As we have been accustomed to since its establishment, the Gold Club reached record levels in 2021. It was the year in which most of the rings specific to the competition were distributed, so the 2022 season will be the one in which the most significant cash prizes will be awarded so far. In addition to the 10 national prizes, already classic, whose amount is a fixed one, no less than 180 county prizes will be awarded. Five for each association, their value depending directly on the number of rings purchased.

This year, pigeon fanciers from 37 associations in the country requested a total of 27,620 Gold rings, which is the highest demand so far. The very large number of pigeon fanciers who want to take part in this competition is nothing more than confirmation that the Gold Club has become a championship that needs no further presentation, exceeding the most optimistic forecasts.

For 2022, Argeș opens the charts

No less than 10 county associations have far exceeded one thousand gold rings purchased in 2021, but, by far, most of them were requested by pigeon fanciers from Argeș. County in which there were several registrations for 2021 of some pigeon fanciers who were active in other pigeon fancier organizations, the Argeș association distributed in 2021 no less than 2300 Gold rings. In fact, in a material in which our publication interviewed several pigeon fanciers newly enrolled in the National Federation of Pigeon Fanciers in Romania (FNCPR) for the 2021 season, which has meanwhile become the Union of Pigeon Fanciers in Romania (UFCR), they stated that the main reason why they made this decision, in addition to the competitive side, are the Gold awards at stake every year. But, in addition to the national awards, pigeon fanciers in this county also compete for one of the five county awards which, due to the fact that they have purchased a significant number of rings, are not to be neglected at all. More precisely, we are talking about amounts of over 5,810 lei for each county award granted at the level of Argeș county.

In Prahova 1,980 gold rings were sold, in Suceava 1,710, and in Olt 1,700 were purchased

Three other county associations in which important numbers of Gold rings were purchased are Prahova, Suceava and Olt. Prahova pigeon fanciers requested 1,980 Gold rings for the young birds reproduced this year, hoping that they made the right choice when nominating the future flyers, if not for one of the big prizes, at least for the county prizes, whose value is about 5,001 lei / prize . On the other hand, the Suceava association, being also the most numerous in the country in terms of pigeon fanciers of which it is composed, has always been among the pigeon fancier associations in which many Gold rings have been requested. For the next competition season, 1,710 young birds from this association were ringed with a Gold ring, so that the value of each of the five county prizes that will be awarded at the end of the 2022 season is over 4,319 lei. With almost the same number of rings purchased (1,700), pigeon fanciers from Olt duel, apart from the national prizes, for one of the county prizes worth 4,294 lei each.

But, these are not the only county associations in which considerable numbers of Gold rings have been distributed. In Bihor, for example, 1,585 Gold rings were requested this year, and in Vâlcea, 1,390 rings. Immediately after is the Mehedinți Pigeon Association, with 1,300 rings purchased in 2021, followed by Arad and Neamț with 1,100 rings each. Apart from the mentioned counties, the national average is very good, most of the unnamed associations purchasing between 500 and 1,000 Gold rings. As for the 2023 season the Gold club will have a new regulation, with awards including at club level, it is more than certain that in the coming seasons Romanian pigeon fans will purchase at least as many Gold rings as in 2021.