CEDAR FALLS - Success was achieved through leaps and bounds at the Hyperflite Skyhoundz Local Championship on Sunday, where area dogs and their owners competed to see who could catch the most flying discs in 60 seconds.

The Skyhoundz competition has been around since the late 1970s, according to event coordinator Martie Reineke, who has hosted the event in Cedar Falls for the last eight years.

"I'm a teacher, and dogs are the best students. They all give 100 percent effort. They go all out," Reineke said.

Nine dogs from a variety of breeds and their humans came out to the Lincoln School playground to compete for a gift bag from Emporium Pets and Taylor Veterinary Clinic. The top three finishers also received a free photo of the dog in action compliments of McKenna-McNelly Photography, which took photos of the event.

Any dog, regardless of experience, can participate in a Skyhoundz local competition. Registration was held on-site, but walk-ons were encouraged.

"We get a lot of people just walking by with their dog who decide to participate on the fly," Reineke said.

Each dog was given one minute to catch as many disks as their owner could throw. Only standard competition disks were allowed, which were provided by Hyperflite, unless the dog had their own disk they were particularly attached to.

The owner was required to stand behind a certain line at one end of the field and throw to the dog, who earned points for how far out they caught the disk. Distance was marked by points, with the furthest distance earning the dog five points. An extra half point was awarded if all four paws were off the ground when the disk was caught.

"Labs and herding dogs tend to be predominant, because the labs retrieve and the herders love to work hard," Reineke said. "Although the winner last year was neither of those breeds." Vinny was the winner last year. He is a smaller dog and very speedy, said Reineke.

At the end of two rounds each dog's score was totaled up and a winner was announced. Once again it was Vinny, a 6-year-old rat and fox terrier mix, who took home first place with 19.5 points.

"This is our fourth year out here, and he's actually won three out of the four years," Neil Showers, Vinny's owner, said. "He loves to play to the crowd, he's such a ham."

Vinny was so enthusiastic about playing catch that he barked after every toss, even with the disk still in his mouth.

Coming in at a close second place with 18.5 points was 2- year-old Nina, a chocolate lab. This year was Nina's second time competing in the Skyhoundz competition. She also came in second last year.

During her time up catching the discs, Nina was so excited she was running circles around Tim, her thrower.

Contact Samantha Donisi

at newsroom@wcfcourier.com