THE DOGS HAVE LANDED,
THE DOGS HAVE LANDED!

Greetings Buzz Fans!

Recently I came across an organization that at first seemed quite alien to me, like it had to do with Roswell, NM and unidentified flying objects. However, on further glance I realized that while it did have to do with flying objects, they were quite identifiable and familiar to me. In fact, I’ve been known to fly in the air looking to grab one. Frisbee!

UFO, or United Frisbee Dog Organization (http://www.ufoworldcup.org), was founded by Bill Keller, Lawrence Frederick, Tom Wehrli, Mark Jennings and Chris Sexton, a number of owners/trainers of top level Frisbee dogs who wanted to give Frisbee dog enthusiasts more opportunities to play and compete.

So, in 2000 they started putting their ideas together and, in 2001 held their first Frisbee competition events. From that simple beginning, the UFO has grown into a worldwide organization that has competitions on 4 continents! In fact, their well-run competitions comprise the World Cup Series of Frisbee dog events, last won by Ben and his thrower, Karen Actun of Skydogs who nosed out Nick and his thrower Bob Evans of DDDC.

But it’s not purely a serious competition as UFO’s goal is to hold events that are fun, convenient, safe, well organized, fair, and accountable, or as Chris Sexton summed up “Safety first, and the most fun wins.” Addtionally, the UFO works directly with Frisbee dog clubs to run the events, and promote the clubs and the sport of Frisbee dog play.

Right now we’re in the middle of the 2005 season but there’s still a lot of action with both major and local tournaments yet to come. Among the major events, there’s the Colorado Canine Challenge in Littleton, CO on August 13th and the Ashely Whippet Invitational Classic in Naperville, IL on September 4th. And, right here in my back yard is the Southern California Disc Dog Challenge in Lancaster, CA on October 1st. On a local level, upcoming events will be held in Texas and Florida, as well as in Germany, Australia, Holland and Japan!!!

Last year approximately 1500 dogs and their human throwers participated in UFO events. And, so can you – as no membership is necessary. To join in on the fun as either a participant or spectator, just find a local event and show up! To find out when a UFO event will be your area, visit http://www.ufoworldcup.org/Schedule.html -- and tell them Buzz sent you! Meanwhile, gotta fly, I heard a UFO was sighted in the area!