Clean Run - June 2020 - 20

Portland, Oregon, at just 18 years old, have created
an incredibly supportive environment for learning and
fun with Boundless Junior Agility Camp (BJAC).
What began as a personal quest for the pair back in
2016 has since grown to be a beautiful community
that's much larger than they could have envisioned.
This past summer, I had the pleasure of teaching at
the camp, and I was blown away. I did not really know
what to expect, except I was excited about the opportunity. The camp completely exceeded my expectations. I can certainly say it is something I wish I had
when I was a junior handler.
BJAC is a place to connect with other young handlers
and to be part of a community where I felt a sense
of belonging, as many of these handlers experience
when they attend the camp. I am so impressed by
what Sasha and Madison have created, and by the
campers I worked with. Witnessing so many talented young handlers and seeing them so excited about
learning and passionate about training dogs really got
me fired up about the great things our sport can expect from these young teams.
I had the chance to interview Sasha and Madison to
find out a bit more about what BJAC and how it came
to be. Here is what the girls had to say.
Question: What is BJAC, and how did it come to be?
Answer: BJAC stands for Boundless Junior Agility
Camp, a day-camp-style agility seminar where junior
handlers all over the world come together to learn
from some of the top competitors in the United States.
While there are various adult seminar series, BJAC
strives to create a learning environment that supports
the various training techniques utilized when working
with children. In addition to lots of agility training, we
use fun games and activities to allow for bonding and
to create a robust community of junior handlers.

When I (Sasha) was 15, I searched diligently for some
sort of summer camp for agility. I posted on Facebook
to ask if my fellow agility-handlers knew of any opportunities like this, but it seemed that what I was searching for did not exist. Someone commented on my
post, "Why don't you start a camp?" That is the moment when BJAC was born in my head. I remember
talking about this idea on my Instagram account, and
that is when I met my partner Madison.
I (Madison) first saw Sasha's Facebook post and
was immediately intrigued. The idea of junior-specific
seminars, workshops, and competitions has always
been thrown around, but only a few have ever become realities. Never before was there a junior camp
designed as more than just a typical agility seminar
series. I watched Sasha and a few others start pioneering the idea and knew I wanted to be a part of
the envisioned camp. While talking to Sasha over
Instagram, we began coming up with more ideas for
the camp and quickly realized those. Attending BJAC
is easily one of the highlights of my year. Sasha and
I put in a lot of work behind the scenes for every
small camp detail, and seeing all of it come together
each year is incredible.
Question: Where is the camp held?
Answer: BJAC is located at B&D Creekside Activity
Center in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and BJAC PNW, our
new West Coast branch, is located at Argus Ranch in
Auburn, Washington. In its first year, BJAC was held
at the Marin Humane Society in Marin, California, before moving to Pennsylvania to accommodate the
greater volume of junior handlers on the East Coast.
This year, we have added our West Coast branch to
make BJAC more accessible for juniors on both sides
of the country.

Clean Run | June 20

Clean Run - June 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - June 2020