October 6th-8th, 2006
Day Three
Day 3 started like Day 2 ended...with many AKC/USA World Team supporters sharing travel tips for the day. Would it be a nice cruise across Lake Geneva, a ride up into the Alps or perhaps a bit of wine tasting in France?
For the USA/AKC World Team their plans for the morning had already been made by AKC Agility Director, Sharon Anderson. They all departed at 8 am on a bus for practice at the Hundetraff Aesch Agility Training Center. The center is located in a beautiful green valley with views of ancient castle ruins. The owners, Astrid and Rudy Steiner, graciously welcomed the USA team and coaches to their well appointed outdoor training facility. The surface turned out to be a comfortable base of wood chips which provided sure footing for both the dogs and handlers. The equipment gave the team the much needed opportunity to practice on rubberized contacts; jump thru the smaller tire; and to jump over the larger broad jump and the viaduct jump. The Austrian team coach stopped the training center to watch the USA team practice. The host club further extended their hospitality by preparing lunch for team members. This 2 hour practice provided an opportunity for both dog and handlers to get some much needed exercise and get on with their preparation for Friday's first competition runs. Team Coach Nancy Gyes and Asst Coach Kathie Leggett planned exercises to provide the team with the type of challenges that they can expect to encounter at the World Competition.
Practice was followed by the Team Photo session back at the hotel. It was cut short by a brief afternoon rain shower. The afternoon was spent with the Team Members further exploring Basel and its wonderful museums, bakeries and chocolate shops.
The World Team Pep Rally dinner was held at the hotel for over 80 people. The state with the most attendees at the dinner was the great state of Tennessee!! Special thanks were given to team sponsors Eukanuba and Clean Run Productions. Toni Osojnicki was recognized for her tireless efforts on behalf of the team and supporters during their stay in Basel as well as the planning of the trip. Coach Nancy Gyes and Asst Coach Kathie Leggett were commended for their year long preparation of the team for this year's event. Signed AKC/USA Team photos were presented to Phil & Susan Crank, Sandy Schmidt and Betsy Lynch for all of their assistance at the Ohio team practice. The Team Members presented all World Team Supporters with a commemorative pin and a thank you for their support of the team. Mascot Adrienne Lynch from Illinois ramped up the festivities with a rousing USA cheer!
Tomorrow will be the beginning of the official activities which include the official veterinarian check of each team dog and the team practice at the show site. The team is allowed 1¼ minutes per person for their practice time. This gives the USA team a total of 16 minutes to set their course and get their dogs run thru them before the next country takes the floor. Both the team members and supporters have access to St. Jakob's arena to watch any of the other countries during their practice times during the day. Just one more day until the competition begins!
Click on image for caption and larger view.
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