect as the racing that comes afterwards.
So to every organiser who makes room for Foundation, Little League, Pre-Cadet, Ring Time, Mat Time and beginners…
Thank you.
To every trainer who gives up their time to stand beside a new handler and explain something for the tenth time…
Thank you.
To every experienced racer who stays to watch the beginners, encourages them and celebrates their first clean run as loudly as a race win…
Thank you.
To every Judge and ring party who manages these beginners in the ring, and we all know they probably need a bit more effort than your open dogs.
Thank you.
You are helping build the future of this sport.
And Foundation is brilliant to watch.
There is something special about watching a dog finally “get it”.
One clean run becomes two.
Next competition it might become three.
Then one day, everything clicks.
The dog knows the lane.
The handler knows their job.
The box turn is safe and consistent.
The dog can cope with the excitement around them.
And suddenly you realise… they’re ready.
That is when moving into Open or League racing should happen.
Not because somebody wants another dog for a team.
Not because the dog can technically run from one end of the lane to the other.
Not because progressing into Open is some prize that has to be achieved as quickly as possible.
For me, moving up should be a badge of readiness.
It should mean:
*I understand my job.
*I’m confident.
*My box technique is safe.
*I can race around other dogs.
*My handler and trainer believe I’m ready for the next step.
And if you try racing without the wings, nets or other support and it doesn’t quite work?
That isn’t failure.
Going back to Foundation isn't a punishment.
It simply means:
“We’re not quite ready yet. Now we know what we need to work on.”
That is good training.
There is another reason I feel so strongly about this.
Box technique.
I have seen box turns in Open and League racing that genuinely worry me.
And this isn’t about attacking another club, organisation, trainer or handler.
It’s about asking ourselves, as a flyball community, whether we can do better.
Because we can.
People outside the sport notice these things too.
I’ve had people send me photographs of dogs hitting flyball boxes with poor technique and ask “How can this be safe for the dog?”
That is not the image we want people to have of flyball.
I explain what good technique looks like.
I show them how we train.
I explain why we spend so long working on four-paw turns, body position, confidence and safe movement.
Because if the wider public starts believing that flyball is damaging dogs, our whole sport has a problem.
And welfare concerns can very quickly become much bigger conversations about whether a sport should be allowed to continue in its current form.
I don't want us waiting until somebody outside flyball forces that conversation upon us.
We should be leading it ourselves.
I learned this lesson through my own dog.
Chip raced before the Menai Muttineers existed.
He was taken into competition before his box technique had properly developed.
And poor technique sticks.
Believe me.
I have spent more than a year! rebuilding Chip's box turn.
Back to the beginning.
Slow work.
Muscle memory.
Four paws.
Again.
Again.
Again.
There were plenty of sessions where it felt like we were getting nowhere.
But now?
Watching him at BFA Champs a few weeks ago, and Blue Sky Flyball Teams and only fools and pooches this weekend just been, repeatedly giving me good, safe box turns was one of my proudest moments of my entire flyball career!
That experience changed the way I captain this club.
I will not knowingly put a Menai Muttineers dog into Open racing simply because it can get up and down a lane.
The dog must be ready.
Its box technique must be safe and consistent.
It must understand the other parts of the job.
It must be able to cope with the environment we are asking it to race in.
We have dogs who joined us having raced elsewhere, and some arrived with habits we are still working hard to improve.
That’s fine.
We work with the dog in front of us.
We retrain.
We practise.
We ask for help when we need it.
And we give them time.
This is why I believe Foundation and Little League should never be treated as the boring bit before “proper racing”.
They ARE proper flyball.
They are where safe racing starts.
They are where confidence is built.
They are where handlers learn.
They are where problems can be fixed before speed magnifies them.
They are where a nervous dog gets another chance.
They are where a young dog learns without pressure.
And sometimes they are simply where a dog belongs.
Not every dog needs to race Open.
Some dogs may spend a very long time in Foundation.
Some may stay there permanently.
If that dog is safe, happy and having the time of its life…
that is success.
So here’s my challenge to the flyball community.
If your dog’s box turn isn’t right…
work on it.
If you don’t know how to improve it…
ask somebody.
There are fantastic trainers, captains, handlers and mentors across this sport with years of knowledge who will happily help.
If you see one of your own team’s dogs struggling, have the conversation.
Be kind.
Be constructive.
Help them.
If your dog needs Foundation for another season, give them another season.
If removing the prop makes their technique worse, put the prop back.
If taking the wings away causes problems, use them a little longer.
There is no shame in taking a step backwards in training.
Sometimes that is exactly how you make the biggest leap forward.
And above everything else…
please support Foundation.
Enter it.
Watch it.
Cheer for it.
Volunteer for it.
Give it proper ring time.
Thank the people who organise it.
Celebrate the dog completing one beautiful run just as enthusiastically as you celebrate the dog running 3.6 seconds.
Because that little dog doing its first clean Foundation run?
Give them time.
Give them good training.
Give them confidence.
Give them safe foundations.
And one day, they might be the dog everyone is standing beside the Open ring watching.
The future of flyball doesn’t begin in Division 1.
It begins with one dog, one handler and somebody patient enough to teach them properly.
Let's make those first steps count.
For our dogs.
For our clubs.
For the future of flyball.
And, particularly close to our hearts, for the future of Chwimbel here in Wales.
If you agree, please share this.
Not for the Menai Muttineers.
Share it for the dogs coming through next.
Let's make some noise, soon everyone will be hearing our roar! We want clean and safe racing, and that only starts from the beginning up!
Together we can protect this sport we all love. But it's going to take time and effort. It's up to each one of us individually to do the right thing, for the greater good!
Thank you for reading this 'rant' but I'm passionate about making sure future generations get to play flyball and enjoy it safely!
