FMBB 2025 Agility Judges
Christine Faltner (Norway)
My name is Christine Faltner, I am 36 and living in Norway together with my girlfriend and our six dogs.
Over 20 years ago I got my first dog and found my passion for Agility. In 2010 my first Tervueren Jamjam moved in and since that I fell in love with the breed. We competed around Europe, participated at Nordic Championship, FMBB, European Open, World Championship.
In 2022 I finished my judging education and became an int. FCI agility judge. I already had the opportunity to judge several national, international competitions and got selected for JoAWC in 2026.
Since I joined my first FMBB in 2012, as a team leader, I was fascinated by this championship. Watching different Belgian shepherds in their varieties in different sports, meeting owners f rom different places and getting the chance to engage with them is quite unique. I competed myself in 2013, 2015 and 2017 and hope to be back again as a competitor with my young Tervueren Mimi. But for 2025 I got the honor and opportunity to return as a judge. An obligation I am so much looking forward to.
I am happy to see you in Greece!
EXPERIENCES
2022 Judging in NOR, GER, GRC
2023 Judging in NOR, HUN, FIN, BEL, AUT, GER, GRC
2024 Judging in NOR, FIN, ITA, CZE, CHE GER, ESP
Prossecco Cup 2024 – ITA
Zürisee Cup 2024 – CHE
ISAC 2024 – NOR
2025 Planned: NOR, FIN, CHE, AUT, SWE
GER, GRC, GB, FRA, NED, EST, POL
Norwegian Championship – NOR
Swedish Championship – SWE
Dutch Open – NED
Midsummer Festival – FIN
Elpida Ismael (Greece)
My name is Elpida Ismael and I am an agility athlete, coach and judge!
I am one of the very first people that started agility in Greece, back in 2012. Back then I had only Lisa, my Labrador. She is now 13 years old! We participated in the first Greek competitions and also abroad and we won the Greek Championship for Mixed Breeds in 2017! In 2016 I took my first Border Collie, my Diesel. With Diesel we are
members of the Greek National Team since 2018. We’ve participated in 5 European Open Championships – and won the 9th place among 420 dogs in 2019 – and 4 World Championships! We are also 2x GR Agility Champions for the years 2018 and 2023!
3 years ago my second Border Collie came into my life, my little Astra. Even though we worked smart and not hard, we managed to qualify for both EO and AWC last year, when he was less than 3 years old. In EO he managed the amazing 7th place at the finals, among the best dogs in the world and he had also amazing performance at the AWC in Belgium. I’m very excited about our future together!
Besides running and training with my dogs, I also love teaching agility. I like the challenge of training different kind of dogs and I have created my own agility team named “ALL STAR DOGS”! I strongly believe in teamwork between the handler and the dog and I love watching teams with strong relationship. It makes them shine in a
different, very special way.
Becoming a judge was a dream I had for years and I am very happy I managed to fulfil it. Living this dream has changed my life for the better and one thing’s for sure: the more I judge the more I love dogs! 
When I design courses, I like to include fluent lines, different kind of challenges, speed and handling, always taking dogs’ safety into consideration. My love for dogs is what makes me want to keep on learning and improving in order to reach my full potential as a judge, handler and trainer.
This year’s FMBB will be my biggest event – and of course my first World Championship – to attend as a judge and I couldn’t be more excited! All these months I have been paying close attention to the Belgians when judging abroad, in order to be able to design the best courses for this special breed!
Best of luck to all the competitors and don’t forget to enjoy this special event with your dogs!
See you in Greece!
Christos Balasopoulos (Greece)
Christos Balasopoulos from Greece will judge Agility!
My name is Christos Balasopoulos from Greece.
My Agility journey started with my first beloved 12-year-old Border Collie Mio. It has continued with another star, my 7-year-old other Border Collie Xcel.
Since I started my agility career, I have almost qualified for every national Greek Agility team.
Some of my biggest achievements are:
Team achievements:
2022 1st place with Agility Team in the World Championship in Austria
Individual achievements:
2023 5th place out of 146 dogs in the World Championship in the Czech Republic
2024 10th place out of 145 dogs in the World Championship in Belgium
My other love is creating fast and technical courses as well as challenges for the participants.
Being a judge at this spectacularly big event is a great honour. May all the judges have fun during the competition, and good luck to every participant. I hope they all enjoy my courses!