Agility Sportsmanship

We are agility competitors.

We give applause, not a cold two beat clap as we introduce our competitors.
We sincerely congratulate those who beat us, not merely give them a dull high-five.

Why play alone when the two of us can run as one?

There are no coaches yelling at us from the sidelines; only the cheers of fans and supporters as we cross the finish line.

We may have messed up, but we aren't scolded or punished.
The only "back talk" we receive is the excited barking from our partners as we run the course.

Boys or girls, neither we nor our partners are discriminated against by gender.
Me and my dog are the team; there is no such thing as a "clique" in our pair.
One mistake and we don't qualify.
We take the blame for all mistakes on the course; we don't blame our teammate.

Our teammates are extreme athletes.
Pivots, crosses, wraps, and precise timing outshine running with a ball in a straight line with an occasional cut or turn.
We train and prepare for competition all year long; not just a season.
We get championship titles after our names forever; not just a plaque declaring that we beat a few schools for one season in high school.

We work our way up to the top, taking the time we need.

We don't push beyond our limits to try to outdo the other competitors.
The people we compete against are our BEST friends.
We never back talk our referee (judge), because they're our friends too.

We're recognized no matter where we are on the agility field.
My partner and I aren't pressured and overworked to achieve our best, because we're both out there to have FUN.
Most importantly: Our dogs don't talk behind our backs to other teammates and complain about us. They're just happy to be there.

Agility is a sport.

A sport, that no matter what, makes us feel great at the end of our run.

Disaster or not, it's impossible to get mad at our teammates when we look at them looking up adoringly at us.

Agility is a sport.

Our sport. Our passion. For the rest of our life.