FREESTYLE ROYALE ⚔︎
AUGUST IS ALL ABOUT BRINGING THE HEAT!
Get your brain fired up: this is a CRITERIA round with a TEAM CONNECTEDNESS theme! What’s that cover?? Check it:
Handler and dog are in constant communication (verbal and nonverbal)
Dog checks in with handler and switches focus between disc retrieval and handler cues
Team highlights connectedness through moments in routine that highlight bond (dog catch, kiss, handshake, coordinated movement, etc.)
The Freestyle Royale will run just like the Freestyle Crown. There are some common FAQ things below, and YES, all participating teams will earn legit UpDog points, receive judge feedback for criterion rounds, and have the shot to win some super cool prizes 
FAQ 
Here are some common answers to questions you might have about Virtual Freestyle and the Freestyle Royale. This post will be PINNED in the group so you can access it easily at any time!
Filming for August will be August 1st-August 24th. All entries must be submitted to the link you get after registering by midnight eastern time on Monday August 24th.
This is a VIRTUAL Freestyle competition. You’ll film yourself rocking some Freestyle and submit it to UpDog!
Teams will submit ONE round of Freestyle each month (that was filmed/played that month, no old videos!).
Videos can be uploaded to any sort of video service, such as Youtube or Vimeo. They MUST be either public or accessible with the shared link. If it’s private.. the judges cannot watch or score it!
All participating teams will earn Updog points for submitted rounds!
Unfortunately you cannot submit Freestyle rounds recorded at UpDog competitions during that time frame. You’ll already be judged and receive points for those from UpDog!
Videos MUST be one continuous shot, no flow edits or cuts can be done on your submission. Edits such as adding music is 100% allowed!
Submissions will be judged at the same level as an “in person” round at an event. Judges cannot judge what they cannot see, so discs caught (or not caught) off screen won’t be judged. Same for sequences that are off screen, etc. You may have a helper with recording that pans your camera to catch all the action! Just remember… no cuts or flow edits!
RULES ARE THE SAME as live events.. especially for costumes and safety!. Check ’em here: https://updogchallenge.com/freestyle-showcase/
NO experience necessary, brand new teams are welcome (and encouraged!) to play!
You don’t have to play each month, you can a la carte your submissions if you want. If you didn’t play in June or July, you can still play August!
There will be THREE Divisions: Novice, Intermediate, and Pro. Youth teams can play in the division they feel most comfortable competing in.
We are all playing by Level 2 scoring! Yes, even Novice! All rounds will be Level 2, and then teams will be divided into their division within that Level.
Cost is $25 for each of the Freestyle Royale Months (June, July, August, September). $100 total if you play all four months!
If you played in the JULY Freestyle Royale, we will have scores and details about scores posted soon (see: beginning of post and my technical difficulties). I will post details for you all as soon as I can! Please please please don’t message me and ask if scores are done, I will post as soon as they are ready for players. I promise!
SIGN UP LINK WILL BE RELEASED SOON!
Start filming as early as… today!
