This season, the champions of the speed categories come from Sălaj, Alba and Suceava counties. The first category, Speed Yearlings, was won by “Familia Culda”, from the town of Criseni, Sălaj county, with the hen with the series 0016771-2021. This fast pigeon managed, in the five stages required for this category, to fly a total of 1,402 kilometers and obtain a score of 8.55 points, thus becoming the national champion. Like her origins, this wonderful pigeon is 100% Silviu Glodeanu.
The 2nd national place of this category is occupied by the hen with the series 0818107-2021, who with the 1,220 ranked aerial kilometers and the 9.03 penalty points obtained becomes the national vice-champion of this speed category. The young hen belongs to the team Traistaru V + Podosu from the town of Comarinic, Prahova county.
On the third step of the national podium climbs Doru Gabriel Faur, pigeon fancier from West Province, more precisely from Sicula, Arad county, with pigeon 0172079-2021. In the 935 aerial kilometers ranked in the five stages, he accumulated 14.41 penalty points, which was enough for him to win this valuable trophy.

Doru Gabriel Faur

„I compete using the widowhood method all season. On February 10, the pigeons are allowed to pair. Mandatory they all have to raise a chicken. 15 days before the first race, the pigeons start the widowhood. In the first three stages, all the pigeons in the flight group are competed. After these three races, those with top rankings have their partners stopped at home. Flight batch preparation begins with winter treatments. Without treatments and quality pigeons you cannot be at the top of the ranking. They start training around the loft on March 1. From the end of the previous season until that date they are kept closed. Until the start of the championship, I do at least 10 training sessions with my personal car. I started the 2022 season with a batch of 80 pigeons, and at the end I was left with 38 birds. Some of them also competed in the Long Distance and Marathon stages. This season has been a very difficult one for the Western Province, during which we have experienced high temperatures, the pigeons even at the Middle Distance stages having difficulties from this point of view. However, the quality birds held on until the end. I compete in all categories, but I got the best results from Speed to the Allround category. The yearling cock 0172079-2021, who achieved the 3rd place national Speed Yearlings, also achieved a 5th place national Ace Speed Yearlings category. His father has Olympic pigeons behind him and his mother is 100% Louis Van Loon. From this family of pigeons, this year, three yearlings reached the national top 10 in the Speed Yearlings category. I want to point out that most of the pigeons come from Mr. Daniel Marta and I want to thank him for the quality pigeons he has and from which I could choose any bird I wanted”, said Gabriel Faur.

Hens, powerful also for the Old birds categories

The national champion of the 2022 season in the Speed Old birds category is the hen with the series 0420036-2020, belonging to the fancier Miklos Szekely from Blaj, Alba county. This after obtaining a score of only 8.15 penalty points in the five ranked stages, which totaled 1,034 aerial kilometers.

Marius Viorel Airinei

The second place in the category was awarded by Marius Viorel Airinei, from the town of Grămești, Suceava county, also thanks to a hen with the series 0912601-2020. The vice-champion covered a total of 618 aerial kilometers in the five stages, managing to accumulate 12.10 penalty points. Marius, who has been active as a pigeon fancier member since 2007, started the season with a flight batch that counted 50 pigeons. The pigeons he owns were received as a gift from his friends, namely Cristi Nistor and Doru, Mihai Bizubac and Ciprian Ungurianu, the national vice-champion hen being bred from two pigeons from Cristi Nistor and Doru. These birds come from pigeons from the lines of Rudi De Saer, Chris Hebberecht, Hardy Kruger, Verkerk, Kees Bosua, Gaby Vandenabeele and Jan Hooymans, and were flown by the widow method.

Năstase Ilie + Viorel

The team Năstase Ilie + Viorel, from the town of Brezoaele, Dâmbovița county, managed to get their hands on the “bronze” of this category through the cock with the series 0287933-2020. He accomplished the norm this season by logging 1,009 aerial kilometers, recording a total of 16.61 points. “As origins, our champion has 50% Jan Hooymans blood, Harry line, brought from Florea Sorin, and 50% Gerard Koopman, from Petrică Cocoș’s loft. Here, the contests in these categories are very difficult, one hand, because of the very high competition and, two, because of the change of the flight route this season. However, in the end, we obtained a very important result, which makes us very happy”, declared Ilie Năstase.

Exceptional pigeons, exceptional fanciers

The 1st national place in the Speed Fanciers category 2022 is occupied by the same Marius Viorel Airinei, from Suceava county, pigeon fancier who this season also obtained the title of national vice-champion of the Speed Old birds category. With a score of 132.86 points, he managed to claim this precious trophy. The hen with the series 0912601-2020, who managed to become national vice-champion in the Speed old birds category this season, was also the main “pawn” in the team fight.

Daniel Ioniță

Miklos Szekely, pigeon fancier from Alba county, this season national champion in the Speed Old birds category, also claims the title of national vice-champion in the Speed Fanciers category, managing to complete this norm with a total of 158.37 penalty points.
Also from Alba county comes the fancier who completes the national podium. It is about Daniel Ioniță, from the town of Cugir, who with a score of 179.04 penalty points manages to secure the “bronze” this season in the 2022 Speed Fanciers category. “The pigeons I breed are from older lines, pigeons brought from my friends Florin Doștetian, Dorin Savu, Ciprian Barbur, Laurentiu Pinca, Florin Arion and last but not least Beniamin Şandru. This season I competed 8 speed stages using widowhood method, after which I engaged, from 350 aerial kilometers, 17 birds directly to the Guben Marathon stage, having a distance of 930 aerial kilometers. From this Marathon, 4 pigeons returned, and 3 ranked. We started the season with a flock of 64 pigeons and in the end we were left with 24. For me, the trophy obtained represents the value of the birds from the loft, birds that have been rigorously selected year after year. I live in a difficult area for pigeon sport, where the number of pigeons at the start was relatively small compared to other counties. That is why the results obtained at the national level by the pigeon fanciers in our area seem to me to be fully deserved. As for the team, what can I tell you… I know my pigeons very well, and at each stage they were chosen according to their sporting form”, said Daniel Ioniță.