Flyball

This rule summary relates to the Crufts flyball team competition and qualifiers and will be run in conjunction with the Crufts qualifier rules & the Kennel Club Code of Conduct.

A total of seven qualifiers will be held and the Crufts Management Team will oversee these. Qualifiers will be hosted independently or by a BFA / UKFL host team, and will be run during a BFA / UKFL show, at an approved BFA / UKFL venue or at a Kennel Club approved venue. Teams, dogs and handlers do not need to be registered with the BFA or UKFL but must abide by the Crufts qualifier rules and any regulations listed on the entry schedule.

Each team should appoint a Team Manager who will be responsible for decision making for the team; they must also form part of the team.

The Team Manager makes the entry on behalf of the team and must have the authority and consent from the single or joint registered owner(s) to sign the entry form on their behalf thereby binding them all to Crufts Flyball Rules and Regulations. In the event of any dispute, evidence of such authority and consent will be required.

Where there is an unresolved dispute over the ownership of a dog, that dog will not be permitted to compete.

Each team shall consist of six handlers and dogs, four of which will run at any one time. Each team can also have a line caller, a box loader and an additional person to act as runner / ball collector. A team may name a seventh dog and handler on the entry form for a qualifier – this dog and handler will act as an emergency reserve for the team at the Crufts final should they be required. All seven dogs may attend and compete at a qualifier.

A club may enter more than one team, and a club may qualify more than one team for the finals at Crufts.  No team member or dog can enter/compete in more than one team. 

All dogs entering into the qualifiers must be a minimum of 15 months old, at the time of the qualifier. Dogs must be registered on the KC Activity or Breed register or have an Authority to Compete registration number at the date of the qualifier.

At least one dog in each team must be a designated breed dog. The designated breed dog must be registered with the Kennel Club on the Breed Register or on the Activity Register as a Kennel Club registered breed. Teams should reflect the diversity of breeds in the sport and not consist of solely one breed.

There must be at least one designated breed dog running in each heat and at the finals at Crufts.

The two highest placed teams at each qualifier will be invited to compete in the flyball competition at Crufts, for which an entry fee will be charged. The current Crufts champion and runner up from the previous year will also be invited back to the Crufts final. Dogs and handlers for invited teams must be declared by the closing date of the final qualifier with any amendments notified by the morning of the last qualifier.  

Should any team placing first or second at a qualifier (including Crufts champion and runner up) be unable to attend, the team who came third (and then fourth) would normally be invited to the next event. If this is not practical / possible, the Flyball Steward together with the Crufts Flyball Management Team will have the discretion to invite a further team. This will be from within those teams who had attempted to qualify for the relevant year.

The Crufts final will be a team competition (knockout), also known as a single eliminator.  In this competition the best of three runs will decide the winners which will to go into the next round.

1. The jumps will have an inside width of 30”.
2. The jump bases will be 5” high, with a total height of 9 inches  
3. The 1” top slat will be flexible / breakable and have rounded edges. There will be padding on top of the top slat.
4. A heat will be stopped and restarted for any knocked down or unsafe jump

1. Each team is responsible for providing its own Flyball box, which should be safe and fit for purpose. 
2. The Flyball box must meet the following specifications:

a. All Boxes are to have a pressure pedal to mechanically release the trigger/launcher system. 

b. Boxes may be decorated and/or painted any colour. Logos and/or lettering are permitted. 

c. When triggered, the Flyball box must eject the ball. The ball must be able to travel at least 24" from all points of release toward the Start/Finish line. 

d. The box cannot exceed 30” in width, nor exceed 20” in height. 

e. Mats or grabbing devices to hold the box in place cannot raise the box more than ½" higher than the maximum allowed height. 

f. The body of the box cannot exceed 30” in depth, excluding the base upon which the box loader stands. 

g. The box shall not exceed these dimensions at any time during racing, excluding carrying handles and stakeholders.

h. The box must not have a pedal which exceeds an 80 Degree angle and the ball when placed in the hole must not protrude beyond the front of the box.

NOTE: Rule h. above has been added to come into force after the last Qualifier at Culcheth on 24 November in time for Crufts 2025

NOTE: Boxes should be constructed with the comfort and wellbeing of the dog in mind. Sharp edges must be avoided and adequate padding and protection should be used. The officiating judge has the right to refuse the use of any flyball box they deem to be unfit to use and teams cannot use any external modification that could be classed as training aids; they will be asked to remove them before they can carry on racing. 

Each club shall provide its own supply of balls. Approved balls may be of any size, colour or design and must bounce and roll. Balls may not contain a noise maker e.g. squeakers or bells and must not be covered in a skin i.e. Rabbit skin etc.  The ball must be able to travel the requisite distance as defined in the box rules section. All non-tennis balls must be approved by the Crufts flyball steward before being used.

Interference is defined as obstructing the other team from running / completing its race.

If a dog or any team member interferes with the opposing team during a heat and prevents them from completing their heat the Judge will stop the heat, and the team causing the interference will forfeit the heat. Interference can be in the racing lane or in all bound areas and in the areas where dogs are waiting to run.

A dog chasing a loose ball into the other team’s area is not necessarily interference however the whistle will be blown to stop the race for safety and the race restarted.

Should a loose ball from the other team’s lane distract a dog and it interferes with their racing, the whistle will be blown to stop the race for safety and the race restarted. Should further loose balls interfere with the opposing teams ability to complete their race the team that the ball originates from will forfeit the heat.

Only team members and dogs who were listed as part of the original team, including the named reserve, and named on the qualifier entry form, will be allowed to compete at Crufts and no further changes will be allowed. Please note, of the seven named dogs, a max. of six will be expected to attend the Crufts final. All handlers may attend.

Entry to Crufts qualifiers will be done via entry form. Schedules will be available for entry at least 12 weeks prior to the date of the qualifier with a closing date of eight weeks prior to the qualifiers.

Payment must be made by the published deadline. This will be 14 days after the qualifier closing date and as notified by the Crufts Management Team for the Crufts final.  A qualifier and the Crufts final will only be deemed as entered when the payment is received. An email confirmation will be sent. Teams that have qualified for Crufts at previous qualifiers, will not be eligible to attend a further qualifier.

Objections relating to a qualifier must be made to either the show secretary before the end of the competition or submitted by email within seven days of the qualifier. All objections must be accompanied with an objection fee of £35 and include a statement detailing the objection, quoting the relevant rules and contact information.

Objections relating to any other aspect must be made to the Crufts Management Team by email and include a statement detailing the objection and contact information.  The Management Team will consider the objection, in conjunction with any third party organisation as appropriate, and their decision will be final. 

No sponsorship at the finals at Crufts is permitted to be featured on the flyball boxes and any sponsorship of clothing is subject to approval from the Crufts Management Team and in any case will be limited to one small breast pocket logo or small sleeve logo. Please email for sponsorship approval on clothing.

The Judge at the flyball finals may not enter for competition a dog which is recorded in their ownership or part ownership.

In addition dogs may not be handled by the scheduled judge’s spouse or immediate family, or be resident at the same address as the scheduled judge, neither can they form any part of a team, or compete in any events at Crufts.

This shall not apply to dogs owned by a judge appointed in an emergency

• Qualifiers will be run as a single or double eliminator format
• There will be no false starts
• Warm up – teams should be allowed either two box hits per dog and a run back, or, a release from two jumps and run back over four jumps, plus a full team run on the lights including reserves
• Dogs must be a minimum of 15 months at the time of the qualifier

Mr C Burrows