Did you happen to catch the AKC Agility National Championships on ESPN2 on May 5? If you did, you might have seen some of TCOTC’s agility instructors! A number of our staff qualified to compete in this exciting annual event, held in Perry, GA. Here is what they had to say about it:
Lisa Nawrocki (Foundations Agility Instructor) Attended with Yoshi her Papillon
Yoshi is a 6 year old papillon. This was our 3rd year going to NAC. The first two years we ran clean 2 runs and in Hybrid we took a 5 point fault due to a handling error on my part. This year we kept connection and worked through handling and managed to run all 3 runs clean. Yoshi isn’t the fastest papillon out there, but he is consistent. We finished in 12th place out of 48 in the 4″ class. We went there with the sole purpose of having fun and we did just that. I am so proud of my little guy. Joining us this year was Chewie, age 2.5 and Willow, age 18 months. They went with to experience all the craziness and to cheer us on. They both did great. I hope that in the next couple of years they will be able to qualify to join in all the activities.
Paula Sotirin (Beginner and Intermediate Agility Instructor) Attended with her Nova Scotia Duck Toller Light
This was my first AKC Nationals event. I didn’t focus on AKC events until last January when another competitor told me “I’ve seen you run your dog. You could go to Nationals.” And indeed, we qualified by the end of June. Christina Wessel and I co-teach at TCOTC and both have tollers. My sister came with me to Georgia and her sister-in-law came with her, so we made it a sisters’ event. Christina even made us all Team Toller t-shirts (the back of which had my dog for my shirts and her dog for hers). I was expecting to be overwhelmed – there were 400 dogs in just the 20″ height class and six rings of agility going at all times – so I had reason, and I admit the first day of competition did not go extremely well for me and my dog, Light. The second day, however, we found our stride and had two great runs (one of which Q’ed and the other had one dropped bar). Most people were very friendly and helpful and anyone with a toller came up and introduced themselves (fact check: there were only 28 tollers there!). Minnesota had great representation so I actually knew a fair number of people. The courses were definitely harder and the timing of when to get your dog to the ring was difficult, but overall, I loved it. Next year is in Tulsa (only a 10 hour drive). I’m hoping to have Light qualified for it. We are already halfway there!
Sara Zislin (Agility Department Head, and Beginner Agility Instructor) attended with her Wirehaired Dachshund Nova
This was Nova and my 5th NAC, and at 12.5 years old she is one of the older dogs competing. Running an older dog is a gift, we are really in tune from doing this so long, and I am so lucky to still be running her. She had a great time running the big courses, and visiting with our out of state friends. We ran both Standard and Jumpers clean, and had a lovely Hybrid round with just one minor miscommunication. I absolutely love going to NAC, and would encourage our club members who compete in AKC to make it a goal if it suits your team. It is a really well run event, the locations are always lovely, and it is so cool to see competitors from all over running their dogs. Plus you never know what might happen, in her youth, Nova made the Challenger round twice!
Christina Wessel (Beginner and Intermediate Agility Instructor) attended with her Nova Scotia Duck Toller Sole
It was a joy to participate in the 2024 AKC National Agility Championship with my middle dog, Sole, who I can’t believe is already 8 years old. I loved being able to share the experience with Paula, a fellow TCOTC instructor. It was Sole’s 4th time at Nationals and I prioritized helping her manage her anxiety at a huge event. I was thrilled with her performance and our teamwork on every course. It was wonderful that Paula and I both came home with one clean run, many reasons to be proud of our dogs and our training, and some great memories with our sisters who came to support us.
Congratulations to each of you for qualifying for this prestigious event!