Flyball and the British Flyball Association
Flyball is the most unique and exciting dog sport ever invented; it is fast, colourful and noisy, and it's the fastest growing dog sport in this country!
Flyball is an exciting relay race for teams of 4 dogs and their human handlers. UK flyball was established by the British Flyball Association (BFA) in 1994 and we have since become the largest flyball associaiton in the world outside of America. The BFA is an Unincorporated Association, in that it is an organisation set up by a group of individuals (members) who come together for a reason other than to make profit; we come together to provide competitive sporting opportunities for people of all ages, regardless of their ability, with their dogs, family and friends. The BFA is not a business, it has no owners and it makes no profit. It has no paid employees and all BFA officials are volunteers, some elected by the membership (the Committee), some appointed (by the Committee), but none receive any remuneration for their time which is provided free and in addition to their other personal or work commitments.
The BFA provide a national framework and governance structures for flyball acitivities across the UK, throughout the year, and our national championship events held annually in August, are some of the largest competitive dog sport events in the world. Over 15000 dogs have been registered to race with us, we have over 3000 current active human members, and over 450 seperate flyball teams raced in BFA events in 2019. Over two thirds of our members are women, and over a third of our members are either under the age of 18 or over the age of 60.
Flyball was first seen in California in the early 70's, when Herbert Wagner invented a ball launcher for demonstrations at his Canine Obedience Graduations. It was fun for the dogs, owners and onlookers alike and he was soon asked to go on US national TV... and Flyball grew from there! By the early 80's the sport had taken off in Canada and America, and the North American Flyball Association (NAFA) was formed. Flyball has continued to grow and spread over the years, and it is now a worldwide sport, played in America, Canada, Japan, Australia, and many European countries, with European Championships taking place annually.
2019 was the BFA's 25th Anniversary year and the association had grown to over 3,000 active members; we put on more than 100 sanctioned competitions up and down the country; and the BFA Championships, for the first time ever, was bigger than the US version, making the BFA Championships, held in the UK, the biggest flyball competition in the world.
The British Flyball Association is proud to support:
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| https://pureflax.co.uk | https://www.hartpury.ac.uk | https://mynotch.co.uk | https://www.womeninsport.org |
Our website contains a wealth of information and utilities for flyballers and potential flyballers alike; simply select the options from the menu bar above, or click here to find out more about getting started in BFA flyball.