Gamblers... I may be jumping the gun with this question. Nadac is allowing “grandfathering” from other venue’s, so handlers may be able to start at an elite level in gamblers if they participate in other venues at an elite level of a comparable class to gamblers, is that correct? What about those of us that only do Nadac. Will our dogs who have been running elite for years have to start in Novice like when we started hoopers, and barrelers or can they opt to try elite? Just wondering if this may be a disadvantage for some.
The handlers who haven’t been doing gamblers, probably want to start in Novice.
It’s a very different game from anything we have, if you’re Nadac only it would be a very bad idea to just jump into elite gamblers when you haven’t honed the skills needed, situational awareness, awareness of time, counting points, knowing your dogs speed for how many points you can get in the time allowed, setting up for a gamble.
Yes Nadac only folks will need to start at Novice if they don’t have that experience in another venue, which is intentional. It would be a train wreck to see folks who haven’t done gamblers in 15+ years, or never at all, try to do an elite level class.
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This doesn't impact me since I have a puppy, but this feels a little backwards. People who have never done NADAC are allowed to start in Elite in any class even though it may be a "train wreck" and they may discover they need to move down, but the NADAC loyalists who only do NADAC - many of whom ran Gamblers "back in the day" - have to start in Novice for the "new class" because they don't have the skills? NADAC only people should be the best prepared for NADAC style challenges....and the best judges of what level they and their dogs will likely be successful at in NADAC. The time and obstacle strategy may be new for some, but that can be practiced for.
I understand you're trying to attract other venue people, and one way of doing that is to let them start at the level they think is fair based on their titles. I'm not sure I agree with that, but since you've chosen to extend that courtesy to people who haven't traditionally supported NADAC in the hopes that they will going forward, it seems like when you add a new class this same courtesy should be extended to people who have supported NADAC for years, and worked through the levels to get their dogs to Elite.
Traditionally people have been required to start in Novice when new classes have been added, and people in Elite either did it or just didn't play the new class, but that rule applied to everyone equally. This feels like you're favoring other venue folk over your loyal customers.....or at the very least taking your loyal customers for granted and assuming they will remain loyal even if they aren't getting equal treatment.
I know you're working hard to grow NADAC, but while you're looking to attract people who have never done NADAC, please also remember the feelings and support of the people who have ONLY done NADAC - some for many, many years. We're used to other venue people looking down on us, but we shouldn't feel like we're being looked down on by NADAC. If other venue people are being given the option of taking the risk of crashing and burning in all classes, then NADAC people with Elite dogs should be given that same option in Gamblers!
Just my 2 cents.
