IFCS stands for International Federation of Cynological Sports. They organise World Agility Championships that include four classes: Agility, Jumping, Snooker and Gamblers. The latest event was 10.-14.4.2019 in Netherlands. But what was the event like? We asked Becky Sinclair who represented Team Great Britain with her border collie Who.
Martina Magnoli Klimesova from Czech Republic has had an amazing agility career with her mudi Kiki. They have 7 medals from World Championships, of which three are individual gold, the latest of which is from 2018. Watching them run, one would never guess that people actually condemned Kiki early on: “A lot of people told me that she is not good enough. But I did not listen to them.”
Christoffer works with agility handlers to support them in the mental game. “My focus is on the handlers and helping them reduce their fear and anxiety, and replacing it with joy and enjoyment of the sport and, at the same time, achieving a higher level of performance.”
We had a chance to talk with him about how rituals can help agility handlers perform better in competitions. He also shares his top 5 tips for improving the mental game.
A bit nervous to compete? Having a hard time concentrating? Is someone watching me and thinking I’m not good enough? Not good enough for my dog? There are so many different thoughts that can hold us back in competitions, and also in training. Mental aspects play a huge role in success. It’s, of course, easier to be self confident, when your dog is well trained, but, according to Becky Sinclair, the founder of the “Agility mental prep” group on Facebook, we should, nonetheless, work more on our mental skills to get better in agility.
Avallon Cup is a 4-day event held yearly in Avallon in Burgundy, France. It’s unlike any other high level agility competition. In 2018, there were 4 competition fields, 1500 competitors from 23 countries and 12 of Europe's top judges. Read what the owner of the event, Fabrice Laligant, thinks about the changes in dog agility and what we should be aware of, based on his observations during Avallon Cup 2018.
