Practices
Girsh Park
All GVDC classes & practices are held at Girsh Park in Goleta unless otherwise noted.
Directions to Girsh Park
7050 Phelps Road, Goleta, CA
Get off Hwy 101 in Goleta at Storke Road. Turn toward the ocean. Go past the Home Depot Center for two streets and turn right onto Phelps Road at the light. Turn into the 3rd parking lot on the right. Look for our large white equipment trailer parked near the field, GVDC uses that area referred to as the “multi-use meadow.”
Regular Practice Sessions
Agility practices are held weekly depending on season and field availability and are free for GVDC members and $10 for non-members. They are held at Girsh Park in Goleta and all participants are asked to either come early to help with equipment set up, or stay late to help with take down. Handlers and dogs attending practice sessions are required to have taken agility classes and/or have some experience with using agility equipment safely. Special “pre-trial” practice sessions may also be scheduled from time to time. Please see the calendar page for practice schedules.
Regarding rainy weather, running or setting up equipment on soggy ground can damage the field. We don’t want to lose our privileges at Girsh Park! Please assume that if there is rain within 24 hours of the scheduled practice or classes, all sessions are canceled. If the fields are determined usable, then an email will be sent out that practice is on—Club Members please check our Google Group for weather-related updates.
Pay ‘n Play Practice Sessions
GVDC occasionally schedules Pay ‘n Play sessions. A little more formal than a regular practice, a full course is set up and participants can do as many runs as time permits. The cost is usually $10 per GVDC Member dog per run. Check the calendar page for upcoming Pay ‘n Play events. See the “About” page for club membership information. Please contact Anne Swan for additional questions about Pay ‘n Play sessions. Email: ZipnKiwi@aol.com or call 805-705-6847.
Special Note: Please remember that at any Club practice, participants are expected to help with setting up the equipment before the session and/or taking it down afterword. Everyone pitching in and helping out is what makes a great club!
1) GVDC field use times are now defined, meaning we only have certain hours that we are allowed to use the field. You can find the days and times that our classes and practices are held on the GVDC Calendar page.
2) GVDC field use times are under the supervision of Anne, Mia, Kelly, or someone else we place in charge, and requires approval prior to use. This means that even if the field is reserved for GVDC class time and we are not there, please do not come onto the field with your own equipment, or open the trailer and bring out equipment without permission.
3) Please do not come to the park during non-GVDC hours and open the trailer to use equipment, run your dogs on the field, or bring out your own equipment for a personal practice. For example, our club does not have any usage hours on Saturdays (with the exception of pre-approved events such as seminars) so please do not arrive on that day to use the field.
4) Dogs must be on-leash from your car to the field, and back. They are not allowed to run off-leash around the outside of the fenced in area or parking lot (not to potty, warm-up, chase a ball, etc). Girsh Park staff and County Animal Control have been really cracking down on the general public allowing their dogs to run off-leash outside of the field, and they requested that we notify our members of this policy.