Annual Christmas Party/AGM
Once again, Liz and Ken offered their house and the gang met for potluck turkey dinner complete with all the trimmings on December 19th. And wonder of wonders, the weather cooperated better this year …it was only drizzling, not snowing. Much nicer for those who were driving.
There was a complete turnout of all members, including some of our latest additions, who discovered that it’s not just the dogs who can get noisy … the people do too! After taking care of a little business, we got on with the awards presentations. Jackson received the Most Improved Dog award, and both Kathi and Heather, Team Spirit awards. Definitely most deserved for all three of them.
The dinner was excellent with too many good things to try and mention. And as if that weren’t enough, there was a special Barn Stormers cake for dessert. Barn Stormers showed again that they know how to have fun – a terrific party which was enjoyed by all.
Total Anarchy’s Madness on Mats 6, October 3rd and 4th
The Saanich fairgrounds were filled with the sounds of barking dogs once again, as Barn Stormers took part in another NAFA tournament. The team of Sopwith Mutts were entered in Division 4 both Saturday and Sunday, with a slightly different lineup each day. Annie, Sadie and Jackson ran on the Saturday, and on Sunday, Rusty and Buster took over. Both Jackson and Rusty get congratulated for achieving their first NAFA titles…. Flyball Dog! As well, in the new title category, Buster achieved his FDCh, as did Sadie…. Flyball Dog Champions. The team was derailed early on Saturday by injuries and had to withdraw, but recovered for Sunday’s racing. Dancer was unable to take part in racing with the Highway Hounds Open team, but freight train Ruffy was able to run, and helped the team to a first place finish, snagging a new title as well, FMCh – Flyball Master Champion. Congratulations to all.
Dogwood Pacesetters U-Fli Events, August 29/30, 2009
Another hot weekend of flyball fun! Saturday was the U-FLI Regional Championship Qualifiers so there was extra tension in the air from those competitors. That coupled with the heat made for some interesting reactions from some of the dogs. Our Jack brigade weren’t too sure they wanted to be racing in this heat and noise, but it was a good experience for them.
Sunday was a little cooler and more relaxed. We saw Total Anarchy run a sub -16 second runs. that’s moving! Jackie improved her starts throughout the day, capping it off with a 0.02 start with Rusty. Congratulations! All in all it was a fun weekend. On the way home, we even had time to contemplate putting on a demo in the parking area during the two sailing wait for the ferry!
Annual BBQ and Swim Party
Barn Stormers know how to beat the summer heat! Saturday, July 18, saw the club members meet in Brentwood Bay for some wet water fun for the dogs. Not all the four footed participants actually went swimming, but even those who didn’t, got cooled off by wading and chasing toys near the shore. Walker got a lift out to deeper water and swam quite happily back… he just needed the persuasion! The people members didn’t swim either, but most of them got wet either from loving shakes from dogs, or from wading after toys that didn’t get retrieved all the way into the beach. When the beach lost its allure, hamburgers and salads and such were waiting up on the deck.
Good fun, good dogs, good food, good friends! This is what Barn Stormers are all about.
CRK9FX 2009
Braving the summer heat, the Barn Stormers made a good showing at the CRK9FX Nanaimo U-FLI tournament July 4th/5th. We had a lot of fun, as we usually do, and the team tied for 3rd in our division (placing 4th through the tie breaker) on the Saturday. Sunday was a busy day with one Pairs team and six Singles racing. Poor boxloader Tony rarely got a break. The club was delighted to see our newest members running Singles in their inaugural tournament. Rusty ran 5.91 seconds and Jackson ran 6.60. Congratulations to both of them! Jackie did a wonderful job, handling them like a pro. Captain Kathi did her usual terrific job of juggling dogs when things went crazy. And Ruffy managed another perfect start.
Some of the dogs obtained new titles:
Dancer – Top Flight Excutive – Level 1
Annie – Top Flight
Walker – Top Flight – Level 2
Buster – Top Flight – Level 2
Sadie – Top Flight – Level 2
Congratulations to all the Barn Stormers for a wonderful weekend.
New Barnstorm's member Jackson
Rusty in her first flyball competition
Dog Gone Wild on Mats Abbotsford – May 2 and 3, 2009
Another fun, successful weekend of racing! Ruff and Dancer joined Matsqui Flyball as “Region 7’s Mixup’s” team, captained by our Kathi, and raced to 1st place in the Open Division each day. The team was quite a mix-up, with dogs from 5 different clubs over the entire weekend. We’d like to thank our teammates: Jetta and Dee (Matsqui), Shayu and Bev (Matsqui), Taz and Colleen (The Flying Squad), Jack and George (SpoK-9s), and Skunk and Lara (Total Anarchy). Despite these dogs and handlers not having ever run together before, they pulled off some great passes and starts.
Team best times: 20.11 sec on Saturday and 20.21 sec on Sunday
Highlights of the weekend were new titles earned:
Dancer – Flyball Master Excellent (10,000 pts)
Shayu – inaugural tournament – Flyball Dog (20pts), Flyball Dog Excellent (100pts), Flyball Dog Champion (500pts)
And Ruffy got two perfect starts – 0.00 sec
Not only the dogs were busy. Pawcific Storm was running shorthanded, so Tony volunteered to boxload for them, and Marg ballshagged.
Flyball at its best – good dogs, good people and lots of fun.
Tony working for Pawcific Storm
Ruffy and Dancer ready for the start
Ready to race the Toonies
Kaotic K9’s No Frills Tournament March 21 & 22, 2009
Another fun weekend of racing enjoyed by all.
Personal bests were run in Singles: Annie 6.433 sec, Ruff 4.053 sec, and Dancer 4.603 sec. We’re proud of each of them. Especially the rookie Annie, who, despite another dog running into her lane at the box, did her job, got the ball and came back over all of the jumps. Congrats, Annie.
The most exciting moment occurred on Sunday, when the pairs team, the Brat Pack, ran two sub-9 second heats in one race: 8.972 and 8.948 seconds. Two very excited handlers were giving each other high-fives for the rest of the day. Way to go, Ruff, Dancer, Marg and Kathi.
The Brat Pack at the races
Annie gets ready to race!
Winter Storm Tournament at the fairgrounds !
On Saturday, February 7th, Barn Stormers made their debut in the 2009 racing season by entering two Pairs events and two Singles events in Pawcific Storm’s U-FLI tournament. This was a first for the club, and handlers and dogs had a great time, The ‘Brat Pack’ combo of Dancer and Ruff showed their familiarity with working together by running consistently in the low 9 second range. Walker and Sadie, the Double Trouble pair, were a new team, but showed they could keep it together as well.
In the Singles events, the club was represented by one of the newest members of the club, Annie, and one of the founding members, Trouble. Both had a great time not having to worry about all those other dogs on a team event.
On Sunday, February 8th, Barn Stormers presented the new line up of the Sopwith Mutts team in Division 3. The team was under the handicap of not being able to practice this new combination of dogs as frequently as they’d planned due to their practice barn being flooded out; nonetheless, they were satisfied with some good clean runs, and placed fourth.
Congratulations to Lynn with Walker, and Marg with Trouble, for achieving perfect starts.
Annie doesn’t let flyball stress her out !
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