Things are getting very difficult over here. My heart is still with distance racing but it is getting hard to get any. There doesn’t seem much enthusiasm in North Road where we could get some decent distance races. South Road across the channel has been very hard this year and I would imagine with all the extra costs of having vets at marking stations they must be losing money. Birdage in these races have been low and returns not very good. From the Tarbes national this weekend only 137 pigeons were verified from over 2,000. Admittedly some who have timed will have had more than the ones verified back. From the Agen international where all returns have to be verified there was only 39 back from 358 over 4 days with only one in the West.
I think if channel racing is going to continue it will be very different and expensive. The national clubs will have fewer races and only a couple of marking stations. I don’t see paying for a vet visit each year for only a couple of races. I won’t be doing it. We will have to wait and see what happens over the winter months.
If nothing happens to make national racing and more importantly distance racing more accessible I will just enjoy the club racing. Which hopefully will continue although there are concerns over whether the WOESRC can continue with a depleting birdage.
Distance or sprint racing
Let's hope it doesn't come to it Andy the EU could and should make things lot easier and cheaper it is just a way of punishing the UK for Brexit
Sadies Lofts home of decent birds just a useless loft manager, and now a confirmed loser but proud 
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DarkPiedCock
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Be sprint middle distance for me after this year.For Perth this weekend i have been looking at the weather for Friday and Saturday. At the moment i can only see a return to Wetherby 217 miles. What's the point in having long distance birds when this happens? I hope we can get up early and miss the predicting heavy cloud and rain.
Living in Brighton & Sunny Sussex.
That is a big problem. The CSCFC had a couple of good distance races but then decided to have a shorter one on the Hexham race and cancelled the Thurso race completely.DarkPiedCock wrote: ↑Tue Jul 04, 2023 12:28 pm Be sprint middle distance for me after this year.For Perth this weekend i have been looking at the weather for Friday and Saturday. At the moment i can only see a return to Wetherby 217 miles. What's the point in having long distance birds when this happens? I hope we can get up early and miss the predicting heavy cloud and rain.
Back just enjoying club racing for the time being.
The distance a pigeon can win at is of no importance to me at all. A good sprinter is just as good as a good stayer. A win is a win. Comes from being a jockey.
But I can understand the frustration blokes experience when they have put a lot of effort into preparing for long distance racing, only to have the program changed.
I think the north road long distance racing will grow in strength over the next couple of years. It is an upheaval in the pigeon sport, and pigeon fanciers are not noted for being 'early adopters of new ideas'. We tend to do the same thing, year in and year out.
Hell, I still warmly remember my good old widowhood cocks in New Zealand, 3 and 4 and 5 year olds, who would turn up week in and week out.
Those pigeons could not go fast enough to run last here these days!
These days you need fast pigeons. Whether it is 50 miles or 500 miles, you need fast pigeons. Look at the velocity flown by the winners of any race on a fair day, they are going very fast.
But I can understand the frustration blokes experience when they have put a lot of effort into preparing for long distance racing, only to have the program changed.
I think the north road long distance racing will grow in strength over the next couple of years. It is an upheaval in the pigeon sport, and pigeon fanciers are not noted for being 'early adopters of new ideas'. We tend to do the same thing, year in and year out.
Hell, I still warmly remember my good old widowhood cocks in New Zealand, 3 and 4 and 5 year olds, who would turn up week in and week out.
Those pigeons could not go fast enough to run last here these days!
These days you need fast pigeons. Whether it is 50 miles or 500 miles, you need fast pigeons. Look at the velocity flown by the winners of any race on a fair day, they are going very fast.
Greetings from the land down under.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
I’m still not sure that I agree with that. I can’t see any real proof of todays birds being any faster than in the past. I remember back in the 80s & 90s with winning velocities over 2000ypm. I have looked at this years combine results and in 14 combine races only 6 won by yearlings. 3 times the combine has been won by a 4 year old. All races under 200 miles and in speeds up to 1900ypm.
I think the thing that has changed are some of the methods used now which may get a bit more out of the birds. I think the only reason that the “modern day families “ seem better than the past is because of the percentage of the latest fads racing. It’s only reasonable to expect these to do better. The old families don’t exist anymore as their founders have long gone. It is inevitable that families have changed and new families are now the norm but they are still pigeons and no different than those from the past.
I think the thing that has changed are some of the methods used now which may get a bit more out of the birds. I think the only reason that the “modern day families “ seem better than the past is because of the percentage of the latest fads racing. It’s only reasonable to expect these to do better. The old families don’t exist anymore as their founders have long gone. It is inevitable that families have changed and new families are now the norm but they are still pigeons and no different than those from the past.
Back just enjoying club racing for the time being.
I can compare it a bit to swimming which I was involved with for years at a competitive level. World records keep coming down but only by decimal points each time. Is this because the swimmers of today are better than those of the past? No. I bet if Mark Spitz was able to compete the same as the ones do today he would still win 7 gold medals at the Olympics. Why have times continued to fall? Because the strokes have changed and so has the whole system around training and health. Swimmers now are professionals and paid to swim so don’t need to work as well as train. Backstroke still starts in the water but now you can swim nearly half a length under water which is quicker than on top of the water. You can now roll over and tumble turn where as before you had to stay on your back at the turns. Breaststroke now you can bring your hands over the water and put your head under water between each stroke, all of which you would have been disqualified for in the past. At the start of both Butterfly and Frontcrawl you can now do a fair bit under water. On top of all this the costumes have completely changed. Gone are the old days of Speedo’s. Now they where suits that give no friction in the water.
The trouble is with pigeons is that a lot of the modern methods may make the pigeons go a little faster but because of a lot of other things like the hawks and weather they have no resilience making losses much greater than in the past. Too many birds are kept and bred in the hope that the odd ones are good. A good distance pigeon should still be there or their abouts in the sprint races. If not it is down to the fancier and not the bird. But these “modern” sprint pigeons can’t compete at the distance as they have no endurance. I have always maintained that sprint racing is 80% fancier and 20% pigeon. Distance racing is probably nearer 20% fancier and 80% pigeon.
The trouble is with pigeons is that a lot of the modern methods may make the pigeons go a little faster but because of a lot of other things like the hawks and weather they have no resilience making losses much greater than in the past. Too many birds are kept and bred in the hope that the odd ones are good. A good distance pigeon should still be there or their abouts in the sprint races. If not it is down to the fancier and not the bird. But these “modern” sprint pigeons can’t compete at the distance as they have no endurance. I have always maintained that sprint racing is 80% fancier and 20% pigeon. Distance racing is probably nearer 20% fancier and 80% pigeon.
Back just enjoying club racing for the time being.
You might be very right there, Andy.
With sprinters a lot of it is down to the fancier. Super form and motivation, brainwashing them to trap like rockets. Breeding small pigeons with 'fast wings'.
The long distance pigeon is quite different. It needs, in my opinion, to be bred off pigeons that have proper long distance blood in their veins. A distance pigeon will sometimes make a good sprinter. A sprinter with seldom make a long distance bird.
I still think the fancier plays a big part in the success of a long distance bird. He must have a good, i.e healthy loft, good feeding and a feel for training and developing the pigeon.
With sprinters a lot of it is down to the fancier. Super form and motivation, brainwashing them to trap like rockets. Breeding small pigeons with 'fast wings'.
The long distance pigeon is quite different. It needs, in my opinion, to be bred off pigeons that have proper long distance blood in their veins. A distance pigeon will sometimes make a good sprinter. A sprinter with seldom make a long distance bird.
I still think the fancier plays a big part in the success of a long distance bird. He must have a good, i.e healthy loft, good feeding and a feel for training and developing the pigeon.
Greetings from the land down under.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.