The official AWI European Championships will consist of the AWI Freestyle Division, AWI Toss & Catch Division, AWI Open Division (Freestyle and Toss & Catch).

Each AWI Qualifier in Europe consist of the AWI Freestyle Division, AWI Toss & Catch Division, AWI Open Division (Freestyle and Toss & Catch).
The local clubs running the qualifying events may run additional divisions at their discretion.

The AWI does not guarantee continuity of divisions at every competition.
Please contact the hosting club to see whether additional divisions will be offered, and check www.ashleywhippet.eu often for more updates as they become available. 

The top 5 finishers of each devision at the AWI Qualifiers in the EU will receive an invitation to the Ashley Whippet Invitational European Championships.
The winner of the previous year AWI European Championship is automatically invited back for the next year European Championship.
Competitors can enter with as many dogs as they want at one event.

Additionally, if a team that is already qualified for the AWI European Championship plays at another Open Qualifier and places in the top five, this invitation will slide down to the team finishing in sixth place, and so on.

The teams must register and pay for each division they want compete.
The times for registration opening and closing will be announced before the date of each event.
Please arrive on time, or you will not be allowed to register and compete.
NO LATE REGISTRATIONS ARE ALLOWED.
Once registration is closed, no more entries will be accepted.

All competitors must sign the injury/illness waiver and full publicity release.

No substitutions of either canine or thrower will be allowed at the Ashley Whippet Invitational once the injury/illness waiver has been signed.

AWI Open Toss and Cash only: 12€
AWI Open Freestyle only: 12€

AWI Open ( Freestyle and T/C ) Devision: 24€

What happens with the money?

From the entry fees of the AWI Open Devision class 12€ from each starter goes to the host. 12€ from each starter goes to the AWI.
From the entry fees of the AWI Open Freestyle only Devision 6€ from each starter goes to the host. 6€ from each starter goes to the AWI.
From the entry fees of the AWI OpenToss and Catch only Devision 6€ from each starter goes to the host. 6€ from each starter goes to the AWI.

The money that goes to the AWI is used for:
Buy give aways for the players bags, cover costs for running the EC (place, judges, players dinner, insurance, PA sytem and so on , for the qualified teams can compete for free ), covering costs for shipping stuff to the hosts.

Any physically sound dog may compete in the AWI World Championship Series, subject to the restrictions described below:

Due to the risk of injury because of underdeveloped anatomy, dogs must be at least one year old to be eligible to compete in the AWI World Championship Series Open Division. The AWI realizes that it is difficult to determine the age of some rescue dogs, and does not want to bar any dogs from competition. The AWI requests that handlers use their best judgment in entering dogs of uncertain age, not vault dogs under the age of eighteen months ( if so the AWI will disqualify the handler for lifetime from playing any AWI event), and above all BE SAFE.

Bitches in heat are allowed to play. Owners are advised to keep the their BIH away from the field if not playing and walk their BIH far from the competition area to relieve it, if possible.
All dogs must have current Rabies vaccinations. Vaccinations for Parvovirus and Kennel Cough are strongly recommended.

If, during the Freestyle routine or the Toss & Catch round, there is an unexpected interruption on the field, such as a loose dog, or debris on the field, time will stop at signal from the head judge, and the player will have one of three choices:

• Resume where they left off in the routine, once the field is cleared
• Start over right away after the field is cleared
• Re-do their routine after all remaining teams have finished that round of freestyle

Canine handlers are REQUIRED to clean up if their dog takes a nature break. In consideration of other competitors, and the health and welfare of all competing animals, all competitors must take their competing canine for a nature break before they are called to go on deck. If a nature break takes place while a dog is on the competition field, time will continue to run and the competitor must continue their routine. An appropriate amount of time will be allowed to clean the affected area after time has expired.

Disqualification will be at the sole discretion of the head judge. The following will be grounds for mandatory disqualification:
Abuse and endangerment of an animal
Dogs under one year of age used in competition

Dogs under 18 month of age used in freestyle competition with high jumps,vaults etc.
Overly aggressive canine behavior
Dogs who are found not to be current on rabies vaccinations

Boisterous challenges of contest officials, abusive language or other inappropriate or unsportsmanlike behavior could result in the competitor's disqualification from the event.

Competitors are responsible for the safety and welfare of their dogs at all Ashley Whippet® Invitational events. Competing canines should be properly supervised and must be under the care and control of their handler at all times. Failure to do so could result in the disqualification of that team.

Any other violations of these rules may result in disqualification at the discretion of the head judge.

Open Overall Division:

All teams will compete one round of Freestyle and one round of Toss & Catch.
These two scores will be added together and the field will be cut to the top 10 teams AFTER any ties have been broken.
(Second-round cuts are made at the discretion of the Tournament Director and may be greater than 10 if time and other considerations permit.)

These 10 teams from AWI Open Overall Division will then run one more round of Freestyle.

The open qualifiers may run differently with only one round of freestyle and one round of Toss & Catch, depending on time constraints and number of volunteers.
These changes can be made at the discretion of the hosting club, head judge, and/or tournament director, but will be announced before the event when possible, but can also be announced before a divisional round starts, if dangerous weather arrives.  

Open Freestyle Devision:

All teams will compete one round of Freestyle and the field will be cut to the top 10 teams AFTER any ties have been broken.
(Second-round cuts are made at the discretion of the Tournament Director and may be greater than 10 if time and other considerations permit.)

These 10 teams from AWI Open Freestyle Division will then run one more round of Freestyle.

Open T/C Division:

All teams will compete one round of T/C and the field will be cut to the top 10 teams AFTER any ties have been broken.
(Second-round cuts are made at the discretion of the Tournament Director and may be greater than 10 if time and other considerations permit.)

These 10 teams from AWI OpenT&C Division will then run one more round of T&C.

The Freestyle and Toss & Catch rules and scoring described herein will be used for the AWI European Championship.
The same scoring rules will be used at the Open Qualifiers where possible.
In the case of an AWI event piggybacking on another, the hosting club’s rules will take precedence.
Rules for any additional divisions run at the discretion of the hosting club will be determined by the hosting club.

For the Overall/Freestyle Divisions, the following scores from the FIRST round of freestyle will be used to break any ties in the order given below:

• Catch ratio
• Team score
• Dog score
• Human score
• Overall score

For the Toss and Catch  Divisions the following Tiebreakers rules will be used :

•  single highest round
•  fewest throws to accomplish highest round
•  One throw sudden death

The following discs are allowed for competition at all AWI competitions:

• All Hero Disc USA dog style models (includes size 235, 215 and the Atom 185)
• All Wham-O fastback models (includes Eurablend)
• All Hyperflite disc models (includes Jawz)
• All Dogstar disc models
• All mamadisc models
• Trixie (only Activity Dog Disc)
•  K9 disc HBR & SBD
• Wirbelwind Frisbees

Any dog friendly "pup" (smaller diameter) disc will be allowed. If a competitor chooses to use a smaller diameter disc for the freestyle round(s) the competitor may choose to use a larger disc to use for the Toss & Catch round. Any special disc requests to accommodate special needs dogs should be made to the AWI Tournament Director and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Any dog-friendly disc not mentioned on this list will be subject to the approval of the AWI Tournament Director or head judge at events with no AWI official around.

All participants should attend the players' meeting before the competition.
Only the competing canine, thrower, officials, and field staff are allowed on the field during competition.
No food or treats are allowed on the competition field at any time.
Teams may not bring items other than discs used for competition and their dogs onto the field of play.
Dogs may wear standard collars on the competition field for the purpose of leash attachment. No shock, pinch, or other types of training collars are permitted on the competition field.
Competitors must walk their canines on a leash to the on-deck area and when exiting the field of play. Canines must be KEPT ON A LEASH at all times, except when competing.
Any activity that could be considered distracting should be conducted out of range of the competition so competitors are not distracted.

DISCLAIMER: AT ALL LEVELS OF COMPETITION, OFFICIALS OF THE ASHLEY WHIPPET® INVITATIONAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CHANGE FORMAT, COMPETITION RULES, TIME ALLOTMENTS, ETC., AT THEIR DISCRETION TO ACCOMMODATE THE NEEDS AND ENSURE THE OVERALL SUCCESS OF THE EVENT.