Frisbee contest features dogs’ aerial abilities

Boo, a 2-year-old mix, gets airborne for a Frisbee during the SkyHoundz Frisbee Disc Championship while Terry Burnett of Kansas City, Mo., background, removes something leftover by Boo in the lawn at South Park on Sunday. Dog owners and spectators watched as local dogs and area dogs showed off their leaping abilities.

Wyatt, a 2-year-old black-and-white border collie, looked like he was born for Sunday’s Skyhoundz Frisbee Disc Championship at South Park. As Wyatt’s owner, Wichita resident Chad Widener, flung the Frisbee over the marked course, the dog gracefully chased, then chomped, on the airborne disc. The crowd oohed and aahed, while spectator dogs whined and whimpered, perhaps jealously.

Then there was Oscar, a beagle-setter-cattle-dog mix of unknown age.

Owner Bryce Ostrom, of Lawrence, rescued Oscar from a shelter, and the dog clearly lacked some of the talent and speed of the more youthful dogs.

“It’s like a track meet out here,” said Ostrom as he surveyed the other competitors, some from the Kansas City Disc Dogs group.

But what Oscar lacked in ability, he made up for in enthusiasm.

After his first round, in which dogs and owners were given a minute to complete as many throws and catches as possible — with more points given for longer throws — Oscar continued to jump and bite at the disc in Ostrom’s hand.

“He’s still having a good time,” Ostrom said.

The competition, sponsored by the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department, was paired up with Sunday’s Art in the Park across the street. The event has become a tradition in Lawrence and drew a healthy crowd of more than a hundred spectators.

For Oscar, the competition offered a little variety to his exercise regimen.

“We get out of the house and do something different than walk around the block,” Ostrom said.