Yesterday, on the first day of July, the pigeons were basketed for two marathon stages, which we could call them, without mistake, historical. At least for the recent history of the Romanian pigeon sport, the Tokmak stages, organized by the Dolj Pigeon Association, and Vilnius, organized by the Bacău Pigeon Association, are extremely important. First of all, the number of pigeons engaged in each of these competitions is a record for the area in which they take place, and secondly, the scope of the two stages is unique. It is for the first time, at least in recent years, when almost all counties in a province participate together in the same marathon stage starting with the first competition of this type, which is very well reflected in the participation figures.

The launch of the pigeons for the Tokmak (Ukraine) and Vilnius (Lithuania) stages is scheduled for Saturday, July 4, 2020. Because we mentioned the record participation, 16,467 pigeons were engaged at the Tokmak marathon stage and 927 pigeon fanciers from seven counties participate. 22,070 pigeons were basketed for Vilnius, an absolute record for a marathon competition, and 927 pigeon fanciers from seven counties in the province of Moldova are also participating. “First of all, I want to congratulate the two groups of pigeon fanciers who have agreed to make these two dreams possible. Northern Moldova and Oltenia managed to have record numbers of pigeons and hold two extraordinary marathon competitions. The organization of these stages is a proof that when people want, when the competition is pursued and important things are achieved, it can be done. We still have associations in Romania that run away to play “on the streets”, with only a few hundred pigeons, while their colleagues enjoy the arrivals of tens of thousands of pigeons. It is a unique feeling just to take part in such a competition, not to mention the feelings of the one who will win it. I congratulate the participants and the organizers and also the policy of the Federation, which also made these competitions possible. I want more and more associations in the future to understand the importance of special competitions, with high numbers, which generate emulation and which make pigeon fancier evolve. The national stages are next, a very exciting end to the season, which will bring the best fanciers and pigeons to the stage at the Champions Gala. I am very happy that, despite the delay caused by the pandemic, we managed to bring the season in excellent condition and that we will have a whole season, complete categories, pigeons and exceptional fanciers. Congratulations to all and I am glad to be the president of an organization that sponsors such stages”, said Marius Tunduc, president of the National Federation of Pigeon Fanciers in Romania (FNCPR).

Tokmak, a competition with 16,467 pigeons at the start

Since the winter, the pigeon fanciers from the Oltenia area have decided, by mutual agreement, to participate together in the same marathon stages since the first competition of the season. The novelty compared to the previous seasons is that there is no first marathon stage in which two or more associations participate, after which the first national stage is organized, at area level. Thus, for Tokmak, the first marathon competition of this season, 16,467 pigeons were engaged, and 927 pigeon fanciers from Dolj, Olt, Argeș, Vâlcea, Gorj, Teleorman and, partially, Mehedinți participated. If at the level of pigeon lovers participating in Oltenia there have been marathon stages with such figures, the number of pigeons employed in this competition is the highest so far. “For our province it is an extraordinary thing that we have reached a common understanding and all the associations from Oltenia participate. In the future, we are waiting for our colleagues from Mehedinți to join us, because only five pigeon fanciers signed up for this competition. It should be noted that the number of pigeons is a record for our area and we hope that at the national stages we will have over ten thousand pigeons participating. The transport is going very well so far, the nine cars in which the pigeons were loaded being in the Republic of Moldova, very close to the border with Ukraine. We have an average of 20 pigeons per box, and also very good conditions for our birds. The launch will take place on Saturday morning, the distances for the first fanciers in Arges being over 800 km and will reach over 950 km for fanciers in the south of Dolj County. At the area level, we want this protocol to continue in the coming seasons and we have established that the dates scheduled for launch are strictly adhered to, firstly to remove any suspicion and, secondly, to a type of pigeon that is capable of coming home on any type of weather. Last but not least, I hope to have a special competition in terms of arrivals and to go well to the end this competitive year “, said Florin Gătejescu, president of the Pigeon Association “Ioan-Gelu Gătejescu” of the Dolj county.

Vilnius “dethrones” the National Madonna from 2019

On the road opened last year, when the Moldavian area had record figures for the Madonna National competition, the first marathon stage this year, launched in Vilnius (Lithuania), sets a new milestone in terms of the number of pigeons engaged. At the end of the basketing, the figure of 22,070 employed pigeons was reached, which was made possible by the participation of 927 fanciers, from the associations of Suceava, Botoșani, Bacău, Vrancea, Vaslui, Neamț and Iași. “We can say that the Vilnius stage is a dream come true. We managed to unify the whole province of Moldova, to participate pigeon fanciers from almost all the component associations and to gather a huge number of pigeons. Having over 22,000 pigeons at a marathon competition in Romania is a real performance. We hope that everything goes very well, that the cars arrive safely at the launch site and that we have a successful competition “, said Costel Irimia, president of the Bacău Pigeon Association. In the end, we can only hope that we will have unique arrivals, very successful competitions, to gain even more courage for the coming seasons. Good luck all!