A brief guide to coursing

	Glossary of Terms
NCC	The National Coursing Club, the governing body of greyhound coursing, is responsible for drawing up the rules under which affiliated meetings are conducted.

THE MEET	The place where everyone gathers before going to the actual field where the coursing takes place.

RUNNING GROUND	The field where the coursing takes place.

THE BEAT	The area from which hares will be driven on to the running ground by beaters holding flags. "The Beat" also describes the "beaters" as a whole.

DRIVEN COURSING	At most meetings all the hares are driven by beaters. The running ground is often walked-over before coursing to clear any hares sitting on the field.

WALKED UP COURSE	The crowd walks across a field with a slipper in the middle, putting up hares to be coursed as it goes. Some meetings are completely or partially "walked-up".

SLIPPER	The official in a red coat responsible for releasing (slipping) the dogs in pairs simultaneously.

SHY	A hide for the slipper.

JUDGE	The official, mounted and in full hunting dress, who decides the result of each course.

STEWARDS	Officials who control the running of the meeting.

FLAG STEWARD	Official who signals to the crowd the results of the courses etc with flags.

COURSING INSPECTOR	NCC official who ensures that the hares have every opportunity to escape.

PICKERS-UP	Quickly secure the hare from the greyhounds if the hare is caught and ensure that it is dead.

SOUGH	An artificial escape hole for hares, (pronounced "suff").

MEUSE	Any of the natural escape routes by which the hares leave the field. All hares coursed under NCC Rules are living in a wild and natural state. They are coursed over ground not restricted in any way and regularly use the escape routes during their everyday lives.

BYE	Sometimes runners are withdrawn from their courses, either because of absence, injury or weariness. Their opponent still has to run a course - a "bye" - so that it will have run the same number of courses as the next opponent. The dog may run alone or accompanied.

	What Happens
ONE	The beat goes out and starts to drive hares towards the running ground. The object is for the hares to enter the field one at a time when the greyhounds are ready in the slips.

TWO	The Slipper, hidden from the hares by as shy or by natural cover such as a hedge, holds in the slips a pair of dogs. The dog on his left wears a distinguishing red collar, the dog on his right wears a white collar.

THREE	When a suitable hare comes through, the Slipper moves out so that both greyhounds can see the hare. When it is at least 100 yards ahead, the slipper releases the dogs.

FOUR	The judge positions himself opposite to where he expects the run-up to finish, and then follows the course as it weaves about the field.

FIVE	At the end of the course the judge signals the winner by holding up a red or white handkerchief according to the winning dog's collar. If he takes off his hat instead, the scores are even; it is undecided and the course will be run again. If he waves his hand across his chest, it is a "no course" which could not be judged and the course will be run again.

SIX	In the vast majority of courses the course ends when the hare escapes unharmed. Greyhounds hunt by sight alone and stop when they lose sight of the hare. The dogs are caught as quickly as possible by their owners, trainers or handlers.

SEVEN	The result indicated by the judge is signalled to the crowd by the Flag Steward holding up either a red or white flag. Other flags are used. Blue indicates a "bye" is being run, the colour of the collar of the dog running the bye will be shown at the same time. Yellow means that dogs that have run an undecided course are in the slips. Green, flown with a red or white, means that a reserve dog is running in the collar indicated. Green flown alone summons a Stewards' Meeting.

EIGHT	Coursing events are simple "knock-out" competitions, like a tennis tournament, in which the winners progress to the next round. A stake for eight dogs will mean four courses in the first round, two courses at the semi-final stage, and then a final. The stake is arranged by "drawing " the runners to form four pairs. These are shown on the programme or "card ", on which spectators mark the results so that they can follow the progress of the stake.

	Points of the Course
THE RUN-UP	The run from slips until the hare is turned for the first time. (Worth a maximum of three points to the faster dog.)

A TURN	When a dog forces the hare to turn through more than 90 degrees. (Worth 1 point.)

A WRENCH	When a dog forces the hare to turn through less than 90 degrees. (Worth 1/2 point.)

A GO-BY	Where a dog starts a length behind his opponent, passes him in a straight run or on the outside circle, gets a clear length in front of him, and turns the hare. (Worth a maximum of 3 points.)


NATIONAL COURSING CLUB Established 1858