Ok ... WOW. We had wind ... we had a blast, We had OVER 100 TEAMS on Saturday ... we had a blast, It got cold on Sunday ... we had a blast. I think you can see the theme going on here. I'd personally like to thank all the CFDDC members for letting me take part and help run things this last weekend. There was certainly not only a wide array of Dogs this year but people drove from all over North America to get here. It was really cool making new friends this year and getting to know everyone. I had a woederful day and one of the four best seats in the house as I judged the Open and Intermediate Freestyle rounds and even tossed in a little line judging for the Novice Toss and Fetch rounds. I really love being a part of the competition and being the foot fault judge is great because everyone asks you questions and you HAVE to stay informed and involved. 

As for competition, I can't wait to see where we ended up but I have a feeling it's somewhere in the top ten. The wind was pretty stiff when I threw but it really didn't see to matter because I get to practice in similar situations quite frequently living right off Lake Eustis. I was able to snag 6 points in the first round and in any normal year that would have been close to the line for getting cut but with the "challenge" this weekend I was able to snag 7th. As we drew down to the end the sun was almost gone as I threw my last round and had a moderate 13.5 for my second round ending up with a 20.5 total for the day. In the world class competition I was up against I feel great as I put up a pretty good show. Congratulations to ALL the competitors for making this years CFFDC one of the best to remember. YOU ALL ROCK (Yes even you DiAno)

The Big "WHAT IF"

Well I have heard this term used enough in my four years of disc dogging not only by myself but by many others,"WHAT IF?" 

Yes, you have had to think this yourself many times and you have, for sure heard many others use this term many times private at the end of competition.

I used to be horribly guilty of beating myself up mentally for days after tournaments thinking to myself,  "What if I would have done this differently or done that?"

I've also thought, "What if Rocket or Gipper would have caught this one throw or done this a bit better?"

Well when you look back at each time you have thought this you have to remember that there are many other competitors that can say the same thing, "WHAT IF?"

Seriously, if they would have made that one extra catch or one extra throw, your 'What ifs' wouldn't matter. 

How many times in your Toss and Fetch round of a tournament have you asked yourself "What if I would have gotten one more throw off?" or, "What if I could have thrown one more good throw?

As I mature more in my disc dogging career on and off the field I feel like it has helped me a lot to get rid of the What Ifs and to just know each and everytime we go out to compete we had fun and we did our best.

Some of you might have noticed Gipper's Second Place Finish this year in the Skyhoundz Worlds this year for the Overall Championship. Well we lost by a 1/2 point and afterwards I had folks asking me questions about this and that, "Wow what if..."

I have to be honest I never looked back. We did the very best we could and we just got beat by a better team that day. I was just honored to be that close.

This last month of competiting has been some of the most fun times I have had playing disc with my dogs.

The Skyhoundz Worlds, The USDDN Worlds and the UFO Worlds... I mean it was so neat to just relax. I found myself just sitting back and cheering on my fellow competitors and watching, in awe, the many great teams and routines.

I felt priviledged to be on the same field as so many of these great teams.

So the next time you walk off the field or you see or hear the final scores announced and you start to Thinking, "WHAT IF?..."

Remember that many others are thinking the same thing.

As long as you had fun and your dog had fun playing with their best friend, who cares about the results.

Savor every moment you have.

Your Friend
 
Mark Muir
Rocket, Gipper & Irish
http://www.georgiairishdiscdogs.com/home