Agility provides a unique bond between owners and handlers through the fast-paced dog sport. Opportunities to compete in agility have expanded, from the AKC Agility League to the Junior Open Agility World Championship (JOAWC), specifically for junior handlers.
Teams of junior handlers and their dogs from around the world traveled to Oudsbergen, Belgium to run agility and represent their country at the JOAWC. In 2024, 26 junior handlers from across the United States competed on the United States JOAWC Team. Along with their 30 dogs, these junior handlers competed in Belgium from July 18 to 21, some even taking home big wins across multiple agility classes. So how can juniors get started on the world stage?
Qualifying for the JOAWC Team
To become part of the team, junior handlers must complete an application form, which is available each year on January 1. Since it would be challenging to arrange an in-person tryout for all eligible Juniors nationwide, the application process takes place online. According to Team Coach Susan Cochran, the application form asks questions about a junior handler’s experience with training and competing, as well as questions about the dog they compete with.
As part of the application, junior handlers must also submit videos of a Jumpers run and a Standard agility run from competition at the height their dog will be competing at. The coaches also follow the prospective team members on social media to see their regular updates from training and dog shows. The application process aims to ensure that both the dog and junior handler are ready for international competition and that they’ll have a successful time on the team.
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible to become team members, junior handlers must have an AKC junior number, and their dogs must be at least 24 months old and have earned AKC OA and OAJ agility titles. Junior handlers must also travel with a parent or guardian to the competition. JOAWC Team Manager Debby DuBay explains that because the United States team is a guest in Belgium this year, all dogs competing must also comply with their local regulations. This means that to compete, dogs can’t have cropped ears or docked tails, for example.
Another difference to keep in mind for junior handlers applying to the team is that the jump heights look a bit different than AKC jump heights. At the JOAWC, dogs compete at four different heights:
- Large dogs who measure 48 cm or more at the shoulder jump 24″
- Intermediate dogs who measure taller than 43 cm, but shorter than 48 cm at the shoulder, jump 20″
- Medium dogs measuring over 35 cm, but under 43 cm, jump 16″
- Small dogs who measure under 35 cm at shoulder jump 12″
Each country’s team is allowed eight dogs in each height division. To ensure that dogs are entered into the correct jump height, Cochran makes sure that dogs who are close to a height cutoff are carefully measured by multiple people at the team practice weekend in May.
Dogs and handlers can also compete in teams of four for the Large, Intermediate, Medium, and Small categories.
Practicing Individually and as a Team
The junior handlers competing are spread across the United States, so to prepare for the competition, the coaches share sample courses that junior handlers can practice running at home. Junior handlers also come together for a training camp weekend in May. During this weekend, they get the opportunity to run international-style courses like those they’ll encounter in Belgium.
Cochran explains that the primary purpose of the training camp weekend is to provide the junior handlers with knowledge of what skills they’ll need to practice ahead of the competition in Belgium. They attend seminars together and run practice courses, which helps to give the coaches a better understanding of how they can support each junior handler when they get to Europe. There is also a strong focus on team-building activities, so the junior handlers get a chance to know each other before going to Europe.
Cochran explained that one factor junior handlers must be prepared for is that the courses they’ll run with their dogs in Belgium are larger than AKC Premier courses. This larger size is part of what makes them more challenging for Juniors. “On the European course, you don’t have an opportunity to slow down,” she explains. “You have to keep moving to keep the dog on course.” In addition, dogs and junior handlers on the JOAWC team must have a variety of technical agility skills, such as start line stays, collection and extension cues, weave pole entries, backsides, and contacts, to be competitive in Europe.
Gaining Life Skills Through Agility
Competing at this global competition is an incredible opportunity for kids and teens to meet hundreds of other junior handlers with the same passion for agility. “They are so joyful to see a bunch of kids just like them,” Cochran explains. The JOAWC team leaders are also very focused on ensuring the junior handlers gain valuable life experience from being part of the team.
DuBay says she often sees junior handlers arrive at the first team practice feeling shy and uncertain. But, they always leave with new friends and increased self-confidence. Over the ten years she’s been involved with the team, she notes that she’s seen the positive impact the experience has had on every Junior who’s competed. Cochran echoed this, explaining that the JOAWC team members come back with so much more confidence in what they can do, how to work as a team, and how to work with juniors as well as adults. “The growth that I’ve seen is just amazing. We take children and young adults who are very shy and insecure, and they come back as team leaders,” she adds.
The AKC covers entry fees and uniforms for the team members, and supporters cover the cost of additional supplies the junior handlers and their dogs may need. The juniors, their families, AKC clubs, and many in the AKC dog community work tirelessly to support the team and their needs. Each junior handler must do their own fundraising to pay for their travel to and from Belgium. Such fundraising efforts can include raising funds at their local agility trials or hosting individual fundraisers.