Flipsi - Dog frisbee: junij 2009

An interview with Flipsi's president Jean McCollister appeared in the May issue of "Pes přítel člověka". Jean was interviewed by Michaela Androva. Below is the text in English:

I would like to introduce Jean McCollister and at the same time the beginning of dogfrisbee in Slovenia. Jean comes from America, but with her daughter Monika and three dogs she has lived in Slovenia for a long time now. Dogfrisbee started in America, and that is where there are the most and the best teams. Thus we might assume that Jean is a dogfrisbee expert, too. But while it is true that Jean has done much to develop and popularize dogfrisbee in Slovenia, she is herself relatively new to the sport, and her first encounter with it was in Europe. Slovenia is also very successful in other dog sports. They started up dogfrisbee a bit later than we did, but now it is clear that they are good rivals. Jean McCollister is a case in point.

Could you say a few words to introduce yourself?

Hmm, I've lived a long life, hard to put it in just a few words.  ;)  I grew up in the United States, where I also learned to play frisbee (without dogs), as well as a lot of other sports, with my older brother. This was during a time in America when girls weren't supposed to be athletic or enjoy sports, so there weren't many opportunities for us to play. But my brother Doug really encouraged me, and it was with his help that I developed a very good throwing arm, in baseball, American football, and frisbee.

As for how I ended up in Slovenia, I first came here on a visit in the summer of 1985, by way of England, where I was studying at the time. I met my first husband (Monika's father) on that first visit, and was completely charmed by the natural beauty of the country, especially the Alpine region. I've always loved mountains and enjoyed hiking and climbing in them, yet my childhood was spent largely in flat places. As an adult I have more than made up for that deficiency, especially living in Slovenia for most of the past 25 years. I did spend a few years during that period in the United States again; in fact our border collie mix Lyra comes from there (Indiana--also very flat!), but Monika and I brought her to Slovenia with us when we moved back here in 2004. Where we live now is perfect for keeping dogs, because it's in the country and there are lots of places to go walking. Including in the mountains (though you have to drive a bit first).

You are the founder of dogfrisbee in Slovenia, how did it start? What was the first step? Where did you meet dogfrisbee for the first time?

Dogfrisbee in Slovenia started first in the agility community. Agility is very developed here, there are outdoor competitions almost every weekend from April-October, as well as some indoor ones in winter, and so the people who do agility see each other regularly and it's a very friendly community. A number of us threw frisbees that you can get in pet supply stores for our dogs for fun and exercise, then in January of 2007 we got together and ordered some special frisbees for dogs (fastbacks, competition standard, Jawz, Eurablend etc.) from a shop in Germany. The first group order was organized by Andraž Cerar, one of the administrators of the Slovenian agility portal (http://agility-slo.net/ ). Later orders were organized by Petra Hladnik and Manca Mikec (and now we get most of them from Jakub Stybr's shop). As people acquired frisbees and started playing more and more, interest grew in taking up the sport as a competitive discipline. I was probably among the most enthusiastic, and so I started looking for seminars to attend. Thanks to a link supplied by the mother of an agility acquaintance, I found some listed at Hundesporthotel Wolf in Oberammergau, Germany, and signed up for one in early July, 2007, with Karin Actun, who competes in the UFO organization. That was my first formal introduction to the sport, apart from a Skyhoundz DVD that I had purchased, and of course watching various films of frisbee dogs on YouTube. I also joined the European Discdog list, and through that heard about the competition in Stromovka at the end of July. I decided what the hell, why not go. And so I did. 

That was my very first competition. I had been playing about 3 weeks. With Lyra I won beginners' freestyle and superminidistance, which I found a little embarrassing. By then I was hooked on the sport, and so in August I went again to Oberammergau for a seminar with Sabine Bruns and Marcus Wolff, who had judged at Stromovka. Their seminar was fantastic, I learned a tremendous amount from them. In fact most of the players in Slovenia learned what they know from Sabine and Marcus, even though I am the only one so far to attend a seminar with them. Because everything I learned I tried to pass on to people here.

Dogfrisbee in your country starts to find great teams on a good level. Do you think there will be big changes in the future?

Big changes? I don't know about that, but I hope it will continue to develop, in a positive way. Those of us who have been informally involved in the sport for some time, either competitively or recreationally, founded a dogfrisbee club, Flipsi (http://www.flipsi.net/) this year, and through the club we are now offering regular frisbee lessons at several different kennel clubs around the country (Ljubljana, Koper, Ajdovščina) as well as one-day seminars by request. We also hope to organize a couple of competitions this year, and more the following year. And of course encourage our members to take part in competitions in other countries in the region. The first year I was all alone at competitions, the only competitor from Slovenia, the next year (2008) there were as many as six of us, this year I think there will be even more.

You are very successful at competitions, especially in Quadruped. Which discipline do you prefer and why?

Hmm, hard to say. Quadruped definitely has a special place; I wish more competitions had the Quadruped event. When I went to the European Championship in 2007, I figured the only event I had a chance of doing well in was Quadruped. Yet that was my worst placing of the three events I entered (advanced freestyle, minidistance, quadruped). 5th place, though I did have the longest catch (with Oli, 54.3 m). Something similar happened at the 2008 EC. Once again, I had the longest catch (55 m, this time with Lyra), and I threw really well in the final--I wasn't nervous at all--but Lyra didn't make any catches and so we were fourth. Whereas in Open freestyle, where I didn't have any great expectations, I was simply astounded to finish high enough to qualify for the World Finals. I've always found freestyle a little intimidating; there are so many things that can go wrong, and it moves so quickly. And the different kinds of throws are new to me, before taking up dogfrisbee (at the age of nearly 50!) I only ever knew backhand throws. But I've become more confident in freestyle as I've gained more experience, and had some satisfying results at competitions. It's certainly the most exciting to watch. I like all the disciplines, really, equally well. I don't have a favorite, and at competitions I like the variety and versatility when you have a number of different events.

Your daughter plays dogfrisbee also. Do you sometimes train together? What are the negatives and positives of that?

Monika and I have a very good relationship, but she is not the kind of person who enjoys doing activities together with her mother, and she also doesn't enjoy competing...she finds it stressful and not fun. We attended a seminar with Sabine Bruns and Marcus Wolff together in the summer of 2007, and that was very enjoyable (we were in different groups) but we don't train together and she does not have much interest in going to competitions so I usually go without her. It works for some families to participate in a sport together--you and your mother, for example, and Darek Radomski and his daughter Anna in Poland--but not for us. She has her own life, her own friends, and her own interests, apart from mine. I would be happy for her to be more involved, but it is entirely her choice and I don't put pressure on her. She has enough to worry about with school and other things.

Would you like to send any particular message to Czech dogfrisbee players?

Tell them that I love them.  ;)  Really. I have some fantastic memories of time spent with Czech dogfrisbee players. Starting with the 2007 EC, when I was pretty much all alone and the Czechs "adopted" me, cheering when I went onto the field to play and welcoming me warmly. Then there was the weekend in April 2008, when nine of you came to Slovenia and helped us tremendously in developing our skills, helped us organize the first ever dogfrisbee competition here. And the competitions I went to in the Czech Republic later in the year were all wonderful experiences. And spending time with some of you in Schwarme at Sabine and Marcus's seminar. One of my biggest regrets in traveling to the USA in October for the World Finals was that I had to miss the last Czech competition of the season. Of course going to the USA was a wonderful and beneficial experience, but frankly, I think going to yours would have been more fun.  ;)