page_title: Geography of dog agility
section_title: Kennel Club shows
hierarchical_section_title: Geography of dog agility / Agility in the United Kingdom / Kennel Club shows
caption_attribution_description: A Golden Retriever during an agility competition.
context_page_description: Dog agility is now an international dog sport with many different sanctioning organizations and competitions worldwide.
context_section_description: Agility shows run by clubs that are affiliated to the Kennel Club continue to dominate the British agility scene. They host qualifiers for the most prestigious competitions at Crufts dog show near Birmingham each March, and Olympia in London each December. They also provide a route for winning the three Championship classes needed to gain an agility dog the coveted 'Agility Champion' title.
  Progression at KC shows is via a win-based system or a dog can progress on points if the handler chooses. Classes can number anything up to 450 dogs and class sizes vary considerably.  They can be as small as 4 or 5 dogs or as large as 200 dogs. If a larger number of entries is received for one class then the organising club will generally split the class into separate parts with a separate set of prizes for each part.  Generally classes for small and medium-sized dogs are smaller than for the large dogs. From January 2007, the KC has adopted a new grading system. Dogs with new handlers start in Grade 1 Elementary, and if they gain the wins required move up through Starters, Graduate, Novice, Intermediate and Senior to Grade 7 Advanced level. By the time a dog reaches Advanced (at which point it becomes eligible for Championship classes), it will have won many classes. The new grading system also provides the option to progress as far as Grade 5 Intermediate via a points system, run in conjunction with the Kennel Club's Agility Warrant (AW) agility titles.
  The Kennel Club introduced its International Festival of Agility in 2005, a weekend event that hosts a range of national team and individual competitions and finals, including the British Open. The KC also funds the British agility team that is sent to the FCI world championships each year.
caption: Golden Retriever on the  A-frame
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