In 1975, Irv Lander, Alex Stein and Eldon McIntire first organized a World Championship for flying-disc (Frisbee) catching dogs and their handlers.
Eventually, it turned into a contest series and, in the early 1980s, was named the Ashley Whippet Invitational (AWI).
[3] The competition series included local and regional events where dog and handler pairs would qualify for the Ashley Whippet Invitational World Finals Championship.
The early qualifying format included 4 to 6 regionals with the 1st and 2nd place teams each earning a trip to the World Finals Championship.
In the late 1980s a trophy cup was introduced by Peter Bloeme, Eldon McIntire, Jeff Perry, and Alex Stein to commemorate the yearly AWI World Champions.
The large silver cup is mounted on a wooden base, which is covered with small plaques inscribed with names of the winners.
[3] That year was the first time the AWI World Finals Championship was filmed for TV.
Previous AWI staff and judges Mark Molnar, Eldon McIntire, and Gary Suzuki were the leaders of this renewed event.
The winner was invited to a special "Ashley Whippet Championship" event that took place in Japan later the same year.
The UFO ran the Ashley Whippet Invitational World Championship as the final event of its season.
[6] The AWI World Championships returned to Scottsdale, this time with Hero Disc running the event.
In 2009, the AWI World Championships was moved to Naperville, Illinois, where it was held on Labor Day weekend in conjunction with a UFO Major.