Episode 349: Boundless Junior Agility Co. with McKenzie Minto

Today we are joined by special guest Mackenzie Minto, and she's here to talk with us all about the Boundless Junior Agility Company.

Welcome to the podcast, Mackenzie. Hi, thank you for having me. This, uh, was on our radar because you recently held one of your Ballast Junior Agility Camps and Ethan, as in Jennifer Crank's son, Ethan, was one of the campers at that camp. And so we've been hearing a little bit about it from that side, but we wanted to talk to you about, What boundless junior agility company is what it does and how it's helping the overall agility community.

So can you start off by telling us a little bit about the company itself? Um, you're one of the essentially like founding, uh, members or people of this company, correct? Yeah, so I'm one of the co directors right now, and I'll talk a little bit about the founding process. A good friend of mine, Sasha Zitter, back when she was 15 years old, realized that she wanted a junior handler camp, and it didn't exist in America.

So she and her co founder took it upon herself to create one. And since then, back in 2017, it has just been growing non stop ever since then, and I have been lucky enough to have been brought on as a current co director now, and I have kind of a unique experience in that I Back when it was founded, I was also a camper for a couple of years.

And now I'm on the other side of that as a director. And we really, we just want to just increase the, the level of resources and opportunities and community as former junior handlers ourselves. We know that experience very well. And we know that this is a demographic that we want to strengthen and promote within our sport.

And so we have a number of programs that we are. Working to grow and establish just to support the junior handler community in dog agility. So I currently run BJAC with two co directors named Sasha Zitter and Bina Stewing and together we work to put all the programs together for BJAC. So I have heard of the camp, um, and one of the things I think is really cool about the camp is, um, the fact that y'all will lend dogs to, you know, campers.

And so that was kind of what I knew about boundless agility in general. So at what point did it change from just being, you know, a few camps to being kind of this larger company with a larger mission? Um, So we've had a lot of growth in the last year, I would say. It originally, it was just the camp and it's been increasing.

So it started off with just our east camp, which is on the east coast. That's a summer camp, four days long, and training where the, there's about 40 Campers that train with four instructors throughout the weekend. And when that was going really strong, we added on the West camp. So now we have our West camp, which is about half the size on the West coast.

That's earlier every summer. And more recently we've added some programs such as the boundless agility league that I'll talk more about later, as well as the boundless youth championship. Um, and you bring up a good point about our lap dog situation, which is lend a paw program. So what we found with juniors is that one of the big inhibitors of juniors being able to participate in agility is that they don't have an adequate dog to do agility with.

And so we have this awesome program where we can sort of isolate the training process where the handler herself or himself can really Work on training at our camp with a seasoned dog that is loaned by some local competitor who wants to lend their dog to a junior for the weekend. And that is just such a great way to really spark that interest and passion because they get that, that amazing positive feeling of training and having success on the course with their dog.

And they don't have to worry about any other elements that maybe inhibiting them from running a dog that is not their own. Right. I think that's, um, I think that's really cool. So, um, tell us a little bit of a bit more about how the camps themselves work and, and like what kind of kid, like when you say 40 and then 20 on the West Coast, 60 kids, that seems like a lot of kids.

Like we don't normally see, That many juniors, um, participating in the sports. So where are these kids coming from and what is their experience level in dogs and in dog training generally? So they are all over the place, both in skillset and geography as well. So, yeah, I think all of us former juniors have the experience that on a regular weekend basis, we don't get to see a lot of junior handlers, but they are out there, they're scattered all over the place.

And so. This is what makes BJAC so special, the fact that they can come and be all together, a group of 40 junior handlers, all under the age of 19 years old, and Create this community for a whole weekend and get connections and become friends and hopefully maintain those friendships throughout the whole year.

So it really is all levels. We have four groups in our East camp and it goes from novice to intermediate to advanced to international. And so we have some, um, a really good sort of role model situation happening where these Youth handlers who are very fresh to the sport can also look up to those who have competed overseas on at the junior open world championships.

And in that sense, they're really supporting each other and becoming friends as well. So this year was really special. Ethan is a great example of this because we had the highest number of. Eight, nine and 10 year olds that we've ever had before. So we put them all in one group. They were in a group called dash this summer, and they were just like rambunctious and running around and having an amazing time.

And this is so exciting because they're so young and we hope that we are planting that seed at eight years old and letting them grow up and enjoy the sport for the rest of their lives, hopefully. And just a real quick spoiler. We're actually bringing Ethan on to talk about his experience at the camp.

Um, kind of things from his point of view. So you'll want to stick around to hear it straight from the horse's mouth, uh, in a few minutes here. Um, but, uh, I think that's, it's such an interesting, um, camp that you've put together. And I guess one of the other things that struck me is, um, the level of. Yeah.

Instruction and, um, kind of the people that you're able to bring in to, um, to mentor the kids like from the training perspective. So how do you go about getting people to come in, uh, and teach, um, you know, the kids, you know, like how does that process work? Um, I guess you have to be kind of a certain personality of person to be able to deal with this age range.

Yes, absolutely. So we are very particular about the instructors that we invite to this camp because we not, we want them to not only be Amazing trainers who the kids look up to, but also role models. Um, a big part of our BJAC mission is sportsmanship. That's something that we've incorporated into the whole ethos of our company in the last year.

And so we take it very seriously who we invite to these camps and these instructors that we bring every year. Our saints of human beings, we love them so much. We usually have an amazing time with them. They donate their time actually to be there and support the junior handlers. So that in and of itself is amazing.

Um, I can actually give a little exciting news. So our next instructors for the following year are going to be Angie, Beto, Daisy Peele, Peyton Green, and Dudley Shoe Mates. So these are all really big names. They're very. Well known and respected in the community. And I think that makes the juniors even more excited to train with them.

Yeah, that's amazing. So from the juniors perspective, um, this is a paid camp for them? So yes, it's paid, but it is extremely cheap compared to what most camps would be for what we offer. Um, we are a nonprofit and so we're lucky enough that we have, we collect sponsors and donors and that helps us with the financial aspect of putting on the camp and all of that is for the purpose of lowering these costs and making it more and more accessible to the juniors.

We also have scholarship programs so every year before registration opens we have a number of scholarship opportunities that they can apply to to see if they get maybe a full camp ride you. A camp ride with travel stipend as well, or maybe a half scholarship. So those are some things that we just set aside for juniors who apply.

And, um, overall, I would say that our goal with BJAC is to sort of find anything that is. a barrier in the junior community and combat that. And so with our camps, yes, it is paid, but we do everything we can to make it as accessible as possible. Awesome. And when I was looking through your website, I did notice this brand new inaugural UKI boundless youth championship happening in 2025.

So we're jumping right here. Um, uh, talking about something that has never before been done. Um, so tell us a little bit about this upcoming event. Yes, we are so stoked to be putting that on. We have partnered with UKI to put on the very first youth championship in the United States. Um, something I want to shout out about this is that our own Boundless Ambassador this year named Tessa Trusner, she brought this idea to us.

She said, Hi, I love international competition. Me and my junior friends love international level competition, and we want more opportunities to be prepared for when we go overseas. And so she proposed this idea that we put on a championship and we sort of ran with it. It's happening in June of 2025. In.

North Carolina at Rising Star Canine Ranch. We have Ashley Deacon as the judge and it is open for anyone 25 and younger. So our idea is that it's not just juniors but we're kind of bleeding into the young adult category as well and giving them opportunities too. And this UKI partnership is amazing.

We're so thankful to be partnering with them. They have not only helped us with the organization side of it but they are offering W. A. O. Win on spots for these juniors. So the highest junior can win on a spot. So one junior in each height can win on a spot into the World Agility Open 2026 after this event.

So that's so exciting. And if you happen to be above the junior age range, such as the 18 to 25 age range, if you win, you can win buys to the U. S. Open. So all of that is coming out in a premium in October. And registration will be opening in April. That is amazing. So when you say it's a win on spot for the WAO, does that give them an automatic spot onto team USA?

Or is this what kind of like one of those at large spots that WAO has? So it's optional. It's treated the same way as the one TDC invitational spot in that you can choose to do a wildcard junior spot or team USA junior spot. Is this open only to American handlers? No, it's actually open to international.

We'd love to invite anyone from international come to America, come compete. It is an open championship. So there's no regulations about titles or anything that you need to have on your dog. Um, And fun fact, if you have podiums, this will be in the premium, but if you have podiums at any of the other big junior events, such as the junior world agility championships, you get an automatic buy into round three of our event.

All of that sounds so cool. And one thing that I really thought was interesting about this, um, 25 and younger is that Estevan and I have often talked about, um, different ways to support the community and. One thing that we had literally discussed is that exact age range, that like super early twenties or like basically, you know, 18, you know, the next four years, like college level kids, because we have a college level kid, right?

So we understand that our 19 year old does not have Time funds money means to do anything right without our help and so we had often talked about how college age kids who are interested in the sport need just as much support maybe even more than the 18 and under because the 18 and under have. Um, well, if their parents are, are supportive of the sport, they have that parental support.

Whereas once you get to kind of 18, 19, 20, 21, you're kind of weaning off of the parent support, but you don't really have a lot of your own. So I think it's really interesting and, and unique and, and insightful that this, um, championship has been opened up to everybody 25 and younger. Cause I do think that that's a demographic that, um, That can excel in the sport, um, but also needs a little bit more.

Yeah. And college specifically, I would love to see agility become a college sport. Um, I was someone who I was a junior handler and I took my dog to college with me and continued my agility endeavors throughout college, but there really is not any program in place. There's no structure. In which that I can compete and so I would love to see that be established more and that might be something that be Jack takes on in the future and you had mentioned that this idea of this event came to you from your ambassador and that is another thing that I I noticed that I thought was really interesting.

Tell us about that program and kind of what the responsibilities of that person are and and how that works. Yeah, so every calendar year we pick a boundless junior ambassador and this is just to sort of reinforce our idea that we don't just want to bring up the strongest competitors on the field, but we really want to shape competitors on and off the course.

So our ambassador, the criteria for that is that you are sportsmanlike, have character, you include people, you uplift other people. And so we're kind of. The three of us directors are always having our eyes out for anyone who is exhibiting those qualities. So our current junior handler, her name is Tessa Trusner, and I've known her from being on the Wayo team with her in the past, and she's just lovely, and she's a strong competitor, and the responsibility is just that You post on social media for us every once in a while and you wear our merch to events and you talk about BJAC and just kind of spread the word about our program and the perks of it is that you get some money stipend to compete and we give you a bunch of merch and we uplift you and it's, it's great.

So we're currently looking for our next Boundless Ambassador for 2025. That's amazing. All right. So those are the programs that really jumped out to me when I was kind of looking through your website. Are there any other programs kind of within the boundless, uh, junior, um, umbrella that you're working on right now?

Yes. So our newest one that we just launched is called the boundless agility league, and it is an online league in which junior handlers can compete and. Do criteria every semester. So it just launched here in September. We have currently 40 dogs participating in it, and it's all virtual because the idea is that we saw that there was a barrier with it.

kids being able to access physical agility training. And so all of this is in their own geography, whether it be in their backyards or the personal field that they rent. And it's very community driven. So we have a discord group that all of them exist in, and it's so much fun to be in that group because they are also uplifting and funny, and they're just, you know, They're just chatting left and right about their agility and how their training day went, and sending videos to one another.

And so, that is just another way that we want to connect juniors, even though they're all scattered across the country. Um, the way that it works is that there are three semesters throughout the year, eight weeks of coursework. And we have designers come in and tell them the courses to run. And they do those courses on a weekly basis and then there are rankings put out and you can win big prizes and stuff based off the rankings by the end of the semester and It goes novice, intermediate, and elite level, and that novice level is really important because our mission was to grasp onto any juniors who haven't started Agility yet, who are interested in Agility and don't even know where to begin.

This league is the perfect place for them to immediately be tossed into the community and be welcomed with open arms from everyone else in the league, and be doing the things very basic beginner stuff with their dog in the comfort of their own living room to be prepared for that next level. Yeah, that sounds so interesting and it's, it's Interesting to me because we just did a podcast about the AKC Agility League.

So we see these like different league concepts, you know, popping up in different places. I think it's a fantastic idea for the juniors and keeping it all virtual to, because you do have the, the big time barrier of geography. And, you know, these kids don't have the ability to dictate their location, you know, at any particular point in time.

Yeah. And we find that they love doing training on their own anyway. So we just give them a platform to connect with one another and that makes it even stronger. Right. And I guess one last question that I had for you before we talked to Ethan is, from your perspective, how Does the, this focus on juniors benefit the larger agility community?

Well, guys, juniors are the future of the sport, quite literally. If we don't uplift this young demographic in our sport, the sport will die off. So I'm really into building up this. The youth of the sport, both competitively and in character. So, like I said, it's a big part of our mission that we enforce sportsmanship.

We've incorporated that into our camps in the form of sportsmanship awards that includes things like volunteering throughout the weekend and inclusivity and things like that, because. Are sports, like, going to die unless we fill, fill it with a bunch of strong competitors who are uplifting one another and welcoming more and more people in?

Otherwise, it will not be growing. Yeah, I think that's a great perspective. A great point. It's something that statistically we've looked at a lot, like the number of novice, a competitors coming into the sport and how that's really gone down over time. Um, so I think it is super important to, to bring that next generation, um, into the sport to keep the sport growing and healthy and, um, and, uh, uh, competitive, you know, going forward.

I think there's a lot of ways that. Agility in the United States has, um, done amazing things like huge amounts of progress in terms of the level of competition and, uh, so much choice that we have in the sport. So it is grown in a lot of ways in the last decade for sure, but even the last couple of years, but it is also, you know, has.

Over the last, you know, decade declined in some ways and one of those ways is bringing new people into the sports. I think what you're doing is so important to really find, like you said, that next generation of handler. And I think particularly towards youth, agility can be a bit unwelcoming. Because there's that lack of community and because a lot of people in the sport, unfortunately, sometimes don't like kids.

And so that's why we're trying to establish this community, just so that even if the adults are maybe not welcoming you, the juniors can have this connection that's going to hold them in the sport and be that glue that, that sticks them into it. Right. And with that, I think it's a great time to bring on Ethan and hear about his experience.

Now, of course, we recognize that Ethan is not your typical, you know, under 10 agility competitor since he, you know, lives and trains with his mother, Jennifer crank, um, who I should have said at the beginning is not on this podcast because she is literally on her way to Europe. To compete in the FCI agility world chip championship.

So, uh, we wish her the absolute best of luck, uh, this upcoming week at that competition, but, um, she is still giving us Ethan to talk to about his experience at the boundless junior camp. All right, Ethan, welcome to the podcast. Thank you. So we wanted to talk to you about your experience with the Boundless Junior Agility Camp.

Was this your first time going to that camp this past year? Yes. And who did you run at the camp? What dog did you take? I five and Sting. Oh, you took two. Awesome. And, uh, so just tell us a little bit about, um, what you enjoyed most about the camp. I didn't really enjoy one particular thing. I enjoyed everything.

I had a good time. I enjoyed running the dogs. The instructors were nice. I made friends. There's nothing in particular that I Liked. You loved it all. Yes. I liked it. And remind us, I, cause I, I should know this, but I always forget. How old are you? 10. 10. So you are with a whole group of other like 8, 9, 10 year olds.

Yeah. I was nine when I went there, but I turned 10. Ah, okay. Excellent. So, um, which dog, did you alternate dogs or was one of the other dogs for another kid? I alternated dogs. Okay. Because I didn't want to overwork one. Very smart. Very smart. Um, and so, um, So this was your first time at the camp. Um, What kind of like agility stuff were you learning?

Everything. Just a little bit of everything, huh? Yeah, a little bit. I saw he was learning a blind cross. Lee Gibson was our first international instructor this year, and he worked with the DASH group on blind crosses. That was very cute to watch. Yeah. Were you a superstar? Not quite so. Are you planning on going back next year?

Yes. Like a hundred percent? Yeah. Yeah. A hundred percent. A hundred percent. All right. Well, I think that kind of tells you like everything you need to know, right? Okay. If there are some other kids out there that are, um, thinking about doing the camp or maybe even thinking about getting into agility, like maybe they are not yet doing agility.

What would you tell kids your age about the sport or about, should they do it or you know, what you like about it? I would recommend it. It's, it's very fun. It's something different from all the other sports because it's, it's, it's different. It involves your pets. You can, you can work them. You can exercise them.

You can get them in better shape if they're not in as good shape. So Ethan, not just going to the camp, but you, Also actively go to shows with high five, right? Yes. So what is your next competition with high five? Where can we follow you and watch you? Yeah, I think St. Louis, St. Louis, St. Louis and Florida.

Awesome. And how long have you been like actually running agility? Like you've been around agility your whole life. Yeah, but how long have you been like going to shows and competing? I'd say maybe. Well, it's weird because I was kind of on and off agility. I started doing it then, uh, and then it kind of got a little boring for me.

So then I stopped and then I just kind of got back. So I'd say maybe a year. And most of that is with high five. Yeah, most of it. All right. Well, thank you so much for joining us, Ethan. We love hearing directly from the juniors. Um, and, uh, we look forward to watching you and high five and any other dogs you run in the future.

All right. See you later, Ethan. Bye. All right, Mackenzie. So as we wrap up, um, one of the things that I wanted to ask you is how we, the agility community can support you and the juniors and kind of the mission of a boundless juniors. Yeah, so on a broad basis, you can support juniors by just being very welcoming to them anytime you see them.

Um, in a specific sense, we absolutely need help in any way we can get. We are a very small organization, and so we collect yearly sponsors for our camps. We also collect donors for our Boundless education grant, which we run three times per year. And our most recent sponsor of that was actually Nancy guys of power, pause agility.

So we have an education grant that runs three times a year and the kids submit essays to get money for just anything agility related. So if they win, Through the whole application process, they can get money just to buy, like, whether they want to buy a tug toy, or a teeter, or a jump for their backyard, or entry into a seminar.

So, we do collect donors three times a year for that. Um, we could also use any help we can get at the Youth Championship that we're putting on. So stay tuned, we need volunteers and help for that in June of 2025. And so just in general, I would suggest that everyone goes to our website and signs up for our newsletter, and that will be how you hear about the things that we need from you.

Wonderful. That sounds amazing. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. Um, I found this, um, fascinating what's going on, and I love just seeing how Things like this. It's almost like this grassroots effort, right? Like there's a need and, and people in the community step up to fill that need. And that's what you guys are doing for juniors.

So, um, you know, thank you so much for putting all of this together. Thank you. And we are so grateful for all of the support from the rest of the community. We just try to do as much as we can with that support. Awesome. And that's it for this week's podcast. We'd like to thank our sponsor, HitItBoard. com.

Happy training.