About Us

Newfoundland Athletic Dog Association, Inc. is a member-based not-for-profit organization located in St.John's, NL, and was founded May 27, 2007 and incorporated in June 2007. Our club is a member of the Agility Association of Canada (AAC) and the North American Flyball Association (NAFA), and we abide by the rules and regulations of these organizations.

We offer classes in agility and flyball to our members, and hope to someday offer classes in these sports to the public. In the meantime, we are accepting members to our club. Membership comes with the benefits of participating in the classes and drop-ins for more advanced dogs, and the responsibilities of assisting with set-up/take-down and in any other way that members have the time and ability to do so.

Our head agility instructor is Dianne Ford. Dianne has been training, instructing and competing in agility since 1994. She first got into agility when she was approached by her obedience instructor and invited to participate in this thing called "Agility." Since Dianne had just stopped equestrian show jumping, agility was a natural fit for Dianne's interests. Her first agility partner, Brooke, was a Shepherd/Labrador cross SPCA rescue dog and taught her a lot about the sport and being a teammate. Dianne and Brooke competed in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Ontario. Brooke got to the Masters level in AAC, prior to her retirement. Dianne's current agility partner is her 4 year old Welsh Springer Spaniel, Baxter. Baxter has taught Dianne even more about agility as he is a lot less serious and less intense than Brooke. He has taught Dianne humility and the joys of focusing on fun and learning new handling techniques. They competed at the Starters level in Ontario and got a Starters title in agility games prior to Dianne taking a maternity leave from agility (and work) and moving to Newfoundland. Dianne's teaching philosophy focuses on maintaining a fun and safe environment for the dogs and handlers, while striving for quality and strengthening the communication and relationship between dog and handler.

Our head flyball instructor is Stephanie Conway. Stephanie has been training in flyball for almost three years with her 3 year-old Border Collie/Terrier mix , Sasha. She first got interested in flyball when she was doing research on Border Collies and finding things to keep them happy and active. She first started in both flyball and agility. By doing both sports at the same time, Steph quickly saw which one she and Sasha liked the most. While they still participate in both sports, Steph and Sasha like to focus primarily on flyball, which is Sasha's forte. Steph's teaching philosophy centers around teamwork, safety, fun and patience. She does not allow dogs under a year old jump or do heavy box work for their safety, and likes to remind students to be patient and not get discouraged. After all, it takes time to train in flyball but the end result is a very happy and mentally stimulated dog.