Pickleball
(Adults) For fun and light exercise, pickleball
is hard to beat. Come alone or bring a
friend; we’ll show you how. (Don’t be a
sourpuss, be a pickler!) The net is lower
than most other racquet sports allowing
for faster play. The game is played with a
lightweight, hard paddle and a whiffle ball.
Some paddles are available, but ongoing
participants are encouraged to purchase
their own paddles. Coordinator: Carlos
Xavier (360) 341-1449 or xaviers@whidbey.
com.
Dates: Thu, Feb 16 - Mar 22
Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: Langley Middle School “Cooler” Gym
Ages: Adults
Fee: $32.61 (includes tax)
Golf Lessons
(Adults & youth 12+ with an adult) Keepers
of the Game members Bob Brown and Jim
Corbett will run this four-week golf program
for new golfers, those wanting to tidy up
their skills, and those returning to the game.
Includes three sessions on the power swing
and one on the short game, giving you
the opportunity to learn this lifetime sport.
Classes will take place rain or shine. This
program fills up, so register early! Max 8.
Dates: Sat, Apr 28 - May 19
Time: 9:00am - 10:00am
Ages: Adults & youth 12+ with an adult
Location: Island Greens Golf Course
Fee: $42
Hula Hoop - Whirlwind Workout
Here is your opportunity to join a group of hula hoopers! In this class, we will learn ways to use the hula hoop as a cardio fitness tool. This class is drop in, so you may sign up either online or at the class.
Dates: Wed, Nov 9 - Jan 4
Time: 5:00pm - 6:00pm
Location: SWPRD Recreation Building, 5475 Maxwelton Road, Langley
Ages: Adults
Fee: $10 per class
Hula Hoopla: Basics & Beyond
Come learn to move, shake and shimmy with a hula hoop. This exiciting and fun class lets you explore new ways to express yourself through movement and play. Beautiful HD. Hoop and music provided.
Adults & High School students: Wed, Jan 11 - Feb 15 OR Wed, Feb 22 - Mar 28, 5:00pm - 6:00pm
Middle School students: Wed, Jan 11 - Feb 15 OR Wed, Feb 22 - Mar 28; 2:30pm - 3:30pm
Location: SWPRD Rec Center
Instructor: Malia Flood
Fee: $42 or $10 drop in
Clam Digging 101: Diggin' for Dinner
(All Ages, Youth with an Adult) Get out of
your shell at this informational and handson workshop on clamming in our area.
Learn about gear, harvesting regulations,
where to go, and practical how-to lessons.
Sample steamed clams and enjoy the
beach at low tide. You’ll take home your clam harvest, a clam measuring tool
(one per family), and yummy recipes for
serving up your finds. Each person will
need shoes that can get muddy, a water
bottle, a bucket, and a small shovel or
hand cultivator for each person wanting
to harvest clams. Limited space available,
register by Apr 1.
Date:
Sat, Apr 7
Time:
11:30AM – 1:30PM
Location: Scatchet Head community
private beach and picnic shelter at
3742 Driftwood Dr, Clinton.
Fee: $5 or $15/family*
* We will apply for, and most likely receive,
a free one-day group fishing license. In the
unlikely event that we are not awarded this
license you will need to purchase a clam
license, for around $10. Children under the age of 15 do not need a license.
K9 Nosework Classes
Does your dog need more exercise? Does he need more confidence? Does he just need a job? This class will teach you how to encourage and develop your dog’s natural scenting abilities by using his desire to hunt and his love of food, toys, and exercise. It is a perfect course for dogs to have fun, build confidence and focus, and burn lots of mental and physical energy, even when it’s too cold or rainy to venture outside because nosework can be taught and practiced indoors with minimal space and equipment needs.
The sport also brings special benefits for dogs with issues such as lack of confidence or focus, being overly-reactive around other dogs and/or people, dogs convalescing from medical problems or living with disabilities (hearing or sight impairment, loss of a limb), generalized social or situational anxiety preventing them from joining a typical group training class, and retired conformation, competition, service, or working dogs in need of a job to keep them busy and happy.
Dogs of all breeds, ages, and abilities are welcome – from the young unfocused puppy to the elderly dog no longer able participate in long walks or rough-and-tumble dog play at the park – all will be successful and have fun. Owners, too! No dog training experience is necessary.
Two introductory classes meet weekly for 90 minutes beginning in September. The class instructor is
Georgia Edwards, CNWI/National Association of Canine Scent Work, who may be reached at
360-579-1030 or emailed at k9nosework@whidbey.net.
*If there are 5 or less dog/handler teams per class, the class will be one hour long; if there are 6 – 8 teams, the class will be 90 minutes long.
Click here to read the recent Everett Herald news article about the sport of K9 Nosework.
Beginning Nosework (NW-1)
Keep your dog busy, tired and happy with K9 nosework! This fast growing dog sport teaches how to encourage and develop your dog's amazing natural scenting ability by using it's desire to hunt and it's love of food, toys and exercise. This exciting detection-style activity is appropriate for dogs of any age, breed, size or physical ability and handlers of all ages and abilities. No dog training experience is necessary and each dog works separately, so this is a perfect class for dogs unsuited for a group class setting. The ability to conduct indoor searches makes the sport ideal mental and physical exercise for our rainy climate.
Dates: Sun, Jan 8 - Feb 19 (no class Jan 15): 11:00am – 12:30pm* OR
Tue, Jan 10 - Feb 21; 11:00am - 12:30pm*
Location: SW Parks and Recreation Building, 5475 Maxwelton Rd, Langley
Instructor: Georgia Edwards
Fee: $140
Introduction to Odor (NW 2-A)
Continue to expand the talents of your dog’s nose, hone his hunting ability, and sharpen your handling skills so that when the search for odor is introduced, the dog’s desire to play the game is very strong and you will have established good teamwork with the dog. We will start working in new environments and introduce blind hides to test the handler’s knowledge and ability to read their dog. Prerequisite: Intro to K9 Nosework.
Dates: Sun, Jan 8 - Feb 19 (no class Jan 15)
Time: 1:00pm - 2:30pm*
Location: SW Parks & Recreation Building, 5475 Maxwelton Rd
Instructor: Georgia Edwards
Fee: $140
Working with Odor (NW 2-B)
Now that your dog knows how to find the odor of your choice, we will gradually begin to wean him off of self-rewarding food treats and begin to work with odor alone and the love of the hunt as reward. Hides will become more complex, driven by changes in the dog’s environment. Handlers will work on observation of the dog’s body language to communicate the location of blind hides.
Prerequisite: successful completion of Introduction to Odor (NW 2-A)
Dates: Tue, Jan 10 - Feb 21
Time: 1:00pm - 2:30pm*
Location: SW Parks & Recreation Building, 5475 Maxwelton Rd
Instructor: Georgia Edwards
Fee: $140
Continuing Nosework (NW 3)
Now the real fun begins! Dogs will be introduced to additional odors and we will focus on better communication with your dog, working thresholds, the approach to corners, search grids and others - a big challenge for both the dogs and handlers! Field trips may be planned, depending on interest and the weather (additional fees may be required). Prerequisite: successful completion of NW2A and recognition of birch.
Dates: Sun, Jan 8 - Feb 19 (no class Jan 15)
Time: 3:00pm - 4:30pm*
Location: SW Parks & Recreation Building, 5475 Maxwelton Rd
Instructor: Georgia Edwards
Fee: $140
Master Class (NW-MC)
These classes will be held intermittently
to present clinics, seminars, lectures, and
demonstrations by experts in the field of K-9 Nosework. Mock ORTs and trials to polish
the skills of the dog-handler team prior
to competition will also be run. Speakers,
times, location & fee to be announced
for each event. Contact Georgia for more information.
Private Lessons (NW-PL)
Private lessons can be arranged with the
instructor. If you want to “sample” nosework
to decide if it is the right training venue for
your dog before enrolling in a class or if you
are already training with your dog and want
to brush up on a particular skill or work to
master a training problem, contact Georgia
directly to arrange time and place.
By appointment, $25/dog per hour.
Items to Bring to Nosework Class
- Hungry & motivated dog – skip breakfast on the day of class or give only half of the usual meal. If you have a high-energy dog, please don’t burn them out with a long hike or play session before class.
- Your dog’s favorite, high-value treats; bring a few different kinds. Please avoid crumbly or crunchy cookie-type treats.
- Treat pouch or bait bag in which to put the food – no plastic baggies.
- Collar (buckle or martingale) or harness that is used ONLY for nosework. No slip or pinch collars or head halters and no Easy Walk harnesses.
- Leash (6 foot, leather or nylon). Please remove all dangling items (dog waste holders, charms, etc.) so as to not distract the dog.
- Comfortable bed or crate in your car for dog to rest when not working.
- Fresh drinking water & bowl.
- Dog waste bags for clean-up.
- Proof of vaccinations against rabies, parvo and distemper. Your vet can fax vaccination records to (360) 579-1040 prior to first class, or you can bring vet records with you. Rabies “collar tags” are not sufficient.
Instructors:
Georgia Edwards, Canine CV
A physician by profession, Georgia has been involved in training, breeding, and competition sports with Bouvier des Flanders dogs for more than 20 years. During that time, she has trained and titled at least one dog in each of the following venues: herding, carting, obedience, agility, and Schutzhund, and had the only Versatile Bouvier Champion in the US in 1999 as well as other dogs with Versatility titles. Al of her dogs have been certified hospital therapy dogs through Therapy Dog International and she served as both physician liason to the Pet Therapy program for the Cottage Health System as well as helping to develop its testing program and screening of dog/handler teams for hospital work. For many years in Southern California, she and her dogs participated in the “Meet the Breed” programs, introducing the Bouvier des Flanders to the public at dog shows, including the AKC/Eukanuba National Championships.
Georgia has taught agility and carting classes and seminars and written articles for the Southern California Bouvier des Flandres Club, the Pacific Gateway Working Bouvier Club, and the North American Working Bouvier Association. She recently completed all the coursework required for certification as a canine nosework instructor through the National Association for Canine Scent Work with Miriam Rose and Ron Gaunt. Her current Bouvier, Hawkeye, has successfully completed the first two levels of odor recognition testing and will enter competition this spring; he will be one of the nosework “demo” dogs at the Seattle Kennel Club show in March 2011. Georgia can be contacted through email at k9nosework@whidbey.net or at 360-579-1030.
Miriam Rose, CPDT-KA, CNWI
This exciting and inclusive dog sport was devised to bring the world of scent detection to the dog owning public for the delight the activity brings to dogs and their people. Miriam is the first and only Certified Nose Work Instructor (CNWI) with the National Association of Canine Scent Work (NACSW) in the state of Washington and teaches in adherence to their methods.
Miriam’s life has revolved around dogs since she was nine years old, when she trained her first dog, a German Shepherd, in obedience. She owned and trained a series of German Shepherds in her growing up years and later chose Giant Schnauzers; first as her companions and later as her working partners. Over many years Miriam has schooled her own dogs for conformation, obedience, agility, and tracking and pursued her own education in ‘all things dog’ including clicker work, protection dog sports, and service dog training. Miriam’s love of scent work for dogs and her belief in their unparalleled talent for it have led her to an unusual passion and path in life.
Since 2000 Miriam has owned and operated Verity Services, which provides drug and explosive detection dog services to schools, businesses, and private homes. She and her dogs have worked in schools from Maryland to New Mexico successfully searching for drugs and other contraband to help keep children safe. In addition, over the past 5 years, she has partnered with various international corporations to work their dogs to screen ships’ stores for explosives for the cruise ships sailing from Seattle during the Alaska cruise season. She and her K9 partners search up to ten thousand pallets a season to keep passengers and crew from harm. During the Christmas shopping season she has also worked explosive detection dogs for NW regional shopping malls.
When not teaching Nose Work classes or working her detection dogs, Miriam works with private clients’ dogs to solve their behavior problems, volunteers to assist rescued Giant Schnauzers in the region, tests dogs for law enforcement careers on a pro-bono basis, furthers her education in detection dogs, pet dog training, and selective breeding at seminars in the US, Canada, and Europe, and also assists the WA Dept. of Veterans Affairs to establish a program to train assistance dogs for veterans with PTSD. She is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and holds the CPDT-KA (Certified Pet Dog Trainer – Knowledge Applied) certification.
Co-Ed Adult Dodgeball
It’s not just for
kids any more! Grab your friends, family
members and neighbors and have fun
while burning off the holiday pounds. Play
the game how it was meant to be played:
with you as the target. If you’re looking for
an indoor activity to get you through these
long winter months, then we’ve got the
sport for you.
We use special coated foam “gator” balls
that are designed for speed, accuracy, and
minimal risk of injury. These are not the
old rubber playground balls. Games are
self-officiated. “Team Captains” are needed
to make this program a success. Contact
Carrie at 221-5484 or programs@whidbey.
com for more information.
Dates: Tue, Feb 7 - Mar 13
Time: 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Location: SW Primary School Gym
Ages: Adults and youth 16+
Fee: $32.61 includes tax
Running Under the Lights
(All ages) Runners of all ages and abilities are welcome to be part of a group that has a great passion for running! Get tips, lessons or just time to run with a group on a well-lit track. We encourage you to come out and run with us! Youth must have parent permission to participate. Participation is at-your-own-risk, and by participating you consent to our standard waiver/release of liability.
Dates: Thu, Nov 10 - Feb 16
Time: 6:00pm - 7:00pm (lights are on starting at 5:15pm)
Location: South Whidbey High School Track
Fee: FREE
