One thing I haven't seen mentioned anywhere (entirely possible it's been mentioned & I just haven't seen it!), and would very much like to know: What are the specs for barrels? IOW, are they required to be a specific size and/or material?
I'm training my dogs with a solid object, but have been hearing about people using lightweight "pop up" articles, and have also heard that lightweight pop-up ones can MOVE IN THE WIND. That, I'm a bit concerned about since it's liable to spook one of my dogs, and I'm not sure I could create the effect consistently enough in training even if I tracked down a lightweight barrel.
Even aside from that, I'm planning to try and track down something as close to what will be official for our home training, and would like details of what the obstacle requirements are going to be, especially the circumference.