Kyleakin Lofts

Well done all.

Well done all.

Well done all.

Well done all.

Well done all.

Well done all.

Well done.

Well done all.

Well done all.

Who's the bridesmaid Stevie? :D Well done all.

Well done all.

Well done all.

Well done all.

Well done all.

Well done all.

Race cancelled. Arbroath next week.

I am not even a member of the national club(s), but I am talking from my own viewpoint. I do have experience in other fancies. It used to be that you gained your experience through the club, then open competitions, then the champion competitions. In pigeons, most realised that it would take time to learn enough to accomplish anything. Nowadays, everyone seems to want the top, the best, and they want it right away. For these reasons they are conned by the promise of buying success. Truth is, you cannot buy success!!! There are three requirements to be successful in pigeon racing. Good pigeons, good system and good fancier. The success depends upon the meld which is different depending on the particular discipline, sprint, middle or distance. Good pigeons can be ruined by a poor system and fancier. Poor pigeons will not shine no matter the system or fancier when compared with good pigeons under the same parameters. A good fancier will achieve more with poor pigeons no matter the system than a poor fancier would. Add to all that the imponderables within pigeon racing and a large smattering of luck is required. A governing body is required in any discipline, however, such body should never overstep the mark. It should realise its purpose is regularity and administration. The Federation system was good in the heyday of the fancy, but they were set up when racing was predominantly towards the south and tended to be grouped in that way. a lot of today's racing is towards the east, be it south east or not, no longer the original direction and as such the Federations have suffered unrest. Re-grouping the fancy may be a lost cause, but if it is then the end is nigh. If the end is not nigh, then re-grouping could be worthwhile. I would place National long distance racing over the channel at the pinnacle. This is the elite. it takes time and patience to build a family of birds to compete regularly at this level and a life's work can be destroyed by one poor decision, or a series of poor decisions. For this reason, National Clubs require leadership and programmes conducive to their ends. Middle distance, whilst by no manner or means being easy, is easier than distance and should be supportive of the distance programmes. If there were enough decent middle distance races, the long distance programme could be served far better. Sprint allows more errors. I have made them and my pigeons have saved the day for me. OK, I don't compete, but my returns are improving and my experience is growing. I am old, but I never expected overnight success. I enjoy my hobby and hope to compete one day, at the distance, the pinnacle. I hope it is still there when I am ready. Inland Nationals, Channel Nationals, there is only the Gold Cup, THE race which I believe should also be the longest, I never understood why it wasn't.

First race and a dullyin. Mine were all out of race time as you can see by the one included on the result and they all came back from the wrong end of the Fed. Hopefully get a race this weekend, but even if not, there is no real distance in the early races.

Barrhead Fereneze 92 R.P.C. Otterburn on 03/05/2014 at 09:00 hrs 10 Members sent 315 Club Birds Light Variable Wind 1 Peter Murphy 44 94m 1674y GB13C13548 BB C 1217.629 2 Peter Murphy GB13C13541 BB C 1217.481 3 Morris Bros 30 101m 322y GB13D27053 CP H 1176.267 4 Peter Murphy GB08N06786 BP C 1174.140 5 Morris Bros SU12R913 CH C 1142.802 6 John Lannigan 104 93m 450y SU13R807 CP H 1140.868 7 Peter Murphy SU09R2789 BB C 1132.114 8 Morris Bros GB13D27049 BB H 1109.687 9 Morris Bros GB13D27066 R C 1109.457 10 Peter Murphy GB12C30905 BP C 1107.602 11 Morris Bros SU12R863 CH C 1105.096 12 Peter Murphy GB12C30957 CP C 1105.039 13 Peter Murphy IHU2012S070524 CH C 1103.458 14 John O'Donnell 14 97m 943y GB12T13567 CH C 1099.011 15 John Lannigan SU10R607 R H 1094.461 16 John O'Donnell GB13C14438 BB C 1093.759 17 Andy Drummond 21 95m 1161y SU13WS838 R C 1090.774 18 George Galbraith 25 101m 354y GB13C13579 BC C 1084.088 19 John Lannigan SU12R1643 CH C 1080.767 20 George McGovern 6 94m 1531y SU13WS745 CH C 1073.682 21 Morris Bros GB13D27054 CH H 1070.550 22 John Lannigan SU11R1706 CH H 1065.795 23 Flemming And Gebbie 53 96m145y SU12R27 CH C 1065.564 24 Peter Murphy GB12C30947 CH H 1058.939 25 Peter Murphy SU11R1320 BB C 1048.639 26 Morris Bros SU12R904 CP H 1047.255 27 Flemming And Gebbie SU12R31 CH C 1042.357 28 Morris Bros SU12R850 CH H 1041.742 29 Peter Murphy SU11WS1911 BP H 1034.787 30 Morris Bros SU08R1089 CH H 1017.535

Valley North Road Society Bathgate on 03/05/2014 at 09:00 hrs 9 Members 299 Club Birds No wind 1 M Hilland 37m 1321y SU10 A1489 C H 779.824 2 J L Dumigan 38m 968y SU12 AN1704 D C 774.927 3 Derick D McCullen 38m 1152y SU12 A6384 BP C 772.798 4 J L Dumigan SU12 AN1730 B C 766.032 5 J L Dumigan SU13 AN23 C C 763.017 6 J L Dumigan SU13 AN66 C C 761.875 7 J L Dumigan SU12 AN1702 G C 758.609 8 Derick D McCullen GB13 P05657 B C 751.320 9 M J McCann 37m 767y SU13 AN181 DC C 676.249 10 R Taylor 35m 1037y SU13 AN140 BP C 619.249 11 R Taylor SU11 AN1970 B C 574.388 12 A Kyle 35m 86y GB12 N16782 C H 342.735

Good post John!!! I think that there is a lot of re-organisation needed within the fancy. I think the old Federation system of clubs is just about played out due to current circumstances. I accept that this system still works in some areas, but not everywhere. The SHU should govern the fancy, the National(s) should organise the long distance races, Combines the middle distance and federations the sprints. A lot of work to re-organise, but fanciers could have sprint racing every week, either midweek or weekends or even both. Middle distance could start part way through the season then long distance later. If it was organised properly all programmes would meld together to help each other. When Long and middle distance races were on, the transporters lying dormant could be used for the sprints, etc. I do appreciate that this is a simplistic view and there would be many logistical problems, but that is where the experienced fanciers would have to come into play to work it out. I think if it could be pulled off, the fancy could benefit and perhaps even start to flourish again.

Race delayed 24 hours.

Race delayed 24 hours.

Well done.

Wait till midday tomorrow.