International Weight Pull Association, Inc.

Pull Rules

From Rule Booklet (Revised 7/96)

Quick index to sections. V. C. lists the rules followed during a pull event.

I. SECTION 1 - Physical Area

A. SNOW

The weight pulling chute shall be in an area not less than ten (10) feet but no more than twenty (20) feet wide, and not less than thirty-five (35) feet long. The chute will open on the end toward which the pull is made. The chute shall be as level as hard packed snow permits. If there is any perceptible slope to the chute, the direction of the pull shall be toward the higher end. There shall be at least one (1) physical barrier separating the crowd from the chute. Dogs shall achieve traction on the same surface as that on which the sled rides.

B. WHEELED

The dimensions and the description of the weight pull chute shall be the same for wheeled pulls as for snow pulls. The chute shall be as level and firm as conditions permit. Acceptable surfaces shall be grass, hard packed dirt, gravel or carpet. Dogs shall achieve traction on the same surface as that on which the cart rides.

C. HOLDING AREA

A safe and adequate holding area shall be provided for both snow or wheeled pulls. All competing dogs shall remain in a marked or designated holding area. The holding area shall adequately and safely hold the number of dogs in competition.

II. SECTION 2 - Equipment

A. SNOW

The sled must be capable of safely carrying a load of 4000 lbs. The two runners must be two (2) to four (4) inches wide an at least seven (7) feet long on the contect surface and curved at the front end in a reasonable manner for a sled. The runners shall consist of a p-tex material or a steel runner. The sled must be a minimum of thirty (30) inches in width and no more than forty-eight (48) inches in width. The sled shall be provided with an adequate bridle and tugline of total length so that the point of attachment to the dog's harness will not exceed six (6) feet from the sled. The bridle shall be made of rope or nylon. Chains or cable will not be allowed. The sled bridle shall be tied together at a point 2' - 3' in front of the sled. The bridle will look like a Y. For the thirty-five (35) pound class a smaller and lighter sled may be substituted as approved by the Chief Judge.

B. WHEELED

If the pull is held on a surface other than snow, a wheeled cart shall be used. It must be capable of safely carrying a load of 4000 lbs. The cart must have four (4) pneumatic tires which must all have the same air pressure prior to the event. The tires shall not be less than eight (8) inches in height and no more than eighteen (18) inches in height. A spare tire for the cart should be available at the pull site (this shall be mandatory for 91-92 weight pull season). The bridle shall be made of rope or nylon. Chains or cable will not be allowed. The cart bridle shall not be tied. The snap should be able to slide freely from side to side. This bridle will look like a long V.

C. WEIGHT

An adequate supply of pre-weighted, inert material suitable for safe, stable stacking shall be provided. This is applicable for both snow and wheeled pulls.

D. BARRIERS

The chute barrier shall be a minimum of three (3) feet high and long enough so that dogs being driven from the rear will complete their pull within the barrier. The chute barrier shall be located at the very edge of the pulling pad, within the chute area. The best possible barriers shall be encouraged, but any one material shall not be mandatory. The following would be considered appropriate chute barriers: plywood, snow fence, wood planks, hog panels and other materials that possess a bouncing-off or glancing ability when struct by the sled. (If the sled or cart becomes stuck or lodged on a barrier, it would then be considered a tangle -- see Tangle Rule V-C-10). A crowd barrier is required to separate the spectators a minimum distance of three (3) feet from the pulling chute. A rope barrier is considered adequate for this purpose.

III. SECTION 3 - Officials

A. SNOW & WHEELED

The event will be governed by the Chief Judge. To insure that the I.W.P.A. has qualified officials at its events, all Chief Judges shall be selected from a list approved by the I.W.P.A. Board of Directors. (A list of approved judges comes in the sanctioning kits, or is also available from the sanctioning director.)

1. The Chief Judge shall supervise the over-all event. He/She shall make all final decisions in any protest or dispute, before, during, and after the event. The Chief Judge has the right to disqualify any dog or handler for any violation of the rules or unsportsmanlike conduct, before, during, and after the event.

2. The organizer of the event shall be responsible for the completion of all forms, handlers reports, and information required by the I.W.P.A. and a statement verifying that all I.W.P.A. rules were adhered to. Failure to comply with I.W.P.A. rules, especially rules that deal with safety, the welfare of the dog, or put the I.W.P.A. in a liable situation, shall be grounds for loss of sanctioning including insurance coverage.

3. The Sled Course Marshal shall be responsible for the safe and proper stacking of weight on the sled/cart, proper positioning of the sled/cart, hooking up of the dogs to the sled/cart, breaking the sled when pulling on snow, and maintenance of the pulling course.

4. A qualified timer shall time each pull and report that time directly to the official recorder. The recorder shall post the weight pulled and the time required to the official score sheet. (The timer and recorder shall be supervised by the Chief Judge.)

IV. SECTION 4 - Contestants

A. ELIGIBILITY

1. All contestants must be either a regular member of the I.W.P.A., or a provisional member to enter a dog in competition in any I.W.P.A. sanctioned weight pull. Dogs pulled by provisional members count for points but receive no points. Dogs participating in I.W.P.A. sanctioned events for points need to be owned and pulled by members (not necessarily the same member). The dog assumes the address of it's current owner.

2. All dogs must be at least one (1) year of age and not more than 12 years of age to compete in any I.W.P.A. event. The physical condition of the dog should always be taken into consideration and the Chief Judge may disqualify any dog they feel will be in danger of injury.

3. All dogs must be currently immunized against any contagious canine diseases (hepatitis, distemper, leptospirosis, pavovirus, kennel cough, etc.). Use of all controlled drugs, stimulants or depressants shall be strictly prohibited. If an organization intends to test for illegal drug medications, it shall be declared so on the entry form.

4. All contestants shall fill out an official I.W.P.W. entry form or its approved equivalent and sign it. Approval of a non-official entry form shall be up to the Chief Judge.

5. No bitch in season shall be allowed to compete or allowed to be on the premises.

6. No pregnant bitch shall be allowed to compete in an I.W.P.A. event.

7. For the safty and protection of the dog, all dogs shall be fitted properly with a freight or weight pull type harness.

8. Any person found to be participating in a dog fighting competition shall be barred from membership in I.W.P.A. due to abusive or inhumane treatment of dogs.

B. HANDLER CONDUCT AND CONTROL OF DOGS

All entrants shall be responsible for the conduct of their dogs and handler before, during and after the event. Vicious or unmanageable dogs shall be barred from competition. Unsportsmanlike conduct toward animals, officials, handlers or spectators will be cause for disciplinary action and/or disqualification. All dogs shall be under physical control, on a short lead, while in the pull area, except when hooked to the sled or cart. All handlers shall be responsible for the cleaning up after their own dogs. Abusive or inhumane treatement of a dog shall be strictly prohibited and shall be cause for disqualification.

C. WEIGHT CLASSES

35 pounds - all dogs weighing 35 lbs. or less

60 pounds - all dogs weighing more than 35 lbs. up to and including 60 lbs.

80 pounds - all dogs weighing more than 60 lbs. up to and including 80 lbs.

100 pounds - all dogs weighing more than 80 lbs. up to and including 100 lbs.

120 pounds - all dogs weighing more than 100 lbs. up to and including 120 lbs.

Unlimited - all dogs weighing more than 120 lbs.

All weights shall be rounded off to the lowest whole pound. EXAMPLE: A dog weighing 60 3/4 lbs. would be recorded as 60 lbs.

D. WEIGH-INS

All dogs shall be weighed prior to each I.W.P.A. sanctioned weight pull (multiple or consecutive day pulls by the same organization require only one weigh-in). The weigh-in shall be no more than 24 hours prior to competition. All recorded dog weights shall be rounded to the lowest whole pound. Dogs shall wear only a standard collar during weigh-in. In the event that the dog's weight exceeds the scale's capacity, but it is obvious the dog is in the Unlimited class it will be eligible to compete for points, but not Working Dog certificates or best percentage.

V. SECTION 5 - The Contest

A. ORGANIZING CLUB OPTION

The organizing club has the option to run the weight pull event class by class or in conjunction with another class or to run the event concurrently (one class at a time).

B. COMPETING IN HEAVIER WEIGHT CLASS

The dog that wins its weight class shall not be allowed to compete in the next weight class. However the winning dog shall be allowed to pull as many times as it wants to establish a top percentage pull. These percentage pulls shall be at the established load increment or more.

C. PROCEDURE OF THE WEIGHT PULL EVENT

1. Each dog shall be required to pull a loaded sled/cart a measured sixteen (16) feet within 60 seconds, the dog shall be allowed to complete the pull and the actual time required to make the pull shall be recorded.

3a. During the pull the handler's feet may be no further forward than the front of the sled/cart when driving the dog, or their feet shall be behind the designated line 16 feet from the starting line when calling the dog. The handler shall not touch the dog, equipment or pulling surface between the start and finish line until the cart/sled crosses the 16 foot line.

3b. Once the dog is in position in front of the sled/cart, no physical handling of the dog will be allowed. The judge will direct the handler to physically reposition the dog if there is a tangle, false start or equipment failure. Handling consists of anyone touching the dog, its harness, the sled, or any other part of the equipment or load. The dog is considered to be in position when the handler moves more than an arms length away from the dog.

3c. Only one handler is allowed to communicate with the dog, either with hand signals and/or voice commands from the course area.

3d. The handler shall be allowed to position his/her dog anywhere between the wheels/runners in front of the starting line at the end of the extended tug line. The dog shall be positioned with enough slack in the tug line to prevent the dog from inadvertently moving the sled or cart. There shall not be so much slack as to allow a "sling shot start."

4. The handler may pass one or two turns but must pull on the third turn. Once the dog is hooked up to the sled/cart the handler may not pass in that round except as stated in Section 5 #11. (Dogs are no longer required to pull the starting weight).

5. Starting weights to be pulled shall not exceed:

These weights are maximum starting weights. If poor pulling conditions exist, the Chief Judge may adjust the starting weights lower to match the conditions.

6. The time will start once the handler is in the proper position and instructs the dog to pull, or the dog starts to pull.

7. When on snow the sled shall be broken in the following manner: There shall be a break line 2 feet BEHIND the designated start line. The front of the sled shall be positioned at the break line. The Chief Judge shall then direct the following sequence: (1) The sled to be positioned at the start line with the sled runners perpendicular to the start line. (2) The pulling pad to be cleared of all sled marshalls (unless the handler requests assistance in hooking up the dog). (3) The handler to leave the on deck circle, hook up the dog and the pull to commence.

8. Two false starts on any one turn by the dog shall constitute the dog's removal from the competition. A false start is defined as any time the dog makes a forward progress with the sled or cart before the handler's feet are either across the 16 foot finish line if calling the dog or behind the start line if driving the dog.

9. The handler has the option of having the cart placed anywhere on the starting line as long as the wheels are perpendicular to the start line. The handler has the option to reposition the cart one time. No test rolling of the cart shall be allowed.

10a. In the event of a tangle, at the judges descretion the judge will stop the clock and the handler must realign the dog and harness before the pull is resumed. Two tangles on the same turn will constitute the dog's removal from the competition.

10b. If the sled/cart becomes stuck on a barrier of the pulling pad it shall be considered a tangle. The clock would be stopped and the sled/cart would then be freed of the barrier at the point of which it was stuck. The dog would be allowed to continue the pull with the remaining time left on the clock. Two tangles on the barrier on the same turn shall constitute the dog's removal from the competition.

10c. Tangles are called at the Chief Judge's discretion. A tangle shall be called by the judge only if the dog or any of the equipment in use becomes entangled.

11. If any part of the harness or other equipment breaks, the handler shall have 60 seconds to repeat the pull after repairs. He/she may choose to accept this interrupted pull as a pass.

12. No food, treats, bait, whips, noisemakers, muzzles, pinch collars, or any related aid shall be permitted to be used from the time the event begins until the dog is eliminated from competition and removed from the pull area. Handlers shall not have food or bait on their person during the competition.

13. No dogs, including those not entered in competition shall be allowed in the area ahead of the starting line, except the dog that is pulling.

14. There shall be a marked "on deck" area behind, but near the starting end of the pull chute. This marked area shall house only the next dog to pull.

15. Load increments shall be determined by the Chief Judge and a simple majority of the handlers. (A load increment usually considered appropriate for the 35 pound class is 40 to 50 lbs. For the larger classes it may be as much as 100 to 200 lbs. or more). The Chief Judge shall recommend the load increments to the handlers, considering the pulling conditions and the welfare of the dogs.

16. The dog pulling the most weight in its class is declared the winner. Each successive dog pulling a lower weight is placed second, third, etc. If two or more dogs pull the same weight the required distance and can pull no more weight the full distance, the winner is determined by the fastest time in the previous pull.

17. If the dog is competing for the best percentage pull, after all other dogs in the class have been eliminated from the competition, the dog may continue to pull heavier weights. The weight increments shall be at least the designated increment but can be more.

18. The maximum number of dogs handled in a given weight class by one handler shall be limited to no more than two (2) dogs per weight class.