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The Course Review Process

An integral part of the course design process is a qualitative course review, which is conducted by select individuals who have been appointed to uphold the standards of competition. Course reviewers as individuals have considerable experience in the ring and like many judges, hold full time jobs outside agility. So there must be a cooperative effort between judges and course reviewers for submitting courses and ensuing communications so the review process may occur in an effective and timely fashion. Late course submissions and late reviews diminish the value of the course review process and risk compromising the integrity of courses for competitors and the sport.

Timetable for Course Submission
The following timetable outlines the course review process. It is the responsibility of the course designer to contact the reviewer if for any reason the schedule timetable cannot be met.

Communicating With the Course Reviewer
Reviewers are assigned to a particular geographic territory which is outside of the area in which they typically compete. The USDAA web site contains a Course Reviewers’ Region Map in the Administrative Forms and Documents section which includes the reviewer’s name, email address, and phone number. This map should be checked before submitting course designs as it changes from time to time.

Occasionally a reviewer may know in advance they will be attending the show in question or they may be unavailable during the time period covered by the timetable. In that case, the course reviewer will identify another course reviewer that will be covering the event.
It is customary to submit course designs via e-mail, although other arrangements may be made ahead of time with an individual reviewer. If the designs are sent either as individual or bundled files, it is very helpful to the review process if the course file names are descriptive as to the class order and the name of the class. For example:

01 – SatStartersStandard.agl
02 – SatAdvancedStandard.agl and so on.

Alternately a format like date_#_class_description is useful.

The subject or body of the email should identify the event date and the club or city where the event is being held, as there are often multiple events on the same weekend.

The reviewer should also be aware what type of surface will be used and whether e-timing is available.

Course Identification
All submitted courses for any class should include the following information:

  • Event date
  • Sanctioning Club
  • Judge’s Name
  • Class title and level (ex: Starters/PI Snooker)
  • Start/Finish line and/or a notation that electronic timing (aka ‘e-timing’) will be used.
  • General briefing notes specifying the required elements for each class where applicable, especially for non-standard classes such as gamblers, snooker and relay.

The course or briefing notes may optionally include information which is generally considered very helpful in the design/review process or competitors.

Course Review Process (abridged)
http://usdaa.com/binary/files/Course_Reviewers_Map_without%20contact%20info.pdf