I would like to formally introduce myself, my name is Lara, if you are unsure of how to pronounce my name; think of “Lara Croft the Tomb Raider”. On the other hand if you can not remember it, do not worry, the majority of people do say my name incorrectly so do not stress about. I can guarantee one thing; I will correct you and charge you a $1.00 for every incorrect time there after. I have been doing this fundraiser since Junior High School and at first the fee was $.25 but as you know there is inflation in everything! Over the years this fund has been used for many social gathering activities. Now it seems more appropriate to use the fund for my next disc adventure where ever that might be. By all means please continue to say my name incorrectly!
So now that you know my name and willing to donate a $1.00 to the cause, my formal introduction to disc was at Cynsports in 2007. I purchased my first disc at this event and watched amazing canine partnerships perform; flips, vaults, catches and dazzle the crowd with innovative throws. I was determined to learn how to do this with my black & white pack. With all the ambition in the world the reality was winter in Alberta was just around the corner. So needless to say, my introduction to disc wasn’t until late 2008.
A core group of us invited Katherine Ferger from Ontario, Canada to Edmonton to provide us with our first disc seminar. That was the first time I actually took out my Cynosport purchases and used them as an object that flies not a coaster for the table. It is pretty fair to say we were all hooked and looked forward to developing our skills and eventually being able to put a freestyle routine together. Before you new it another year had passed and with out pointing any fingers it was pretty evident that we all forgot what we learnt in our first seminar with Katherine. So once again we brought Katherine out in Feb 2009 to southern Alberta for 3 incredible days. However, this time we all decided if we are going to do this right we should plan to have a competition. As well as the need to have our own disc club that encourages the growth of the sport in a friendly competitive environment. The creation of ARFF which stands for Alberta Redneck Furry Fliers was born. (http://arffdisc.webs.com/)
Our enthusiasm was infectious to many and once again we found the need to bring Katherine back in the spring of 2009. She once again provided the new players with a strong foundation and helped the core group with the foundation of routine building and massive words of encouragement that we would be ready for our first competition.
From not believing we could do this, we all realized very quickly we should believe, and it was apparent each one of us had a special talent and a special bond with our canine friends. Stay tuned for the adventures of disc is Western Canada.