CUP OF FRIENDSHIP

Although Londonka welcomed the participants of this year’s Cup of Friendship under the shadow of the death of its oldest member, Mr. Jaroslav Flíček, as if covered by an imaginary black veil, the level of the competition and the quality of the performances of the starting field were definitely not negatively affected. On the contrary, the central strength of the competition's idea seemed to be expanded by a very prominent romantic dimension, as a tribute to his memory. The choreography of the event guided participants from the collective movement in close contact to the division of the terrain into three equal sectors, leading to close cooperation from the opening siren to the final one. Although the guidelines for the search tasks were firmly set by the international RHTV/N standards, the performances of the dogs in many cases exceeded these limits by far. And this despite the fact that most of the dogs were young, with some even competing for the first time in their lives. This weekend, the most successful handlers were from the Liberec region, who are very active, and their current performance was certainly not by chance. The systematic work of instructor Lucie Čeňková, who not only spreads good vibes but also a high-quality training standard, was clearly evident here.

The range of breeds in rescue training is usually very diverse, but this time it was unprecedented, with eight different breeds among the nine medalists on the podium. Although not all participants were successful, the majority left with a positive evaluation in their workbooks from one of the international judges who assessed the competition. The competition also confirmed the rising trend of the popularity of the international testing regulations, which will undergo several interesting changes by the end of this year with its cyclical innovation. The beautiful environment, wonderful weather, and a fantastic competition were the succinct evaluation of the weekend from the departing competitors. Therefore, the competition director Martina Vaňková, trainer Kristýna Sedláková, the chairman of the organizing K9 Rescue CZ Daniel Sedlák, and all those involved in organizing could be very satisfied. Everyone pulled together very strongly… At the same time, we were able to introduce our new uniform T-shirt with the logo, and we are very pleased that it was well received not only by us but also by everyone present.

Such an event’s success cannot be achieved without the help of sponsors, to whom we must be sincerely grateful. Once again, our activities were supported by Chejn, Marp, and Grancann.