Thanksgiving weekend trial

[Lassens5]

What is the rationale for having a three day event on Thanksgiving weekend in Phoenix?  As a husband of an ardent and successful agility competitor, I support and enjoy Agility.  I love dogs!  Agility is great for many reasons.  However, impeding and influencing family celebration of Thanksgiving is not appreciated.  How can we work together to get another weekend?  Sincerely, Daryl Lassen

[dogrsqr]

I'm not sure if this is serious or not, but I always tell people the only Holiday that's sacred as far as agility goes is Christmas. 

No one has to enter every trial or all days of any trial.  Most people consider the Thanksgiving weekend trials a great way to limit exposure to extended family.  Too much togetherness can be a bad thing.  I know we attended a trial last weekend, but I can honestly say we would not have spent any more time with family than we did whether there was a trial or not.

Gina Pizzo

[Richard Wolfe]

I suspect this is a question for the local club.  Availability of the facility, availability of the weekends, possible conflicts with nearby trials etc, all affect the weekend that is selected.

And Gina is correct.  There is free will available.  The clubs don't MAKE us enter trials.

[Sharon Nelson]

I suspect this is a question for the local club.  Availability of the facility, availability of the weekends, possible conflicts with nearby trials etc, all affect the weekend that is selected.

And Gina is correct.  There is free will available.  The clubs don't MAKE us enter trials.

Excellent points!

Sharon

[MoabDiane]

Yep, what they said.
I often attend that weekend trial - love that it is three days, very well organized, well attended, and almost always lovely weather (especially when one lives 400 miles north of there!).
I won't make it this year, but not because it's that holiday weekend.

AND it's not like there is a dearth of NADAC trials in the Phoenix area - whew!!
diane

[KarissaKS]

Thanksgiving is Thursday. The trials tend to run Friday - Sunday. I attended a trial this past weekend, just Friday & Saturday, and was thrilled that I didn't have to use a day of vacation at work to do so.

I'm pretty sure I've trialed on every holiday except Christmas and Christmas Eve. I have trialed on New Years Eve and New Years Day, 4th of July, etc.

I love holiday trials.

[Kyle]

Clubs probably also use it for financial reasons - they can get 3 *full* days of entries for their trials instead of just 2 (Sat. & Sun.) or 2 1/2 using Friday afternoon.

Honestly, I'm grateful that clubs host trials during holiday weekends - especially Thanksgiving. Having no "real/biological" family around to share with, I really appreciate being able to share it with my "agility family members"! So, in the true spirit of Thanksgiving, I'd like to THANK - from the bottom of my heart - Chris (with his family!), Amanda and Jimmy for making the trip to So. Cal to share their holiday with us, along with ALL the folks who came and trialed, for making it a real NADAC Family Holiday for me!!     

Happy Holidays to everyone - however you wish to celebrate them!!

-Kyle

[Sharon, AZ]

What is the rationale for having a three day event on Thanksgiving weekend in Phoenix?  As a husband of an ardent and successful agility competitor, I support and enjoy Agility.  I love dogs!  Agility is great for many reasons.  However, impeding and influencing family celebration of Thanksgiving is not appreciated.  How can we work together to get another weekend?  Sincerely, Daryl Lassen

Gosh Daryl, maybe I am missing your point, but you could simply sit this one out, couldn't you?  I've attended this trial for years.  It's a lovely time of year and personally I enjoy spending it outdoors in a park with my pups and my friends.  And after all that turkey, I'm happy to get outside and RUN!    I did not attend this year and I really missed it.  I hope you had a great Thanksgiving.  Sharon, AZ

[Lin Battaglia]

We try to stay away from holiday weekends or big local event weekends in Reno/ Sparks, NV. (like the Rib Cook off, Hot August Nights, Street Vibrations, Reno Rodeo etc etc.The cost of hotel rooms goes up from $38-$45 a night to $180-$200+ for the same rooms. We are a 24 hour town with lots of events. We want to make it easy for folks from out of town to attend our trials. It doesn't impact those with RVs who can park at our trial sites.

[Sharon Nelson]

Clubs probably also use it for financial reasons - they can get 3 *full* days of entries for their trials instead of just 2 (Sat. & Sun.) or 2 1/2 using Friday afternoon.

Honestly, I'm grateful that clubs host trials during holiday weekends - especially Thanksgiving. Having no "real/biological" family around to share with, I really appreciate being able to share it with my "agility family members"! So, in the true spirit of Thanksgiving, I'd like to THANK - from the bottom of my heart - Chris (with his family!), Amanda and Jimmy for making the trip to So. Cal to share their holiday with us, along with ALL the folks who came and trialed, for making it a real NADAC Family Holiday for me!!     

Happy Holidays to everyone - however you wish to celebrate them!!

-Kyle

Yep, you spent your Thanksgiving weekend with one of the best families ever!!  I missed them, but I know they had a blast in SoCal and putting on the Thanksgiving trial there!  Great facility, great people!

Sharon

[Mark Buehl]

As a person who has judged the Thanksgiving trial for a (fairly) local club, for quite a few years, it has always seemed to be a big hit with exhibitors and club members alike. They typically start their Friday trial in the afternoon, allowing folks to spend all day Thursday with family, then travel the next morning. And if you're brave like I was this year, even hit a few Black Friday sales before heading to the show I have noticed that the entries on Friday are larger than Sunday, leading me to assume some folks do go home early and spend a rare Sunday with family that they wouldn't normally get to do during a regular weekend trial. Consider it as just another opportunity to trial, not an obligation

[James Bell]

As a formerly active member of the club in question in the original post and attendee of that particular trial for 11 or 12 years, I can attest to a lack of interference with most holiday festivities and a great need to get out of the turkey filled house for a time.

Also, of note, that is the big junior handler raffle weekend, and that show helps fund all of the many junior events and programs that JCAC does throughout the year.

Sent from my LG-K540 using Tapatalk

[Lassens5]

Well, so far I'm a minority.  Bummer.  Hope all have success in 2017.  Best wishes, daryl

[Richard Wolfe]

Well, I didn't really want to trial on Thanksgiving weekend either.  But I went and had a great time at Lickety Split Agility in Norman, OK.  It was well worth having to skip the turkey etc. with family.
And Lord knows I needed the exercise more than the food!!!!

[Rena Bonem]

Waco (Texas) Agility Group has had a Thanksgiving trial for the last 10 years (and Mark has judged many of those trials).  The first reason for having the trial on that date was arena availability.  The youth rodeo circuit is very active in the fall and spring in Texas and they have nothing on the Thanksgiving weekend.  In fact this year we were given a choice of 3 weekends for our 2 trials and we did not choose Christmas, so it was a date that coincided with Homecoming in October and Thanksgiving in November.  We used to have no competition on Thanksgiving weekend.  This year we had an AKC trial about 40 miles away in Belton, another one in North Texas and a USDAA trial near San Antonio, plus a NADAC trial in central Oklahoma.  Many folks chose to do Friday and Saturday to avoid Sunday traffic, others did Sunday only and managed to get done about 2 PM.  I agree that to me those who came were part of my extended family and I enjoyed spending the time with them after celebrating Thanksgiving Day with 18 family members.  Thanks to all who came!