About us:

Sporting Whippet Club:

We run meetings between March and October in various locations in Gloucester, Wiltshire, Somerset, and Berkshire. The whippets are released from traditional leather slips by the Slipper and then follow a drag lure around the course that is designed to simulate the twists and turns they would follow during a chase.

The dogs run in stakes, paired up with others of similar height and sex. This is a knockout competition, with each run being judged. Either the whippet with the red or white collar is declared the winner by the judge in the centre of the field, and they progress through to the next round. Each stake has a Winner and a Runner Up, with dogs that are knocked out in the first round having a consolation run in the afternoon.

Points are received for every win, and these are kept as a running total in the League Tables throughout the season so that qualifying whippets can attend the seasons Finals Day and compete for trophies in their height group or attend and run in the supporters’ stakes.

Please look around our website and if you are interested in joining our club then you can view the Contact Us page, we would love to hear from you and welcome you to join us in our love of whippets running as they were bred to do.

"The Whippet"

"Should convey an impression of beautifully balanced muscular power and strength, combined with great elegance and grace of outline. Symmetry of outline, muscular development and powerful gait are the main considerations; the dog being built for speed and work, all forms of exaggeration should be avoided."

The Sporting Whippet Club was established in November 2013 by a group of like-minded people passionate about keeping the Whippet "Fit for Function". The breed should look good in the show ring yet still be capable in the field.

The founding committee members came from all walks of whippet life including coursing, racing, showing and working.

Our Aims and Objectives:

We aim to protect, promote and strive to produce the dual purpose breed standard whippet as set out by the Whippet Breed Council and the UK Kennel Club:

- Desirable height for dogs 18.5 - 20"

- Desirable height for bitches 17.5 - 18.5"

Various lure coursing clubs have come and gone over the years. Many accommodate other larger sighthound breeds and therefore do not offer the twists and turns required to really test a whippet's ability. At SWC we aim to deliver challenging courses, that replicate the path a hare might take, by incorporating a run-up, turns and wrenches. The course will be changed between rounds.

At Sporting Whippet Club we encourage competition in the form of 'lure' meetings that are as close to coursing as possible and strive to uphold the traditions of coursing.