4fun competition in Selca

On Sunday October 11, there was a 4fun frisbee competition, the last in a series of six, at the Škoja Loka-Železniki Kennel Club. The grounds of the club are located in an idyllic setting, part of an expansive area of parks, sports fields, and meadows at the outskirts of the village of Selca, along the Selca branch of the Sora River. A footpath parallels the river, with several access points where dogs can go splash in it. Which my dogs happily did, during a pre-competition walk, even though the temperatures have dropped considerably in the last week or two.

Idyllic or not, one drawback of being so close to a river is the danger of flooding: in September 2007, heavy flooding caused extensive damage in the Sora Valley and elsewhere, and pretty much demolished the kennel club facilities, as you can see in the photos here.

But two years later the place has been fully renovated. True, after some rains earlier in the week, and due to slow-draining soils and a predominantly shady aspect, the ground was soggier than what we're used to in my part of Slovenia (the Karst, where any rain quickly percolates through the limestone surface and the rivers run underground), but apart from a puddle or two the field was not bad to play on. The weather stayed dry and we even caught glimpses of sun.

The dogs had a great time. They like the cooler temperatures even if their owners don't. ;) Mine do, at any rate, they were happier and friskier than I've seen them all season. Lyra in particular was in great form, catching almost all of my minidistance throws, and winning that event with two solid rounds and a total of 36 points. One of the very few times she's beaten Oli (who was fourth this time).

Full results can be seen here; below are photos of the awards for the top three finishers in each event.

Mindistance:

1. Jean and Lyra (obscured by Oli, who is in the picture only because I didn't want to leave her unattended), with 36 points

2. Maja and Nelly, with 33 points

3. Aleš and Ayya, with 32.5 points

Time trial:

1. Jean and Oli, with a winning time of 18.05 seconds. Not bad, but still not as good as Petra and Veni at an earlier competition in the season: 17.39 seconds, which is the fastest time so far for this event in Slovenia. :)

2. Petra and Gia, with 18.83 seconds

3. Maja and Bri, with 18.93 seconds

Men's Quadruped without dogs:

1. Aleš Sušnik, 51.05 meters

2. Roman Žitnik, 50.7 meters

3. Tomaž Šubic, 44.7 meters

Women's Quadruped without dogs:

1. Jean McCollister, 47.8 meters

2. Maja Kokalj, 47.35 meters

3. Daša Zakotnik, 35.5 meters

Quadruped with dogs:

1. Maja and Bri, 47.35 meters

2. Jean and Oli, 45.65 meters

3. Tomaž and Casper, 43.6 meters

And winners of the cup (cumulative results from best four competitions of six in the series):

1. Amadea and Bora

2. Petra and Gia

3. Petra and Buffy


It was a very nice conclusion to the season. Thanks to all who made these events possible. Although I was only able to attend two of them this season, I hope to be a regular in future, and I would encourage more players from Slovenia as well as neighboring countries to take part. It's a great way to gain competition experience in a friendly, supportive, and fun atmosphere. Rumor has it that there just may be a winter cup in the offing...