Our club has a problem of what to do with students coming out of beginners. The way our classes our structured is:  Beginner - Intermediate - Performance - Competition I - Competition II. Beginner dogs, obvious, new dogs. Intermediate, dogs just coming out of beginner. Performance, dogs consistent on obstacles, learning sequences, handling, Can be repeated many times. Comp I, dogs just starting to compete and getting ready to compete. Comp II, dogs must be competing, difficult sequences and handling maneuvers

All of our classes are full so we have left the Intermediate dogs and Performance dogs in their respective classes. We are able to move 1 or 2 dogs up to Comp I but feel the performance dogs could benefit from staying behind for a while. We added on the Intermediate class to accommodate new beginner dogs but our Performance class is full so they are staying put but we just up the criteria in the class a little. The upper classes, Comp I and II are getting full also We are at the point of adding yet another class. We will probably have a full class of beginner dogs again. What do other club and training facilities do with this situation short of not offering a beginner class or turning people away because the classes are full? I hate to get people started and then say sorry class is full you can't continue with your dog, I just don't think it's good business. We have a good reputation and our students are continuing on to competition and titling so I think we're doing well. The people in our classes have been coming to us for 1-3 years. Mary

Though the club I teach for uses the terms LEVEL 1, LEVEL 2, LEVEL 3, etc. we are suffering the same growing pains.  With the rapid growth of agility in our province, it was really difficult to keep up with the demand and meet each student's needs adequately.  These difficulties increased when students came from other instructors whose techniques and philosophies differed from my own. Though they may have had more time on the equipment than some of my Level 1 students, many came with problems and phobias that required more work than my newbees.

By setting a standard (in criteria) it simplified things somewhat, not many new students meet the criteria required in Level 2 ... and regardless of their proficiency, I have them join my LEVEL 1 (first class) to get the handouts and philosophy and then we go from there.  If I see the team is working well ahead of the rest in that particular group, and I feel I can safely move them up to the next level, I do.

My classes are limited (max. 8 per class) and the last set were filled automatically because the previous group stayed to continue.  I can not add another class for brand new beginners due to the time restraints in the building. (Plus the added fact that I can't physically teach more than 4 hours in one day and give everyone my best). The club I work for is also heavily involved in Conformation classes and lately, it has been said that there are hard feelings regarding the amount of time offered for Agility classes and the amount of $$ spent on equipment.  It's kind of bitter/sweet because the Agility classes are pretty much carrying the club.  So, that's my dilemma.  (c: JoAnne Nelson

I do have some similar problems, however not so serious as it seems in your case. There comes a time when your classes get full, and you need some sort of restructuring to handle this. Offer more classes cannot be the only solution, as you have time and space limitations.

I am facing the following situation. Many new beginners. After half a year one third to the half is quitting because of their different reasons (physical inabilities of the dogs, not enough time for this kind of hobby, etc.). One year later another third (or more) is quitting.

From next year on I will have 3 assistants/trainers, which means I can change the training structure in terms of classes. Until now mainly I did all the training with some assistance from above mentioned people.

What I will do from next year on is allow more students on the area (we are training outdoor only) and divide them into groups. Groups are taught by the different trainers.

This is the new structure for classes:
For Beginners I will set up a pre-class test to evaluate the way dog and handler work together. I want to eliminate aggressive dogs right from the beginning, I look on focus, recalls, ability to play. Beginners I class will cover the first "half" of the obstacles. We will also start on the "difficult" ones like weaves and tire, but put the focus on the basic stuff. I end this class with a test, that contains a sequence of these "basic" obstacles plus some obedience tasks that are important for agility (recall, stay, walking on both sides, wait calmly while handler walks the course). Those who make it will proceed to "Beginner II", where we cover the "advanced" obstacles including full height for jumps and contacts. At the end of this course there is also a test, consisting of a sequence of those advanced obstacles together with some advanced obedience work (including basic handling techniques as lead outs, changing sides).

After the team manages this test they will move up to "Intermediate" level, where the focus is to teach the handling skills. They will learn to run courses. They will move up to "Competition" level, where we do the advanced handling techniques and course work.

By Before I had "Beginner" "Intermediate" and "Competition". After a half year the group automatically "moved" up. In single cases I put teams to another level if they were too far out of this level. Now, I hope to have more equal performance in each level. And with these tests I set up clear criteria for the people. Otherwise some people don't understand why you want to move them into another group. Another advantage is that I can clearly see where I have the biggest needs. I can be flexible in the number of classes for each level. Together with my co-trainers I can have Beginner I running at the same time as Beginner II for example. And with that pre-class test I can make sure to take only that amount of new students I can handle.

I will start this from next year on. That means I cannot tell you now whether this will really work or not. But this is my approach to that situation. Diana Martin