UkPigeonRacing

A small video about the sport, and a true view of how the sport is going.

https://youtu.be/1_x8y7CINUY?si=jG_X5cgDFXmc9_Jp

A good video, shows the running of a loft and the racing very well.
One thing did hit me. The statement that because of few young people taking up the sport, it is in serious decline.
Well, I think there have been few youngsters interested in the sport for the last 50 years or more, since I was a young bloke. Unless raised with the pigeons, few youngsters want to be dedicated to a 365 day a year hobby.
Then at the other end of the scale, old blokes like me are unlikely to suddenly decide to start from scratch with a pigeon loft. They are more likely to join the Bowls club.
So I think the target should be working age people, secure and settled, looking for a sport that offers a bit of a challenge while not having to be away from home all the time. I reckon there are heaps out there.

I could not agree more Murray, I have said before the sport is in decline. It is very hard to to get members willing to carry out daily tasks for 365 days a year.

But the people who are committed to it have, I think, seen the level of racing keep improving.
People like Mark Gilbert, Leo Heremans, Geoff Cooper, Van Den Bulck, Jos Thone', Verkerk, you can go on and on, the sport is not on it's last legs.
It's like everything, it's progressing. The good ones get better, the slow ones quietly disappear.

This is where i feel, OLR is growing around the world. You don't have to carry out daily tasks, but you can still be involved in the sport. But I still feel there is nothing better, than entering your own loft and enjoying time with your birds.

The sport is progressing??? To use another proverb There’s none so blind as those that will not see”

Glass half full, mate,
You?

Glass half full? How do you reconcile that with the proverb the pessimists motto that you use at the bottom of your posts?

Devo1956 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 22, 2025 9:29 am This is where i feel, OLR is growing around the world. You don't have to carry out daily tasks, but you can still be involved in the sport. But I still feel there is nothing better, than entering your own loft and enjoying time with your birds.

Have you any proof that OLR's are growing in popularity Devo? They are successful in some countries, but in many they are annual disasters. Places like Tenerife are yet to hold a good race. I think many will agree their popularity here in the UK has began to wane.

Murray wrote: ↑Sun Jun 22, 2025 9:10 am But the people who are committed to it have, I think, seen the level of racing keep improving.
People like Mark Gilbert, Leo Heremans, Geoff Cooper, Van Den Bulck, Jos Thone', Verkerk, you can go on and on, the sport is not on it's last legs.
It's like everything, it's progressing. The good ones get better, the slow ones quietly disappear.

Whilst I agree the sport is not yet on it's last legs. I don't think the level is improving. The above fanciers DO still get beaten by lesser known fanciers. And for Jos Thone, it's not the sport that's on its last legs, it's Jos Thone himself, if you believe his differing health problems he has as the reason for his many sales.