A Pass or Passing is a linear Team MovementTeam Movement is how dog and handler move, as a team, out there on the field. It is a judging category in some organizations and certainly is a focus of many judges, players,... maneuver that has the dog running or moving past the handler in close proximity, crossing or breaking the plane of the handler’s body.
Passes can happen front to back, back to front, side to side, etc. Passes and passing maneuvers are any movement where the dog breaks the plane of the handler’s body in linear fashion. This normally happens with distance throws, but many moves can be considered passing maneuvers (vaults, overs, through) as long as the dog moves past the handler in close proximity breaking the plane of the handler’s body.
Passing is a scored Team element of the USDDN organization. The definition in the 2019 Judges Handbook is as follows:
Passing:
2019 USDDN Judging Handbook – p. 21
“Consecutive throws where the dog passes close to the player at least twice in a straight line.
The dog passes close to the player’s body twice in row. Especially in Passings with longer throws, it’s important that the dog really passes close to the player’s body, otherwise it’s not a Passing. When passing the player’s body, the dog should run in a straight line. However, during the rest of the passing a straight line is not necessary.
The dog can catch the disc at a distance after passing the player, but the distance is not necessary. For example, a segment flip-through-flip-through is also counted as a Passing. Overs and vaults can be scored as both in the passing element and an over and/or a vault as long as the pass is complete — a dog passes twice.