First in Flight was founded in 1996 by a small group of individuals interested in the sport of flyball. Almost unheard of in our area at the time, flyball has grown tremendously since those early days. In June of 1996, two of those founding members (Jim Pitts with Ali, a Flat-Coated Retriever and Donna Hunt with Ginni, an Australian Shepherd) participated in a small tournament held in Raleigh, NC. With only two dogs ready for competition, we ran with Mike Randall under the banner of the Blockade Runners. With only three teams entered, the tournament took approximately an hour to setup and complete! Although no titles were earned that weekend, a love for the sport was founded. We will always be grateful to Mike for allowing us to run with his team in those early days. It was invaluable experience for a fledgling team, and a wonderful way to learn the sport. Still too small to field our own team, we again competed with Mike Randall and the Blockade Runners in September of 1996 at the No Speed Limit tournament in Maryland. With only five teams entered, we had plenty of time to enjoy the sites and the dog show held in conjunction with the event. It was here that we earned our first titles on both Ali and Ginni. Finally in January of 1997, First in Flight was able to field a team under it's own name, when we attended the tournament hosted by the Blockade Runners in Raleigh, NC in conjunction with the Mighty Match. Braving icy roads and wintry weather, we came together as a team. Seven teams were entered in that tournament, we held our own, placing third, with several of the new dogs earning their first flyball titles. We jumped 14 inches in that tournament, as we had yet to find a height dog.

We continued to compete throughout 1997 and 1998, each time watching the tournaments grow in size, and interest in flyball continue to spread. Since then, our team has grown into a solid group and flyball has grown tremendously, spreading south into South Carolina, Alabama, and Florida. We've grown from two dogs to currently fifteen, including several height dogs. Our team consists of a variety of dogs, mixed breed and purebred, and people from all walks of life. Although we like to be competitive, for most of us, our number one goal is just to have fun with our dogs. Since our beginnings, we have been a small team and continue to remain so, although we have enjoyed steady growth over the years. People tend to come and go as they explore their interest in the sport, some finding it's not quite what they are looking for, or moving off in other directions in their lives. But others remain and become an integral part of our flyball family. Since our beginning, our team has seen a lot of change and growth, within and without. From our first FD to our first FMCH. And from a three-team tournament to fifty-plus tournaments. We've traveled as far north as Maryland and as far south as Florida for tournaments, and hosted a few of our own. The sport of flyball continues to enjoy steady growth and we look forward to many more years together as First in Flight, one of the first and one of the oldest North Carolina flyball teams.