Text Box: The 2008 LCRC Singles Championship 9:00 AM, Saturday, April 19th ~ Grand Isle, Vermont From South Hero, use Route 2 to Route 314, then follow the signs. What is the “Singles Championship”? In a word…It’s a blast! The Singles Championship is a relatively newer tradition of the LCRC. Hopefully it will be popular for a long time to come. It’s a single elimination competition, using single marks only, where the dogs that do the best job all day get crowned champions for that year. It can be a lot of fun and a lot of laughs. It’s also one of the few competitions where you find yourself rooting for the other guy’s dog simply because the job they have to do to retrieve the final mark of the day is so incredible that you really want to see the dogs do it. The intent of the singles championship is to reward those dogs who do the best job of marking that day. Note…”the best job of marking that day” This does not mean that the biggest, bad-est field trial dogs always win. Just ask Andy Sonntag whose little Golden, Kallie, a Senior Hunter at the time, beat all the more experienced dogs that day and won the Open Stake! To give you an example, the 2004 final mark in the Open Stake was roughly 400 yards. As the dogs left for the retrieve, they had to go downhill, cross a cover change, penetrate some high cover, angle across a brook, angle across another cover change, angle up a side hill, cross a fenceline and carry their line another 100 yards out into a mown field - and when they got there, they had to remember that the bumper was thrown 60 yards from the bird boy instead of the normal 20! General Rules The Singles Championship will consist of just two stakes, Junior and Open. The Singles Championship is a member only event. All marks will be single marked retrieves, using three inch white bumpers. After all dogs in the stake have completed their attempt at the mark, the judges will determine which dogs may continue in the competition and which are eliminated. Visible bird boys, hidden bird boys, retired bird boys, remote guns, Bubba gunners, multiple visible bird boys, decoys, scented areas etc. …all are allowed! Moving gunners, gunners looking away from the fall, diversions and anything else designed to trick the dog are not allowed. The first marks of the competition should be simple and straightforward. Each successive mark should increase in difficulty until there is a clear winner. The Junior Stake Any dog which has not qualified in any licensed hunting test stake requiring steadiness, or which has never been entered in an AKC Derby or higher stake, may enter the Junior Stake. In other words, if the dog has a ribbon from AKC Senior, NAHRA Intermediate, HRC Seasoned or has ever been entered in a licensed AKC field trial (regardless of the result, as in, if any…) then the dog may not enter this level. The Junior Stake will consist of single marked retrieves which shall not exceed one hundred yards in total length; Junior dogs may be run on lead and doing so will not detract from the dog’s score. The Open Stake Any dog which does not meet the qualifications for the Junior Stake may enter the Open Stake. Open marks will begin at 100 yards and increase in distance and difficulty, with the final mark of the day being the most difficult. ~ ~ ~ Think it’s Pretty Simple, Eh? Come play, help, watch, or study the “LCRC stars’ ” work. ’08 Singles Championship Co-Chairs, Thanks Guys!, are Wayne Goodrich and Paul Stuart. Please plan to lend them a hand on April 19th

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