DACOF Works because WE ALL work!!!

DACOF Works because we all work!!!

Hello DACOF Members!

One of the Major Tenets of our Organization is:

DACOF Works because we all work!!!

Now that most Team entries have been submitted, Team Captains need to start thinking about their Team Workers. While some worker positions (Bar Setter, Scribe Sheet Runner) can be staffed by almost anyone, other worker positions (ESPECIALLY the Scribe) require being staffed by a person with knowledge and previous experience at that worker position. It is the Team Captain’s responsibility to have an able and competent person assigned to each worker position!

In other words, Team Captains MUST assign workers with the proper skill set to properly fulfill the required worker position.

There is still plenty of time, and several agility trials between now and our DACOF Event for Team Captains to educate your potential workers and for DACOF Members to learn the skills to become helpful DACOF Workers!

We encourage all DACOF Members to volunteer for one or more of the “Skilled” positions (Scribe, Timer, Gate Steward) at an upcoming trial! Not only will it provide the opportunity to gain working experience in these positions but also, we are confident the sponsoring clubs would appreciate the added help!

Team Captains will once again be encouraged to “Self Elect” a few of the “Skilled” worker positions via an online sign-up, which will become available shortly after the DACOF Entry Deadline (May 23,  2025). This has worked very well in recent years and the feedback we receive suggests that Members and Team Captains appreciate being able to self-elect a few of the Worker Positions. The remaining worker assignments for the weekend will be allocated around the positions that have been self-elected by the Team Captains.

Please stay tuned for more information regarding the online worker sign-up!

In the meantime, we would like to share DACOF Worker information from our web page:

Dacof.com / Send a Team tab / DACOF Workers drop down

DACOF Works because we all work!!!

Each Team is required to provide two workers.

Partial Teams with four or less members are required to provide one worker.

If an organization or group is sending two teams, they will need to provide at least four workers. If an organization or group is sending three teams, at least six workers should be provided.

Typically, each Team will be assigned 9-10 Worker spots to staff over the DACOF Weekend, and each "Partial" Team (four or less Dogs) will be assigned 4-5 Worker spots to staff.

Each team will be assigned a job (or possibly multiple jobs) each DACOF Round.

The Team Captain is responsible for having an “Able and Competent Person” available to work the assigned job. If a worker is not available or capable of working in an assigned worker position, the team will not be allowed to run that class and will receive zeros for their scores.

Here is a brief description of the jobs to run a ring:

1. Ring Captain – makes sure all worker positions are filled in the ring. If a body for that team is not in place, all scores for that team do not count in that round. The Ring Captain needs to make sure that as soon as a round has ended, the new workers are standing by and are ready to get into their proper job positions. A Ring Captain’s job is MOST IMPORTANT from about fifteen minutes BEFORE the rings are getting started to make sure all workers are ready to fill their worker positions. If the Ring Captain's assigned walk through would normally be the last walk through before the next round starts, they must instead, walk with the first or second walk-through group! Once the new session begins and all workers are accounted for, it is important for the Ring Captain to stick around, making sure all the worker positions remain staffed. While the Ring Captain does not need to remain at their assigned Ring for the entire session, they (or someone from their Team) should be constantly checking on the ring to verify there are workers at all positions and that there are no problems at the Ring.

2. Gate Steward – it is important to keep the line moving, and to communicate any changes in running order with the Gate/Scribe Assistant, so the scribe will concentrate on scribing!

We will be using "Agility Gate" again this year (smart phone application) for check-in and Gate Sheets, but there will also be a "paper" back-up, just in case technology fails.

3. Gate/Scribe Assistant – acts as the communicator between Gate Steward and the Scribe.

This will probably not be a sit-down job. Ask the handler for his/her dog’s name & number to verify the correct scribe sheet to the Scribe. The Gate/Scribe Assistant may want to keep all scribe sheets and give them to the scribe as the Gate Steward lines the handlers/Dogs up in the order they are about to run. The main purpose of this position is to verify the Scribe has the proper Scribe Sheet for the dog that is about to run!

4. Scribe – This is a position that Team Captains must assign to a skilled, proficient worker!!! 

Watch the Judge! In addition to watching for the Judge’s signals, (Refusals, Faults, Dropped Bars, Missed Contacts, etc.) marking the appropriate calls on the scribe sheet, the timer will speak/show you the time to write on the score sheet (write run times showing all three (3) decimal places) at the end of each run. Please make sure that you give the scribe sheets to the sheet runner, so they can be scored. If you know someone is absent, mark it so, and send the sheet to the score table. If we need to send it back, we can do so.

5. Timer - make sure the timer starts with each run and notify the Judge if it has not done so. Give the time to the scribe, usually saying and showing is the best way. PROVIDE run times to three (3) decimal places!

6. Ring Crew 1,2,3 – reset bars, change A-frame heights, and help the judge in any way. We want the Judges to last the entire day. A Judge normally works a maximum of 350 runs in an AKC trial and we often ask them to judge significantly more!

7. Exit Gate Ring Crew – will get the dog and handler in a gated area, close the gate, and then have the handler put on harness/leash. This way we are not waiting for the dog/handler to exit before the next person can run. However, PLEASE DO NOT OPEN THE GATE UNTIL THE DOG HAS COMPLETED THEIR LAST OBSTACLE!

8. Scribe Runner – bring 3 or 4 sheets at a time, so the score table can keep up.

9. Leash Runner – take leash/harness from entry to finish.

10. Course Builders – Usually an entire team is assigned to be responsible for building all courses for a ring. Like the ring captain, they need to be following the ring, so they know when to build, and get it done quickly!

And please remember, DACOF works because we all work!!!

Thanks, and please keep posted for additional messages!

Bill, Kathy, Jen, Erica & Ashley