On Wednesday evening, November 27, all West Flanders associations gathered for their annual general meeting.
For the members of the PE West Flanders, it was immediately their last general meeting of the current term considering the upcoming elections at the KBDB.
All associations were urged to encourage their members to participate in the elections and to ensure everything proceeds fairly.
Ultimately, it concerns the future of pigeon racing in our province and also at the national level.
Whoever sits here next year will and must be democratically elected, and we will also respect that, according to the chairman.
The associations also received a word of thanks for their commitment throughout the season and for their contribution to the digitization of loft lists, which meant that associations had to process many inquiries and ensure that those who could not handle the digital system still received their loft list on time.
After that, the meeting truly commenced, and it could be conducted at a smooth pace.
The end of the meeting was met with applause, indicating that the interests in West Flanders are aligned, which only benefits our pigeon racing.
Below is a brief overview of the decisions made. The PowerPoint is also attached.
Agenda for the general statutory meeting
-Approval of the previous minutes
no remarks
-Report for the service year 2023-2024
There is a clear downward trend visible in both the number of members and the number of sold rings.
The number of associations remained the same, but unfortunately, there is one less association for 2025.
Amendments
-> Nil
Report of the national meeting
Initially, the national calendar was presented.
Explanation was provided as to why Bourges and Argenton appear multiple times on the GHF calendar, as many enthusiasts had questions about that.
An explanation everyone could agree on. The only question raised was why those release locations are always sought in an eastward direction.
The chairman outlined the composition of the national sports committee, making it clear that the contribution from the Flemish provinces is not proportional to the number of affiliated members.
The meeting subsequently urged for an urgent review of the related regulations.
Then the fond calendar was addressed, and it became evident that there is quite a bit of dissatisfaction regarding the composition of that calendar and the fact that some classics have disappeared.
The chairman clarified that there are likely to be further changes to that calendar, but with that, the planned interprovincial fond flights from Jarnac and Brive might be jeopardized.
There is indeed an intention to convert Valence, which is organized interprovincially on those dates on the other side of the country, back to national flights.
The meeting clearly instructed the delegates to ensure that the already-made decisions concerning Jarnac and Brive are respected and that previously made decisions are not undone afterward.
The heavy half-fond calendar was also presented, with the general hope of getting the Dutch involved.
Furthermore, several regulatory adjustments were reviewed without further remarks from the meeting.
Sporting program 2025 Sprint and KHF
The sprint calendar is almost identical to that of the 2024 season. Only the two provincial flights from Pontoise with old pigeons at the end of May were replaced by Clermont.
Also, the Tour of Belgium is being dropped due to the lack of interest and is replaced by autumn flights from Grevillers and Quievrain.
The KHF 2025 calendar is undergoing some changes.
To maintain costs, it was decided to go to the same release locations as East Flanders. The four obvious release locations are: Fontenay, Chateaudun, Toury, and Orleans (Gidy). Since it concerns 17 KHF flights, they were divided between the western and eastern release locations.
Eight flights from the west, namely Fontenay or Chateaudun, and nine flights from the slightly more eastern release locations Toury and Orleans (Gidy).
Of course, West Flanders will be released separately.
The proposal was unanimously accepted.
The proposal for the provincial GHF calendar, which is still uncertain, was also generally accepted.
For the rest, we refer to the attached PowerPoint.
After an excellent champions ceremony, a great general meeting followed.
A clear testament to the fact that the provincial administration in the coastal province is doing well.