One of the most beautiful and attractive part of racing pigeons competition in Romania are the national races. As classic marathon competitions, national races are, perhaps, the most interesting competitions of the season. Gathering thousands of fanciers and tens of thousands of pigeons each year, national races have the effect of a magnet that brings the fanciers together and leaves behind pride and other feelings that should not take place among pigeon competitions.

Well thought out in order not to disadvantage anyone, there are two national competitions for each geographic area, having its specific flight routes. The areas, or, better said, the competitive provinces of the National Federation of Pigeon Fanciers in Romania correspond to the most important geographical areas of our country and they are called very suggestive for this purpose: province of West for pigeon associations in the western part of the country (Arad, Bihor, Satu-Mare, Maramureș, Timiș, Sălaj, Caraș-Severin), Province of Transylvania for fanciers in the counties within the Carpathian Arch (Alba, Bistrița, Brașov, Covasna, Cluj, Harghita, Hunedoara, Mureș, Sibiu), Province of Moldova, which includes the counties in the area of ​​Moldova (Bacău, Botoșani, Galați, Iași, Neamț, Suceava, Vaslui, Vrancea), Province of Oltenia, which includes the counties in the geographical area of ​​the same name (Argeș, Dolj, Gorj, Mehedinți, Olt, Teleorman, Vâlcea) and Muntenia Province for the counties in the Romanian Plain and the southeast of the country (București, Brăila, Buzău, Călărași, Constanța, Dâmbovița, Giurgiu, Ialomița, Prahova, Tulcea, Ilfov).

National races, organized for extra competitiveness
The national races are divided in two categories. In the middle of the competitive season, usually in the middle of July, each of the five provinces organizes a national marathon race. According to the current National Sport Regulation which provides data set for the organization of marathon competitions, this year the first national stage will take place on July 13. National Stendal (over 900 km for Satu-Mare fanciers) is the race organized by the Satu-Mare association, attended by fanciers from all the counties in the Western area. Can also join those from counties from the rest of the country, and the release point will be the city of the same name in Germany. This year the national race of Stendal will be even more special. Due to the efforts of the organizers, the National Stendal will be a stage with fairly consistent prizes, and each fancier, from any county, can participate after paying the participation fee in the amount of 50 lei/11 €. It will be made a general ranking of the competition, as well as rankings for each collecting center. The money resulting from the participation fees will be used exclusively to reward the winners of the collecting centers, prizes based on total amount that will be collected at the end of the registrations. Also, places 1, 2 and 3 for pigeons and fancier, on each center, will be awarded with products worth 500, 300 and 200 lei (105,65 and 45 €), granted by the specialized companies that will sponsor this race. A big part of the work and from the merit of organizing this race goes to to the president of Satu-Mare association , Michael Mureșan, who will award the first place in the general ranking of the competition with the amount of 10,000 lei/2200 €, probably the most consistent national award at any stage so far.

In the same area of ​​the country, the Alba association will organize the national race in Prague,  with over 760 km for Cluj County fanciers. The race can be joined by people from Cluj, Alba, Sibiu, Bistrița-Năsăud, Brașov, Harghita și Covasna, but also Mureș, Hunedoara and Caraș counties.

Moving on, one of the most important national races is Madona (Lithuania), the national contest of Moldova organized by Suceava. The competition is highly expected by Moldova fanciers, who participate each year in an impressive number. For example, 900 fanciers and 12,423 pigeons participated last year, impressive for a race that goes beyond 1000 km. The southern province is organizing this year, with the help of Brăila association, Zaruve race (Belarus), contest with over 760 km for Buzau County fanciers, and in the southern province, the Tokmak (Ucraina) contest will be organized by the Dolj association, over 800 km for Argeș fanciers. All the mentioned races will have inter-county rankings and they will count for achieving marathon category. So, participation in the largest number possible both at the level of fanciers and pigeons is very important. Also for transparency and clarity, but also to remove any doubt of fraud, their basketing will be filmed and transmitted live on the internet.

Berlin, Izium and Birzai – the classics, expected by all Romanian fanciers
Apart from the five national races presented above together with their organizers, National Federation of Pigeon Fanciers in Romania (FNCPR) is the promoter of three national super-races: National Berlin (West and Transylvania area), National Izium (South and Muntenia area) and National Birzai (the whole area of ​​Moldova). These three national races take place in the last pre-arranged weekend for organizing the marathon stages, and this year the pigeons will be released on August 2nd. Despite the fact that these three stages are part of the national championship, the winners of the Berlin, Izium and Birzai races are awarded also separately, within a special section of the National Exhibition. Proven track record are made for this races, already reaching several editions and awaited with enthusiasm by all Romanian fanciers.

Național Berlin (+900 km)
The National Berlin Competition is organized by the Bihor Association and enjoys a special status and presence every year. The trophy offered for the 1st place of the race is a very special one, being an extra motivation to win such a contest. The tradition of the Berlin race has been around for many years, at one point reaching proven track records up to five seasons. For example, last year 829 fanciers and 6656 pigeons from 19 counties in the western part of the country participated, which reflects the magnitude of the Berlin race. The potential winners can come from any participating county, so far being impossible to say that a certain area has a monopoly over the race. For example, last year, Berlin was won by the tandem Nicola + Dehelean from Arad (1027 km). A year before, Lupu Asavei Constantin from Iași won the prestigious race, despite the fact he had a distance of 1201 km, while in 2016 the tandem C-tin + Dinu from Timiș were the winners, having  the distance of 1059 km. This is how Marius Tunduc, president of the National Federation of Pigeon Fanciers in Romania, presents the National Berlin race: „ It is a very important moment of the racing season for Romanian fanciers! National marathon races are the most important landmarks for pigeon fanciers who prefer this category. As can be seen, the number of pigeons participating in these national races has increased year by year, a sign that we are on a right track. As for the National Berlin marathon race, I can say that it has become a brand itself, a lot of fanciers from this area of the country calculating their steps, so they’ll get their pigeons in top form for the date of this race. Basically, the entire competitive season is summarized in this race! From this point of view, we can say we have our own Barcelona, or even our own Pau! I wish all Romanian fanciers a great success in these two important races!”

Izium Național (+800 km)
National Izium race is the southern classic, successor of the well-known Harkov National stage. The responsibility of the organization is on Dolj association, which makes considerable efforts every year to do everything superlatively. The competition is also a fierce one, fanciers from all over the southern area of the country, from Mehedinți to Călărași and Ialomița participating each year for the clear purpose of winning, or at least to get the best ranking possible. „As we know, in the Oltenia region, there is a very large number of fanciers passionate with long distance flights, marathon category being, in my opinion, the most appreciated. These being said, I don’t think someone is surprised anymore by the appreciation enjoyed by the two national marathon races, Tokmak and Izium, among the Oltenian fanciers. After a tough season, characterized by extreme weather conditions and particularly difficult races, I am convinced that Tokmak and Izium Nationals will be the highlight of the whole season! As an organizing association (Gelu-Ioan Gătejescu Dolj Pigeons Association), we will do our best to organize these two races under perfect conditions, and may the best pigeons and fanciers win!“, said Florin Gătejescu, the president of the Dolj Pigeons Association. Last season, 743 fanciers participated for the National Izium, gathering 4855 pigeons. The first place was won by Bucharest’s Victor Cimpoieru, for which Izium National had a distance of 1050 km.

Birzai Național (+1000 km)
In terms of number of participating  pigeons, the largest national marathon race, by far, is National Birzai, organized by the Neamț association for all fanciers in the Moldavian area. Each edition of the Birzai national marathon has a significant number of participants, as it will be, probably, this year also. Judging by the fact that last year 10.832 pigeons and  888 fanciers took part to this competition, after the record numbers of this season at the stages in the Moldavian area, surely the participation in the Birzai stage will explode, setting a new record. Last year’s winner was Aurel Novac from Vrancea County, which proves that the Birzai National stage is a very well organized one, giving all participants equal chances of winning.

In conclusion, national races are a special category of races, promoted and strongly supported by the National Federation of Pigeon Fanciers in Romania. They become part of the tradition of  Romanian Racing Pigeons Competitions, and their winners gather some of the most important trophies which can be won as a fancier.  Good luck to all!