We know about the Short distance ​​category that it is a very contested one, thousands of pigeons from all over the country competing for one of the places on the national podium. We also know that this norm is achieved by ranking five speed competitions (95-420 km) in a competitive year. In recent seasons, Romania’s national champions in this category have accustomed us to achieve very low penalty points, usually only one figure, which shows the very high level at which they compete, given the fact that we are talking about a norm that is composed in five stages. The difficult season we witnessed this year is also reflected in the scores of the pigeons in the national top 3 National Old birds Short distance 2020, which are slightly higher than in the past. However, Miklos Szekely (AB), George Tîlvîc (VL) and Marius Flostoiu (PH), occupiers of the first three national places in this category, deserve all our appreciation.

In the 2020 season, the order on the three places of the national podium was made by only a few hundredths. This year’s national champion, belonging to Miklos Szekely, from Blaj, managed this performance with a coefficient of 10.30 points. On the second place, with a difference of only 16 hundredths, was the pigeon of George Tîlvîc from Vâlcea, and another cock, of the pigeon fancier Marius Flostoiu, member of the Prahova Pigeon Association, completed the national podium with 10.65 points.

Miklos Szekely (AB), national champion of the Old birds Short distance 2020

For pigeon fancier Miklos Szekely, the national title he won this year is not a surprise. About the pigeon fancier from Blaj, we can only talk about a reconfirmation of the fact that he has very good pigeons and, just as importantly, he knows how to compete with maximum results. As for the pigeon, the cock with the series RO-17-0583077, it would be enough to say that he is the nephew of the legendary pigeon “Gentleman” of Matei Romulus. He managed to obtain the best score in Romania in this ​​category by ranking five stages with distances between 147 and 384 km, and four of the five scores accumulated for achieving this norm were counted in the general rankings. Thus, Miklos Szekely’s cock had the following rankings: 4th place / 5,742 pigeons (147 km), 3rd place 4,062 pigeons (247 km), 4th place / 5,023 pigeons (196 km), 1st place 1/451 pigeons (384 km) and fourth place out of 685 pigeons (384 km). “The cock  is reproduced from a son of the pigeon named Gentleman of Matei Romulus and a hen from my club colleague Călin Medriș. He comes from a very good pigeons family. For example, also in my loft, one of his sisters was twice ranked 3rd nationally in the Ace Speed ​​category. He was competed in widowhood method all the season, and before separating him by his hen, reproducing a pair of young birds. For feeding I used several mixtures from Versele Laga and Vanrobaeys all season, but I can’t say that I have a specific method of feeding. The pigeons get their food depending on the next race and the weather conditions. They train at home twice a day, and whe weather and my free time allows me, I take them to several trainings of maximum 40 km per week “, explains Miklos Szekely.

George Tîlvîc, National vice-champion with the pigeon RO-18-050529

In the second year after returning to the pigeon competitions, George Tîlvîc, from Vâlcea, managed the most important results of his career so far: 2nd place National Short distance Old birds category, and 1st place National Middle distance Old birds. The two performances were possible thanks to the cock RO-18-050529, and the pigeon fancier from Vâlcea is a clear proof that when he wants, “I can’t” is not an option. „For two years I have returned to the pigeon sport. It’s not easy at all, because I have to go 30 km every day to my pigeons loft, but results like the ones made this year motivate me to continue. The cock has an interesting story. He is a Van de Pasch combination with Drapa and as a youngster he has not competed. Last year he competed, but without making any norm, and this year he managed these performances. Because I competed in widowhood, at some races, I tried to motivate him. Either I locked his hen in the breeding box to find her there when he arrived, or I locked another cock in his box before basketing him. Usually, I avoided such tricks, but after seeing that he has some good performances, I tried to keep him in top shape. The food and supplements I use are from Vanrobaeys. The pigeons train only once a day, and this year we did not train them by car between stages”, stated George Tîlvîc. It should be noted that the races with which George Tîlvîc’s male accomplished this performance are more of middle distance than short distance ​​(332 km, 399 km, 224 km), and the rankings made are as follows: 9th  / 7,594 pigeons (332 km), 16th / 12,068 pigeons (399 km), 1st/635 pigeons (399 km), 8th / 2,817 pigeons (399 km) and 29th / 8,215 pigeons (224 km).

In 2020, Marius Floștoiu completes the top 3 national Old birds Short distance category

The occupant of the 3rd place in this year’s National Old Birds Short distance category ​​is Marius Floștoiu, a pigeon fancier who competes in Prahova, one of the most competitive groups when it comes to the short distance races. His champion is also a cock, RO-18-2085284, and he won this year no less than … six national trophies!: 1 National H Old birds, 2 National Allround Old birds, 3 National Alldround Palmares, 3 National Ace Speed old birds, 3 National Middle distance Old birds and 3 National Short distance Old birds. The coefficient of 10.65 penalty points ​​was achieved after ranking 2nd / 12,427 pigeons (142 km), 1st/547 pigeons (384 km), 1st/474 pigeons (384 km), 28th / 8,690 pigeons (384 km) and the 3rd/900 pigeons (384 km). “The cock is a cross of several families of pigeons for short distance races, his father being a Louis van Loon pigeon. I competed him using widowhood method, and to motivate him I tried several options. The best results came after I left it in the breeding box, where it had the nest, before the race or when I put another cock and his hen in his box. For two races I tried to leave him with the hen before basketing, but he failed at those competitions and I gave up this method. Out of the 12 races he competed in, he was the first to arrive home at eight of them. During the season, I used food from Versele Laga and Bayers and I trained them two or three times a week about 90 km distance ”, said Marius Floștoiu.

So, these are the three pigeons on the national podium of this year’s Old birds, Short distance category.