This is the web home of the Saguaro Scramblers Agility Club, Inc., founded in 1994 to promote the sport of dog agility in Tucson, Arizona and Southern Arizona. As the only agility club in Tucson, Arizona, the club is dedicated to keeping agility active and growing in southern Arizona. The club currently sponsors six trials each year, including AKC, NADAC and USDAA.
The club attempts to sponsor seminars each year with nationally recognized agility experts. Visit our Seminars Page for this information.
HOW WE BEGAN
Sherry Porter, Morene Brown and Terry Casey organized Tucson’s first agility club in January 1994, then named “Desert Agility Dogs.” It changed its name to “Saguaro Scramblers Agility Club” a year later when it was discovered that USDAA had a registered trademark on “Agility Dog®.” while the name may have changed, the club has remained true to its goal: to promote the sport of dog agility in Tucson through training and competition. Since its inception, Saguaro Scramblers has expanded from its original membership of twelve to about 100 today.
AGILITIY'S ORIGINS
The idea of dog agility was first conceived
in 1977 by John Varley, a member of
the Crufts Dog Show Committee.
He was asked to organize entertainment in the main
arena in the gap between the obedience championship
and the group judging at Crufts. Varley imagined a canine
version of horse show jumping due to his experience with
horses. He asked his friend Peter Meanwell, a renowned
Working Trials competitor and judge, to develop a fun dog
agility event based on his working knowledge of dogs. As it continues today, dog agility was intended
to be a fun event without being dangerous, and
that it would provide spectator appeal.
The dog agility event was unveiled in February 10, 1978 at the Crufts Dog Show in London, England, the first day of the show. It consisted of two teams headed by Peter Meanwell and Trevor Jones respectively, with four handlers/dogs each. Each team also had one reserve. The event was such a success with the crowd that it was followed up in 1979 at both Crufts and the International Horse Show at Olympia. As soon as 1986, the sport of dog agility jumped “the pond” to the US when the United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA) was formed. In the short period of time since then, several other organizations have come into being to support this evolving, fast-growing and fun dog sport, which now encircles the globe in many countries.
As a final note, John Varley emigrated to Sydney, Australia in the 1980’s, continuing in the sport until he died a few years later. Peter Meanwell later died in 2002.