AKC FAST Class

[Deanna1002]

so dumb dumb me signed up for the fast class this upcoming weekend. I won't have classes before then and completely forgot to ask my instructor what its about...

i tried reading the akc agility manual and it comfused me even more?? has anyone ran a FAST run and is it like a standard run but you send your dog to the bonus section ?????? Apple has her outs and go so i can work her with good distance just not sure what to do..

Thanks!!

[Amber The Duck Dawg]

Fast is a fun class. You have a certain amount of time to run and you can run the obstacles in any order you want. There is a start line that usually is quite wide and allows you to start in several different obstacles. once your dog crosses the start line the time starts. The buzzer will sound and you then can no longer accumulate points and lose one point for every full second until you take the End jump. The Finish jump can be taken from either direction. The "Send" must be comepleted to qualify and you must get 50 points out of the possible 80 points to qualify. You get a 20 point bonus for completing the Send correctly plus you get the point values for the two obstacles in the Send. the ground will be marked around the Send (between 5 and 10 feeet from the obstacles) with a line that you cannot cross while your dog is doing any of the send obstacles or is between the send obstacles. Some obstacles will have point values different depending on the direction you take them (exmple A-frame may be 10 points one direction and 5 points the other direction) and you can get points by taking them in both directions. Some obstacles can only be taken one direction. All 1 point jumps can be taken in either direction.
The basics to Q are you must do the Send and get the bonus, and you must do enough other obstacles to have 50 or more points when you are done. You will have 32 seconds and will lose 1 point for every second over course time before you take the finish jump. Any jumps you you knock the bars or contacts you miss you do not get any points for (but you can still Q if you have enough points and you get the send bonus). There are no refusals or wrong courses on the course except for the Send). Do not expect there to be a course but instead obstacles are just out there randomly and you have to decide how to take them. You do not have to do every obstacle in the ring just what you want (You must do the Send to Q and you must do the Finish Jump). Expect dogs in your class to run the course in several different ways and to start in different places on the start line.
Typical ways of running Fast are to either plan a course to get the bare minimum of points and get out early, to get the bare minimum of points plus a few extra in case of a knocked bar or missed contact, or to try and get all the points and then race to the finish and hope you don't lose to many points if you are over time. Sometimes people just enter Fast to train a specific thing and they don't even try and Q but practice a particular obstacle.

Kelly

[3TailsWaggin]

^^ what Kelli Said.

One thing to remember, when figuring out how to run your course to get your 50 points, be sure to remember that the send bonus is worth the points for the obstacles in the send AND the bonus (if your dog does it correctly).

For example, if your send/bonus is a jump worth 4 points and a tunnel worth 5 points, and your dog does them correctly, you earn 4+5=9 for the obstacles AND 20 for the bonus, so the send/bonus in this example is worth 29 points... meaning you need to accumulate 21 more points on the course to get your 50 points for a Q.

Have fun, it's a game of handling skill and strategy

[debjen]

What they said..one other thing the finish jump is usually close to or along the same line as the start line..DO NOT TAKE THE FINISH JUMP..at the start..it will end your run really quick..and yes I have seen people do that..my dogs especially love FAST since they can make up their own courses..LOL..Robbie was in Excellent FAST while still in Novice everything else..LOL

[Deanna1002]

Thanks all so much! I'm excited for the FAST class now.

So the last jump if taken at anytime through out the run ends the run ?????
Also is there anything that gets me an NQ in the fast class, besides taking the end jump and not accumulating enough points?

[debjen]

Yep anytime the finish jump is taken you are done..

You can also get an NQ if you don't complete the send correctly even if you get enough points.