BFA Indoor Championships 2026: Newark entry guide

The BFA Indoor Championships take place at Newark Showground from 23 to 25 October 2026, with racing in the Lady Eastwood Centre. Entries close on 22 September 2026. If your club is deciding whether to enter, put that September deadline in front of your captain now rather than waiting for October running orders.

This is the indoor championship at Newark, not the BFA Outdoor Championships held at Uttoxeter in August. See our separate Uttoxeter coverage for that event.

The official BFA event page identifies the Newark tournament. Its 2026 Indoor Championships entry schedule sets out the entry terms and links to the entry form. These sources were checked on 18 September. Follow the organiser's latest instructions if arrangements change.

Original Flyball Hub editorial cover for the 2026 BFA Indoor Championships; not event photography.

Dates and venue at a glance

• Racing: 23 to 25 October 2026.
• Venue: Newark Showground, with racing in the Lady Eastwood Centre.
• Address: Lincoln Road, Winthorpe, Newark, NG24 2NY.
• Entries close: 22 September 2026.
• Accessibility requests: must be received by 22 September 2026.
• Camping amendments and electric hookup requests: must be received and paid for by 10 October 2026.

The schedule describes a BFA-sanctioned limited Open tournament with a cap of 102 Open teams. The cap does not tell you how many teams have entered or how many places remain. Ask the organiser about availability.

Before your captain submits an entry

Start with the form linked from the official PDF. The schedule says entries are valid only when the appropriate payment has been completed. Do not treat a zero-value fee field on the event webpage as confirmation that entry is free; use the official entry process to check the amount and payment instructions.

Give one person responsibility for bringing the form and payment details together. Agree which teams the club intends to enter, who will submit the form and who will confirm payment. Keep the submission record, payment record and any organiser confirmation together so another club member can check what has actually been completed.

Check the refund terms before committing. The schedule says tournament entries and camping fees will not be refunded after the published closing date. It also allows the organisers to deduct expenses already incurred if the tournament has to be cancelled. Read the full terms rather than assuming that cancellation or a change in your team's plans guarantees a refund.

Entry enquiries should go to secretary@bfa.email, the contact given in the schedule. Send a specific question if you are unsure about a requirement, and include enough information for the organiser to identify your entry. A club chat message saying someone will sort it is not the same as a completed entry.

Arrange accessibility before the deadline

Accessibility requests must reach the organisers by 22 September, the same date as the entry deadline. The schedule says disabled camping and parking facilities need pre-booking. Disabled day parking uses a parking-pass system and is behind the Lady Eastwood building; vehicles without the appropriate pass may be asked to move.

Ask anyone who needs an arrangement to check the official process now. Avoid promising a particular pitch or parking space on the organiser's behalf. If the published information does not answer someone's access question, ask the organiser before building the travel plan around an assumption.

Share the agreed practical details only with the people who need them. A driver may need to know which parking instructions to follow without needing someone's private medical information. Keep the relevant confirmation available to the person travelling, rather than leaving it solely in the captain's inbox.

Plan for a three-day tournament

The entry schedule says teams may be racing, providing ring party or judging on any or all of the three days. It also says teams entering are expected to assist with ring-party duties when requested. Do not book travel on the assumption that your club will only be needed on one particular day.

Before committing, ask handlers about their availability across the event. Note work commitments and fixed departure times, then check whether the club can cover its responsibilities. Record who is available each day and anything the captain still needs to resolve.

Captains are responsible for ensuring team members and accompanying people know the tournament's rules and regulations. Share the actual schedule, not just a summary of the racing dates. Someone helping with dogs or camping may need the arrival and site instructions even if they are not handling in the ring.

Camping, arrival and departure

The published arrival instruction is after 2.30pm on Thursday, with no access to camping before then. Everyone must be off site by 10am on Monday. Build those limits into the journey plan rather than assuming an early arrival or a late checkout will be possible.

Camping must be booked in advance. Pitches are marked out, and campers must follow the steward's directions and stay within their designated space. The schedule also requires tow hitches to face the road. Read that instruction before deciding how to arrange caravans together, so the club's preferred layout does not conflict with the site's safety rules.

Toilets and showers are listed for the three-day event, and campers are expected to bring their own towels. Use the designated Elsan points for toilet waste, not the public toilets. Camping amendments and electric hookup requests have their own deadline: they must be received and paid for by 10 October.

Share the site rules with whoever packs the camping equipment. The schedule prohibits fire pits and allows only gas barbecues used off the ground, with quick access to suitable fire-safety equipment. Generators must be off between 10pm and 8am, and no music is allowed on site after 11pm. Read the complete camping rules before choosing what to bring.

Designated day parking is available. If you plan to visit without an entered team, check the organiser's current visitor arrangements before travelling.

What to wait for in the welcome pack

The entry schedule says a full welcome pack will be available closer to the event. Wait for the running order before planning around your team's start times, divisions or ring allocations.

The schedule says running orders and results will be displayed at the event. Admin is restricted to Committee members, current Admin staff on rota and their runners. Check later official information for any online viewing or results arrangements.

When a new document appears, check that it says Indoor Championships, Newark and 2026. Save the latest official link alongside the team's entry record, and make clear which earlier note it replaces. That gives everyone a better chance of working from the same instructions when travel details start changing.

Keep the dog and the team in the plan

The event rules require dogs to be on a lead when not racing and handlers to clean up after them. Harsh or punitive handling is prohibited. A dog must be withdrawn if it has an infectious or contagious disease, poses a danger to people or animals, or is likely to suffer by continuing to compete. Read the full conditions with your captain rather than relying on a shortened checklist.

For practical preparation, agree who is responsible for each dog between races, who will check for updates and how handlers will ask for help if plans change. The team's travel arrangements should leave room to respond if a dog cannot continue.

If this will be your first tournament, our first flyball tournament guide covers arriving, waiting and working with your captain. Use it for general orientation while keeping Newark's event-specific instructions as the authority for this weekend.

Confirm the entry before planning the finer details

Send the official schedule to your captain and ask whether the club is entering, whether the form and payment are complete, and whether anyone needs an accessibility request submitted before 22 September. Put a name against anything still outstanding. After that, keep the welcome pack and eventual running order with the same event notes.

If you are reviewing how your club organises its preparation, see what Flyball Hub offers and decide whether it suits your team's needs. For this entry, the immediate job is simpler: make sure the captain has the official Newark schedule and a clear record of what still needs doing before the deadline.