Chief Judge - Kenneth Tatsch (USA)

Kenneth Tatsch was born on the 25^th of July 1955. He is engaged in the sport of dogs and dog training since 1980. He served as training director and president of the Dallas, Texas Dog Training Club from 1984-85. In 1985, he began study of dog agility in Great Britain under the tutelage of Peter Lewis, one of the innovators of the sport. He attended residency judges training seminars, and instructors seminars in Great Britain during the earlier years of founding the United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA), its web site being found at www.usdaa.com. He has judged more than 100 events at the local, regional, national and international level over the past twelve years. 

In 1988, Kenneth Tatsch introduced the Grand Prix of Dog Agility as the first national tournament on the North American continent. More information on the Grand Prix of Dog Agility can be learned by visiting USDAA’s Grand Prix web site at www.grandprix2000.net. Over the past fourteen years, USDAA has grown to register more than 17,000 dogs and 13,000 handlers of dogs for the sport of dog agility. In 2000, almost 300 days of USDAA sanctioned events were conducted throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. In 1990, Kenneth Tatsch introduced USDAA’s dog agility certification program, wherein dog/handler teams compete to earn Title Certificates for their dogs, evidencing their accomplishments against pre-defined performance standards. In 1993, he introduced USDAA Junior Handler Program for dog agility, where school-age children and their pets compete on less demanding courses, with the emphasis in competition being on junior handler and dog working together well on simplified courses. In 1993, Kenneth Tatsch introduced the first team championship tournament series – the Dog Agility Masters® Team Championships where three-dog/handler teams compete in standard agility, jumpers, gamblers, snooker agility and three-dog relay classes, and in 1997 introduced a third competitive tournament series – the $10,000 Dog Agility Steeplechase Championships, where dogs race for time on a jumpers style course that also includes an A-frame. 

Throughout these formative years, Kenneth Tatsch defined procedures for conduct of events from course design patterned after the British style and scorekeeping, event results reporting for clubs and establishing an office for accumulation of event records and issuance of awards and title certificates for USDAA events. Today, USDAA has a staff of four employees who serve more than 100 affiliated dog agility clubs and training schools throughout North America. In addition, in 2001, USDAA tournaments have expanded into the international competitive arena, with its Grand Prix of Dog Agility reaching world status through the participation of numerous competitors from Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. 

Throughout USDAA’s development, which has led the development of dog agility throughout the western hemisphere, Kenneth Tatsch has continued to exercise great care in training of judges for USDAA events, and in promoting sound training practices for dogs. Through the years he has conducted more than 100 seminars in judging, instruction and training of dogs throughout North America. He provided guidance for the establishment of dog agility from 1997 to 1999 in Mexico, which now has a well-established program for dog agility recognized by the FCM (Mexico Kennel Club). He continues to travel to other countries to promote world standards for dog agility and has signed on behalf of USDAA declarations and resolutions in support of the principles of the International Federation of Cynological Sports in Moscow in February 2001. He is now in the process of organizing a charitable foundation for support of amateur cynological sports and the Pan American Association of Cynological Sports for the alliance of independent dog sports associations throughout the western hemisphere.