Competition (oct 29)
When I realized how long it had been, I was kind of shocked. I shook myself like a dog does when getting out of the water. What was so long ago? My trip to the Olympiad in Japan. Then I was as old as my son now. How time flies. I could get free since I managed to convince my employer that I was ‘a prominent sportsman’ I did so by showing them articles about my results in the dailies. ‘Dalies?’ Indeed. In those days pigeon sport had a place in society. In fact, it was part of it.
FURTHER
I also remember some traveling companions. All Dutch because at that time you sought the company of fellow countrymen. In Holland you talked about Belgian Champions and in Belgium about Dutch champions. To-day people talk about Champions, the nationality is not relevant. Today at pigeon shows we take the seat that is free, whether the other seats at the table are taken by Dutch or Belgians is not relevant. But honestly speaking, talking with those fellow countrymen in the plane was kind of sickening. They all claimed to be champions. They all complained about ‘their bad location’ and they all ‘raced in the strongest competition’. I must admit though, there was some truth in what they said. It is certainly not true that competition is the same everywhere and that it does not matter where you live in order to perform.
DIFFERENCE
We then raced at club level only, but some clubs were much stronger than others. Like those two clubs in the town of Tilburg. Let’s call them club A and club B. Every weekend it was the same story. The winner was a fancier in club A. When the race was finished in Club A still many prizes were to be won in club B. The champion in club B would be "average" in club A. That was a matter of quality only because the fanciers lived very close, so the location was not relevant. And believe me, those differences may be smaller in modern pigeon sport but they still exist. To judge how good a pigeon is I need to know in which club it was raced.
QUESTION
There was this National Ace Pigeon KBDB sprint a few years back. The owner lived near the French border and his Ace had won a series of first prizes. Would it also have performed in the very strong combine called ‘Diamantverbond?’ Absolutely not. No bird can win a ‘series of first prizes’ in that combine. Even though the entry in that combine is often low.
NETHERLANDS
In the Netherlands rules in many clubs are different. Long distance fanciers have birds that do not perform at Middle Distance or Short Distance. But they have to train their birds, they must pick up experience. In one club they can enter birds just for training, they are not in the competition. In other clubs that is forbidden. In those clubs all birds that are basketed are in the concourse. This may lead to races with an enormous entry. With many long distance birds that are unable to win a prize, or birds that are not even clocked. For Middle Distance racers it is much easier to perform in such clubs than in clubs where 50 specialists together enter 120 pigeons.
Good to know for fanciers who want to improve their family. They should apply to fanciers that live in an area where fanciers specialise.
So if you want long distance birds you should go to fanciers that live in regions where fanciers specialize in the long distance. I remember that foreign fancier who was disappointed since he could not win a prize with the birds that he had bought from a Dutch Middle Distance champion. I was not surprised. This man was a ‘champion’ indeed. But he raced in an area where nearly all fanciers focus on long distance. Do you want sprint birds? Go to regions where people specialize in sprint.
THE PROVINCE OF THE ‘6’ es.
Many foreigners only want Belgian pigeons with a ring that begins with a '6', so birds from Antwerp. Are these birds better then? Hmm. Delicate stuff !! As for Middle Distance some Dutch claim that their birds are better than the Antwerp birds. And it must be said, in similar races on the same day their birds perform better than the Belgians. When I bring up this subject (are Dutch birds better today?) with Belgian fanciers. Some say ‘you need a shrink’. Others will not say this but think it. But there are also Belgians who have their doubts.
REALISTIC
X, a great ‘short distance champion’ in ‘Diamantverbond’, the name of the strong combine that I mentioned before, is one of them. You know what he said?
"Are Dutch Middle Distance birds better? I would not be surprised because we in our region (Berlaar area) race our best birds at sort distance only. Dirk van Dijck, the one and only, fully agrees.
"If short distance guys like him and him and him (he mentioned about 10 names) would participate the middle distance from now on with their best birds that would be a revolution and change the pigeon sport dramatically with new names in the spotlights.
GRONDELAARS AND HEREMANS
‘What’s new’ I wonder.
-Long way back Jan Grondelaars already said: If you want to improve your family, cross your birds with sprint birds. And he set an example himself. He bought ‘Eenoog’ from Hofkens. ‘Eenoog’ had won about 20 firsts from Quievrain (130 km), his off-spring would win first prizes for Grondelaars from 500 km and further.
-In his ‘glory-days’ Leo Heremans raced his best birds from Noyon (220 km). ‘Olympiad 003’ was raced from 130 km only. How good some descendants perform at middle distance we all know.
COMBINE AND PROVINCIAL
With Stan Raeymaeckers I was once talking about a national ace KBDB. This bird was supposed to be the best of Belgium. Stan showed me the provincial results of that year and this gave me a shock. The 1st National Ace was beaten by the same bird in EVERY race. How can such a thing be possible? Apart from the provincial ‘double’ both birds were raced in different combines, the results in the combine counted. The National Ace was raced in a much poorer combine and understandably it got better coefficients. Talking about fair and unfair races: When there is a national with strong western wind fanciers in the Far East will have their birds home before those in Flanders (the West) have seen a feather.
THE ENTRY
Finally, one more thing: Do not yourself be fooled by the number of pigeons in the race. Businesswise a winner from 3,000 pigeons is far more interesting than a winner from 300 birds. But is it a better bird? If those 3,000 pigeons were entered by 30 fanciers and those 300 pigeons were entered by 120 fanciers, I would prefer the second one. So the ‘not interesting bird’ businesswise.
'Competition'
When I realized how long it had been, I was kind of shocked. I shook myself like a dog does when getting out of the water.
What was so long ago? My trip to the Olympiad in Japan. Then I was as old as my son now. How time flies.
I could get free since I managed to convince my employer that I was ‘a prominent sportsman’ I did so by showing them articles about my results in the dailies.
‘Dalies?’ Indeed. In those days pigeon sport had a place in society. In fact, it was part of it.
FURTHER
I also remember some traveling companions. All Dutch because at that time you sought the company of fellow countrymen.
In Holland you talked about Belgian Champions and in Belgium about Dutch champions. To-day people talk about Champions, the nationality is not relevant.
Today at pigeon shows we take the seat that is free, whether the other seats at the table are taken by Dutch or Belgians is not relevant.
But honestly speaking, talking with those fellow countrymen in the plane was kind of sickening. They all claimed to be champions. They all complained about ‘their bad location’ and they all ‘raced in the strongest competition’.
I must admit though, there was some truth in what they said.
It is certainly not true that competition is the same everywhere and that it does not matter where you live in order to perform.
DIFFERENCE
We then raced at club level only, but some clubs were much stronger than others. Like those two clubs in the town of Tilburg. Let’s call them club A and club B.
Every weekend it was the same story. The winner was a fancier in club A. When the race was finished in Club A still many prizes were to be won in club B.
The champion in club B would be "average" in club A. That was a matter of quality only because the fanciers lived very close, so the location was not relevant.
And believe me, those differences may be smaller in modern pigeon sport but they still exist. To judge how good a pigeon is I need to know in which club it was raced.
QUESTION
There was this National Ace Pigeon KBDB sprint a few years back. The owner lived near the French border and his Ace had won a series of first prizes.
Would it also have performed in the very strong combine called ‘Diamantverbond?’
Absolutely not. No bird can win a ‘series of first prizes’ in that combine.
Even though the entry in that combine is often low.
NETHERLANDS
In the Netherlands rules in many clubs are different.
Long distance fanciers have birds that do not perform at Middle Distance or Short Distance. But they have to train their birds, they must pick up experience.
In one club they can enter birds just for training, they are not in the competition.
In other clubs that is forbidden. In those clubs all birds that are basketed are in the concourse. This may lead to races with an enormous entry. With many long distance birds that are unable to win a prize, or birds that are not even clocked.
For Middle Distance racers it is much easier to perform in such clubs than in clubs where 50 specialists together enter 120 pigeons.
Good to know for fanciers who want to improve their family. They should apply to fanciers that live in an area where fanciers specialise.
So if you want long distance birds you should go to fanciers that live in regions where fanciers specialize in the long distance.
I remember that foreign fancier who was disappointed since he could not win a prize with the birds that he had bought from a Dutch Middle Distance champion. I was not surprised. This man was a ‘champion’ indeed. But he raced in an area where nearly all fanciers focus on long distance.
Do you want sprint birds? Go to regions where people specialize in sprint.
THE PROVINCE OF THE ‘6’ es.
Many foreigners only want Belgian pigeons with a ring that begins with a '6', so birds from Antwerp. Are these birds better then? Hmm. Delicate stuff !!
As for Middle Distance some Dutch claim that their birds are better than the Antwerp birds. And it must be said, in similar races on the same day their birds perform better than the Belgians. When I bring up this subject (are Dutch birds better today?) with Belgian fanciers. Some say ‘you need a shrink’. Others will not say this but think it.
But there are also Belgians who have their doubts.
REALISTIC
X, a great ‘short distance champion’ in ‘Diamantverbond’, the name of the strong combine that I mentioned before, is one of them.
You know what he said?
"Are Dutch Middle Distance birds better? I would not be surprised because we in our region (Berlaar area) race our best birds at sort distance only.
Dirk van Dijck, the one and only, fully agrees.
"If short distance guys like him and him and him (he mentioned about 10 names) would participate the middle distance from now on with their best birds that would be a revolution and change the pigeon sport dramatically with new names in the spotlights.
GRONDELAARS AND HEREMANS
‘What’s new’ I wonder.
-Long way back Jan Grondelaars already said: If you want to improve your family, cross your birds with sprint birds.
And he set an example himself. He bought ‘Eenoog’ from Hofkens. ‘Eenoog’ had won about 20 firsts from Quievrain (130 km), his off-spring would win first prizes for Grondelaars from 500 km and further.
-In his ‘glory-days’ Leo Heremans raced his best birds from Noyon (220 km). ‘Olympiad 003’ was raced from 130 km only.
How good some descendants perform at middle distance we all know.
COMBINE AND PROVINCIAL
With Stan Raeymaeckers I was once talking about a national ace KBDB. This bird was supposed to be the best of Belgium.
Stan showed me the provincial results of that year and this gave me a shock. The 1st National Ace was beaten by the same bird in EVERY race.
How can such a thing be possible? Apart from the provincial ‘double’ both birds were raced in different combines, the results in the combine counted.
The National Ace was raced in a much poorer combine and understandably it got better coefficients.
Talking about fair and unfair races: When there is a national with strong western wind fanciers in the Far East will have their birds home before those in Flanders (the West) have seen a feather.
THE ENTRY
Finally, one more thing:
Do not yourself be fooled by the number of pigeons in the race.
Businesswise a winner from 3,000 pigeons is far more interesting than a winner from 300 birds. But is it a better bird?
If those 3,000 pigeons were entered by 30 fanciers and those 300 pigeons were entered by 120 fanciers, I would prefer the second one. So the ‘not interesting bird’ businesswise.
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