Robin Nuttall said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

[Cool story about trials and tribulations snipped.]

I really wanted to at least have the *chance* to go to
Florida this year, but it takes 4 DQs and with no more
trials until September and only 1 in the bag, it's not
looking likely.

I kind of like the way AAC does its Nationals qualifiers - throw
all of your hopes into one trial. Regionals qualifiers are
split along Provincial/Territorial borders, with mine being
Alberta/NWT. The downside is that you have to travel sometimes
great distances to the qualifier, but the qualifiers move around
the region year-to-year, so it works out in the long run.

The Regionals are held and scored the same way as the Nationals:
2 days each of one round of Gamblers, Jumpers, and Standard. A
side-effect is that this format allows Starters teams to compete
in the Regionals (though very few do), which I think is very
cool. In ours, a JRT was competing in his first ever trial and
did well, though he didn't qualify.

An out, for those whose dogs couldn't enter the Regionals, is
the one day qualifier the day before the Nationals - six rounds
in one day.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.