Competition Formats

Local Championships Hyperflite Skyhoundz Local Championships are held in many cities, states, and countries. All Hyperflite Skyhoundz Local Championships consist of either:

A) Two 60-second rounds of Distance/Accuracy with winners determined by combining the scores from both rounds of Distance/Accuracy; or

B) Freestyle and Distance/Accuracy Combined: One 90-second round of Freestyle and one 60-second round of Distance/Accuracy with winners determined by doubling the Freestyle score and adding it to the Distance/Accuracy score.

Contact the local host to verify the competition format. If more than 25 teams compete, the local host may limit participation in the second round to the top 6-10 scoring teams from the first round.

Skyhoundz Regional, Open and International Qualifiers Hyperflite Regional, Open and International Qualifiers consist of the same four Championship Divisions: Open Division, Sport Division, MicroDog Division, and Pairs Freestyle Division.

Within those Championship Divisions, competitors may choose to compete in different Classes and thereby have their scores evaluated relative to several peer groups. Awards are given to the top three finishers in all Classes. Available Classes vary from Division to Division.

Important Note: Only Expert Class entries are eligible to receive invitations to the World Championship. Therefore, you must specify on your registration form that you wish to enter in the Expert Class, of the applicable Division(s), in order to compete for an invitation to the World Championship.

If a team chooses to compete in multiple Classes within a particular Division, then the competitor will only need to compete once in that Division, during the final rounds, to have the score counted for purposes of determining the team’s finish in each Class within such Division.

Open Division (Freestyle and Distance/Accuracy Combined) The Open Division provides opportunities to compete in Expert, Masters, Novice, and Youth Classes. The top four Expert Class teams receive invitations to the World Championship.

Round 1 — Freestyle elimination round to the top six teams in each class followed by Round 2 — Distance/Accuracy and Round 3 — Freestyle. First round scores are used for elimination and then dropped. A team’s final score is determined by taking the third round Freestyle score and doubling it and then adding it to the Distance/Accuracy score.

Open Division Tie-Breaker If there is a tie for first, second, third or fourth place in the Expert Class or first, second or third place in the other classes, the tie will be broken by the following criteria, as necessary: 1) The team with the highest combined scores in the Athleticism and Wow!Factor categories from the Freestyle Rounds, 2) The team with the highest score in Distance/Accuracy. 3) A Face-off round will take place with each team receiving one Distance/Accuracy throw. The dog making the higher scoring catch will be declared the victor. If the teams are still tied after each has made one throw, Face-off continues until one dog makes a higher scoring catch than the other. Officials will permit the competitors to rest their dogs as necessary.

Sport Division (Distance/Accuracy) The Sport Division provides opportunities to compete in Expert, Masters, Novice, Youth, and Team Classes. — The top four Expert Class teams receive invitations to the World Championship.

Round 1 — Distance/Accuracy elimination round to the top six teams in each class. Round 2 ­— Distance/Accuracy. Final scores are cumulative.

Sport Division Tie-Breaker If there is a tie for first, second, third, or fourth place in the Expert Class or first, second or third place in the other Classes, the tie will be broken by the following criteria, as necessary: 1) The team with the fewest throws in both rounds, 2) A Face-off round with each team receiving one Distance/Accuracy throw. The dog making the higher scoring catch will be declared the victor. If the teams are still tied after each has made one throw, Face-off continues until one dog makes a higher scoring catch than the other. Officials will permit the competitors to rest their dogs as necessary.

MicroDog Division (Freestyle and Distance/Accuracy Combined) The MicroDog Division provides opportunities to compete in Expert Class only. — The top two Expert Class teams receive invitations to the World Championship.

MicroDogs must weigh less than 25 pounds or be 16, or fewer, inches tall as measured from the ground to a point midway between the shoulders and hips as determined by Skyhoundz officials.

MicroDog competitors must use the K-10 Pup, (Competition Standard Pup, FrostBite Pup, Jawz Pup, or SofFlite Pup disc) or a similar or smaller-sized solid plastic disc made by another manufacturer.

Round 1 — Freestyle elimination to the top six teams followed by Round 2 — Distance/Accuracy and Round 3 — Freestyle. First round scores are used for elimination and then dropped. A team’s final score is determined by taking the third round Freestyle score and doubling it and then adding it to the Distance/Accuracy score.

Because some MicroDog Division teams also desire to compete in the Open Division, and because the two Divisions have identical formats, competing teams only need to compete once, at Regional, Open, and International Qualifiers, to be scored in both Divisions. However, in order for scores to count in the MicroDog Division, MicroDog teams must use the smaller discs described previously in all rounds. There are no disc size limits in the Open Division.

MicroDog Tie-Breaker If there is a tie for first or second place, the tie will be broken by the following criteria, as necessary: 1) The team with the highest combined scores in the Athleticism and Wow!Factor categories from the Freestyle Rounds, 2) The team with the highest score in Distance/Accuracy, 3) A Face-off round will take place with each team receiving one Distance/Accuracy throw. The dog making the higher scoring catch will be declared the victor. If the teams are still tied after each has made one throw, Face-off continues until one dog makes a higher scoring catch than the other. Officials will permit the competitors to rest their dogs as necessary.

Pairs Freestyle Division (Freestyle Only) The Pairs Freestyle Division provides opportunities to compete in Expert Class only. Teams compete in one Freestyle round (two Freestyle rounds at the World Championship) — The top two teams receive invitations to the World Championship.

Pairs Freestyle Tie-Breaker If there is a tie for first, or second place, the tie will be broken by the following criteria, as necessary: 1) The team with the highest combined scores in the Athleticism and Wow!Factor categories from the Freestyle Round(s), 2) A Snapshot round will take place with each team alternating turns and receiving ten seconds in which to demonstrate their strongest trick or cluster of tricks. Order of competition will be determined by a coin toss. The timekeeper will announce the start of Snapshot when each competitor signals his or her readiness to begin. The judges will then declare a winner based on their impressions of the overall quality of the Snapshot performances.

Recreational Division (TimeTrial) The Recreational Division provides opportunities to compete in Expert, Novice, Youth, and Team Classes but is an optional event at Regional, Open, and International Qualifiers. Teams compete in a round of TimeTrial and compete for awards only. No invitations to the World Championship are extended in this Division.

Recreational Division Tie-Breaker If there is a tie for first, second or third place, the tie will be broken by additional TimeTrial rounds between the tied teams until one team achieves a faster time. Officials will permit the competitors to rest their dogs as necessary.