Upcoming changes to Hoopers and X-hoopers

[borgi]

Question about level entry between now and April: We have a trial in 2 weeks that offers both Hoopers and XHoopers. I'm getting a lot of questions from competitors about what level they should enter.

Example:
Dog is in Elite Hoopers but only has 20 points (no basic title) in Open X-Hoopers.

Since the 2 classes will be combined, can this dog be entered in Elite X-Hoopers for our February trial or do they need their basic Open title to move up to Elite X-Hoopers?

I'd appreciate an answer to this question. I want to make sure I'm giving the right information to competitors.

Best,
Raimi (Artful Dodgers)

[Marcy Matties]

Question about level entry between now and April: We have a trial in 2 weeks that offers both Hoopers and XHoopers. I'm getting a lot of questions from competitors about what level they should enter.

Example:
Dog is in Elite Hoopers but only has 20 points (no basic title) in Open X-Hoopers.

Since the 2 classes will be combined, can this dog be entered in Elite X-Hoopers for our February trial or do they need their basic Open title to move up to Elite X-Hoopers?

I'd appreciate an answer to this question. I want to make sure I'm giving the right information to competitors.

Best,
Raimi (Artful Dodgers)

If I have read everything from Chris correctly, until April 1st (or until whatever trial you enter actually has the new version) everyone enters whatever level they would enter if this change were not going to take place.  So they would need to get that Open title before moving up.  After April 1st the system will automatically combine points between Hoopers and XHoopers.  And those points will stay within their level.  So all novice points will combine.  All open points will combine.  And all Elite points will combine.

[Linda W. Anderson]

Question about level entry between now and April: We have a trial in 2 weeks that offers both Hoopers and XHoopers. I'm getting a lot of questions from competitors about what level they should enter.

Example:
Dog is in Elite Hoopers but only has 20 points (no basic title) in Open X-Hoopers.

Since the 2 classes will be combined, can this dog be entered in Elite X-Hoopers for our February trial or do they need their basic Open title to move up to Elite X-Hoopers?

I'd appreciate an answer to this question. I want to make sure I'm giving the right information to competitors.

Best,
Raimi (Artful Dodgers)

Your example describes one of my dog's situation perfectly.  The only solution I can think of is to not enter X-Hoopers until the change is in effect.   I realize she could earn life time points but it seems rather pointless at this stage of the game.
Linda

[Amanda Nelson]

Question about level entry between now and April: We have a trial in 2 weeks that offers both Hoopers and XHoopers. I'm getting a lot of questions from competitors about what level they should enter.

Example:
Dog is in Elite Hoopers but only has 20 points (no basic title) in Open X-Hoopers.

Since the 2 classes will be combined, can this dog be entered in Elite X-Hoopers for our February trial or do they need their basic Open title to move up to Elite X-Hoopers?

I'd appreciate an answer to this question. I want to make sure I'm giving the right information to competitors.

Best,
Raimi (Artful Dodgers)

If I have read everything from Chris correctly, until April 1st (or until whatever trial you enter actually has the new version) everyone enters whatever level they would enter if this change were not going to take place.  So they would need to get that Open title before moving up.  After April 1st the system will automatically combine points between Hoopers and XHoopers.  And those points will stay within their level.  So all novice points will combine.  All open points will combine.  And all Elite points will combine.

Marcy is spot on!

[Heidi Konesko]

Yesterday I had my first Hoopers runs since the change was announced.  It was fun, and challenging.  Funnily enough, my dogs ran it pretty much exactly how they would have with the gates there.  I even had the same handling fumble I always got with the gates:  the switch with the dog on my right! 
It's brought the old Hoopers up a notch, too, having the distance challenge in there.  I look forward to seeing how it evolves over time!
I was hoping to celebrate a "personal Q" if Penny got the last two elite Q's that she needed for her triple superior extreme hoopers title, even if it was after the date and the title was imaginary.  True to form for me, we got 15 of those points.  So close!
Thanks NADAC,
-Heidi in snowy NH with Penny and Jack

[Edraith]

I ran my first new hoopers courses - I never did get the gates purchased to do Xhoopers when it was released to VT last year so this was my first try on that course design. We just finished our superior novice hoopers and moved up to open.

The first two open hoopers I did were the "old" course design. These two were the "new" based on the xhooper pattern. It was very hard to not get confused and twisted around and lost, perhaps due to my dyslexia, as there is not the same flow of the course as there are on the "old" courses. The only reason we were successful was because my dog did a very rare "trot the course" which gave me extra seconds to think and cue and remember.

Anyway...just thought I'd give my two cents feedback. I find the course layout much less friendly. I understand it has the potential to morph and branch out now from the base shape, like Chris showed in one of the videos, and I hope that day comes sooner rather than later as that will I think help spread the course out and recreate the nice flow of the old hoopers, instead of being all this bunched-up repetitive layering.