The American Kennel Club National Agility Championship finals are quickly becoming dominated by Border Collies despite the AKC's own proclaimed championing of all breeds. AKC P.R. article by Jan Reisen, (article), points out the diversity in breeds at the National, yet the 20" Reno NAC had only 4 breeds represented in the final round, with 14 of the 18 dogs being Border Collies. Last year in Perry, GA, there were only 3 breeds represented in the 20" finals with 24 of the 27 dogs being Border Collies. As the number of Border Collie entries continues to increase in the 16", 20" and 24" classes and they overwhelmingly dominate the competition in the final rounds of NAC, handlers of other breeds are disinclined to participate in the event. If there is virtually no chance to compete in finals, even with perfect scores in all preliminary rounds, why should handlers of ABCs spend their valuable time, energy and money to attend NAC at all? Future participation of non-Border Collie handlers could decrease significantly making NAC an event solely for BCs. But if a new scoring system was put into effect that would allow the best and fastest of a wider variety of breeds to gain access to finals, it would make NAC more satisfying for everyone to participate in and to watch.
We encourage AKC to adopt the UK's The Kennel Club's "ABC" (Anything but a Collie) class utilized in their major competitions at Crufts and the International Agility Festival Championship. Jump heights would still run together but would be scored separately. Challenger and Finals would have separate groups for Border Collies and ABCs. Splitting classes allows Border Collies their deserved participation in the final rounds of NAC while giving other breeds the opportunity to shine in the national spotlight as well. If AKC adopts this new scoring policy at the National Agility Championships, they continue their tradition of championing a wide variety of breeds while encouraging more involvement of everyone in the sport.
