The weather was perfect and everyone had bucket loads of fun.

The 2000 IDDHA Canine Disc Freestyle Champions are Theresa Jones and Trixie from Newnan, Georgia with a Championship points score of 26.54. Theresa, from the Greater Atlanta Dog & Disc Club (GADDC), went home with the $1,500.00 winner's prize money and the Championship Trophy.

Tension was high until the very end because of a super-competitive performance from the First Runners-Up, Greater Jacksonville Dog & Disc Club members (GJDDC), Michele Fann and Java. Their Championship score of 26.33 gave them $750.00 prize money. Given the fantastic work that Michele coordinates with the GJDDC members for their DiscDog Rescue, the prize money could not have gone to a more worthy recipient.

Chris Gardner and Sky Cody, from Orange, California, were the Second Runners-Up with 25.83 Championship points. It was easy for the handlers at the event to see how Chris and Sky Cody placed 6th in this year's Southwest Regional at their first competition freestyle routine together. They are awesome! They fully deserved their $500.00 prize money after all the big air that Sky Cody achieved.

HOT Disc Dogs member from Garland, Texas, Pam Martin, and her pint-sized wonder dog Pilot were the Third Runners Up. After scoring 25.20 Championship points they secured the $250.00 prize money.

All the teams were fantastic, and every one of the handlers was a credit to themselves and the disc dog community. The remaining placings were....

5th JD Platt and Galaxy from Bend, Oregon with 24.47 Championship points.

6th Pam Martin and Flash, from Garland, Texas with 23.87 Championship points.

7th Carlyn Knowles and Ranger, from Riverside, California with 23.56 Championship points.

8th Vic Fann and Petey from Jacksonville, Florida with 21.76 Championship points.

To all of the competitors, thank you for supporting the Championship.

Thank you to all of the volunteers who did a fantastic job ensuring that the Championship ran smoothly. Although everyone worked really hard none of them complained about any aspect of the Championship organization, and it was a fantastic team to work with. Thank you to our judges Ed Jakubowski, Lourdes Edlin, and Gail Mirabella for their diligence and professionalism. Also, special thanks to Larry Roegner for all his hard work during the Championship weekend, and also for doing heaps of organizational work in the months before the event. A big thank you too to Ruthie Penn-David, Todd Jones, and Karen Noud for their enthusiasm and smiley faces in the other important volunteer roles. Because of family needs, Mike Piazza unfortunately had to return to Boston before the competition got started, but Mike's willingness to help was appreciated. Last but not least, thank you to Greg Tresan for doggedly pursuing a very worthwhile vision. Your work ethic is unquestioned, and congratulations on presenting a super event that was very well received by the huge crowds of dog sports fans.

Also, Mike and Kathy Miller, thank you for supplying the most awesome disc dog sound system anywhere (the Colorado folks were right) and for going way beyond the call of usual duty - your expertise and willingness to help were greatly appreciated.

The IDDHA also thanks the other organizations that contributed to the success of its first ever Championship, namely:

• The Championship Sponsor, PETsMART
• The United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA), for organizing a super event
• Animal Planet, who will be telecasting the USDAA Grand Prix Finals on December 4 at 8:00 pm ET/PT
• Dog Sports Entertainment, Inc., the coordinating team for the USDAA Grand Prix Finals, for their cooperation 
• North American Flyball Association (NAFA), for their friendship and cooperation

Finally, thank you to everyone for their feedback about the Championship. Your ideas for the future are valuable and they will be the foundation for how we develop the future potential for our sport. If you have ideas about how we can improve future IDDHA Championships please forward them to iddha@aol.com, who will propose some recommendations to the IDDHA about future Championships.