Angela Ewtushik performs with her dog Brew at the 2013 Hyperflite Skyhoundz World Canine Disc Championship at Coolidge Park. This year's contests will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.Dogs from 12 countries have converged in Chattanooga for a Frisbee-catching contest, the sixth time the Skyhoundz World Championship has been held here.
Some dogs will simply catch and fetch. Others will go freestyle, somersaulting through the air with more moves than an Olympic snowboarder. Those dogs will be judged in four categories: presentation, athleticism, success and wow factor. The contests run 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 27-28, at Coolidge Park, 150 River St.
But there are other chances for owners and canines to socialize, including a Skyhoundz competitor meet-and-greet from 2 to 4 p.m. today, Sept. 25, at Heaven & Ale, 304 Cherokee Blvd. That will be followed by a welcome reception at 7 p.m. at McKamey Animal Center, 4500 N. Access Road.
"The owners are nervous at the championships, but the dogs have no idea they're in a contest so they are relaxed and doing what they love to do naturally: catch Frisbees in their mouth," says Skyhoundz director Peter Bloeme.
The contest is sponsored each year by Skyflite, an Atlanta company that makes discs especially designed for dogs to catch. They are made for large and small dogs and will be for sale at Coolidge Park. Bloeme says owners should arrive at the park with their dogs on a leash.
Local competitor Dan Jinks, who works with special-needs students at Lookout Valley Elementary School, has been working with his dog to shave a few seconds off her fetching speed for Saturday. He remembers last year watching a team from China whose owners would lie on the ground, raise their legs up in the air so the dogs could perch on their feet then leap into the air somersaulting. Although he enjoys watching such canine feats, he has no plans to teach them to his own dog.
"I basically got a dog to meet girls, and now I have a fiancée, so I'm satisfied with my dog just fetching a disc for me," he says, laughing.
Contact Lynda Edwards at ledwards@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6391.