We can see that preparations on an administrative and organizational level for the new racing season are in full swing.
And although there are still many steps to be taken, the organizers have agreed that we will handle transportation and care/support ourselves.
This means that we will be in discussion again with the KBDB, participating countries, and organizers on January 29.
We will keep you updated on the progress.
Additionally, this week we will also focus on the loft lists for 2025 (an agenda item for the Members' Council on March 8) and the changes that need to be processed before February 1.
Pigeon sport fully in motion
The preparations for the new racing season are in full swing with you - the enthusiasts.
From Papendal, we are busy with the honoring of the National Champions on March 15, promoting the sport, and preparations for the Members' Council.
And of course, there is attention for the racing areas of the upcoming season.
Unfortunately, we also had to deal with the theft of twenty prize-winning long-distance pigeons and eggs from the loft of Tinus Deuring this week.
Honoring National Champions March 15
This is not the first time I've mentioned this here, but not everyone will read everything immediately or note it in their agenda considering the questions we regularly receive.
On March 15, our National Champions will be honored at Van der Valk in Vianen.
It’s not just what we call the senior members who will be honored, but also the champions of the youth competition (up to 25 years) will be in the spotlight.
The personal invitations will be sent out at the beginning of February.
For clarity, the first five champions from each discipline among our senior enthusiasts will be invited to the honoring, so loft champions, designated champions, and pigeon champions.
Furthermore, the 10 best enthusiasts from their loft as well as designated and the owners of the 10 Ace pigeons of the Netherlands.
In the Youth Competition year, the top three of each discipline will be honored. Here too, we have loft, designated, and pigeon champions.
Also, the five best enthusiasts from their loft as well as designated and the owners of the five best Ace pigeons will come on stage.
For every champion, it will be a wonderful experience, especially for our young enthusiasts.
Registration can be done when the invitation is received at the beginning of February.
Promotion of pigeon sport
There will always be enough matters for us to consider in the pigeon sport, and I think it will never be different.
There is plenty on the agenda for the coming year, and there will always be issues where we need to express our opinion or react.
We definitely have the necessary attention for this, but perhaps we don't highlight enough the communication and promotion of pigeon sport.
Internally, we keep the website up to date daily and last year we revamped this newsletter titled "Op (de) Hoogte."
We also regularly post news on social media.
But we also have the ambition to promote the sport among interested parties and potential enthusiasts to show them how fun and attractive the game with pigeons is.
All this aims to preserve the sport for future generations of pigeon enthusiasts.
Promotion: also tackle locally and regionally
We need to translate that last part into action this year. Of course, we have expert help with that.
We will keep you updated on the progress, but from our 437 associations, a lot can also be communicated about pigeon sport to the local media.
Often, placements are completely free, and here too, repetition is the power of advertising.
Our pigeon sport is more than worth it.
We are happy to place, wherever possible, to promote the sport, this in this weekly newsletter.
Sharing successes with each other gives energy, and it’s better to share for free than to come up with new ideas.
Racing areas and 150 members
For the new racing season, there are always matters that need attention. Such as the racing areas.
We have set the number of members for the disciplines Speed, Middle distance, and Young pigeons at 150.
There were racing areas last year that far exceeded the mentioned 150 members, nice robust racing areas.
But there were also some that were just on or below that number.
For those areas, it’s certainly necessary to see how the current situation is.
There is mainly focus on reorganization in the departments.
However, after the reorganization, the racing areas can remain unchanged in almost all situations.
If there are enough members in a racing area, there is nothing to worry about.
Of course, future departments will decide on that, and improvements and more satisfied enthusiasts in the racing areas are always welcome.
If there are changes in the existing racing areas, they must be communicated to our office in Papendal immediately after confirmation.
There will also be work for Compuclub to set it up afterward.