After two almost catastrophic marathon races, the pigeon fanciers from the Western Province finally had an honorable marathon competition. This was the Berlin National, 2021 edition, a competition that, although it did not have a spectacular number of pigeons, was an extremely attractive stage. All the pigeons arrived starting with the morning of the second day of the competition, which increased the intensity of feelings, and the fact that the first 20 places are pigeons from seven counties proves that Berlin National 2021 was a more than fair race. The big winners of the stage are Ionuț + Nikolas Ardelean (Sălaj), who occupies the first place in pigeons, and Nicu Șiclovan (Arad), pigeon fancier who occupies the first position in fanciers competition.

In 2021, at the Berlin National with 589 pigeon fanciers participated. They came from 18 associations from the West and Transylvania, and in order to preserve the tradition, five pigeon fanciers from Moldova also participated (two fanciers from Botoșani and Suceava and one from Iași). A total of 3,115 pigeons were engaged, which, as in the other two national stages last weekend, were released on July 30, at 07:05.

Ionuț Ardelean (Salaj), the new winner of the Berlin National race

The 11th winner of the Berlin National competition is a young pigeon fancier, Ionuț Ardelean from Sălaj. He has been competing for only a few seasons, being passionate about the long distance and marathon stages, and the result at the Berlin National is his first place won at the stage level. “I started competing in 2015. The pigeons keep them in a village, 30 km from Zalău, where my parents live. I have about 140 pigeons in total, which come from my association colleagues Dan Tărău, Florin Lucaciu, but also from other lines, bought at auction. I compete in both the marathon and the long distance categories, and in the future I intend to focus more on the long distance. Although I had other results, being also county champion, it is for the first time when I win a race “, said Ionuț Ardelean. The champion is the cock with the series 0648272/2019, also in his first great achievement in his flying career. He had to fly 980 km to the loft, a distance he covered with an average speed of 1036.40 m / min, being recorded at 06:29:54. “I started the season with 52 pigeons, which I initially competed in widowhood, and after the first marathon, I switched to natural. When he was engaged for Berlin, his hen was about laying eggs. By the way, I left her at home. I used food from Beyers during the season, and for preparation and recovery I used Belgasol and Tollyamin. Also to prepare for the Berlin stage, we took the pigeons to five 80 km training sessions, launching them in the morning, in the evening and even at noon. As a provenance, this cock is a cross, his mother being from Florin Lucaciu, and his father from Horia Bojan. Honestly, I didn’t think I would remain in the first place, because there were still areas where we could be beaten. But, when I was sure that I was the first place in Berlin, I was very, very happy “, added Ionuț Ardelean (foto right).

A dream race for Nicu Șiclovan (Arad): 4 pigeons in the first 27, and first place in fanciers competition

An experienced pigeon fancier, Nicu Șiclovan from Arad had, at the Berlin National 2021, one of the best marathon stages of his entire career. Against the background of a season in which he fundamentally changed his approach to this sport, Nicu Șiclovan had a stage that is equivalent to a national trophy. It won first place in the fanciers competition (589 participants), ranking eight pigeons out of nine engaged, and four of them occupy a place in the top 27 pigeons throughout the competition. “I am a man who says things frankly and I do not hide the fact that this season I reinvented myself. I changed everything! I forgot everything I knew so far, I researched, I watched a lot of material about pigeon fancying and I completely changed what I was doing before. First of all, I competed with the pigeons naturally after many years and I gave up any kind of antibiotic treatments. I used a lot of probiotics and I made things as simple as possible “, said Nicu Șiclovan. For the National Berlin, the pigeon fancier from Arad prepared a team of 20 pigeons, which had as a nest position small chicks or 10-11 days. But, just before basketing, Nicu Șiclovan decided to hire only 9 pigeons in Berlin. No less than eight of them ranked, the first and third of them being even team pigeons, hen 0384614/2019 and cock 0043099/2018. They took 4th and 26th places on the launch and accumulated a total score of 9.31 penalty points. Nicu Șiclovan also occupies the 23rd, 27th and 97th places on the launch. “I paired the pigeons quite late, on March 25, I let them take out a chick and then I left them to the natural. For Berlin, I had prepared 20 pigeons, of which 10 young hens on small chicks. Even on the day of basketing, I decided not to put them in and I think my decision was very good. I then engaged them for the long distance race and they ranked all 10. As a nest position, the pigeons sent to Berlin had chicks for 10-11 days, and the cock who came second to the team, in addition to the chicks, also had eggs. I used food from Beyers and I managed not to treat the pigeons at all with antibiotics, because they didn’t need them. For recovery we used honey and lemon and, at least once every two days, the pigeons received probiotic and Zyma Herb in water. I didn’t force the pigeons at the beginning of the season, and when the race approached, I started to train them much more intensely. I also took them to several 80 km training sessions, from where I launched them at noon, in the heat. Even though I knew the pigeons were very well prepared, I did not expect such arrivals. Most of all, however, I am glad that I had the strength to change things and I see that the changes have paid off. When I started competing in widowhood, I didn’t think I would return to the natural method, but now I consider that natural is a real art “, added Nicu Șiclovan (foto left).

In the pigeons ranking, the second place on the launch is occupied by Vlad Petric, from Satu-Mare, and on the third place is the tandem Antal and Sons, from Bihor. In the fanciers competition, in general rankings, the second and third places are occupied by Vasile Pop (Satu-Mare) and the team Tau + Dănilă (Arad). At county level, only the associations Arad, Timiș, Bihor and Caraș Severin had the necessary numbers to draw up rankings. From Arad, 686 pigeons and 71 fanciers participated, Nicu Șiclovan being the one who authoritatively dominated both rankings. At the level of Timiș County, an association in which 563 pigeons and 68 pigeon fanciers participated, Marian Ticu (pigeons) and Ioan Stiopu (fanciers) prevailed. In Caraş Severin County, where 614 pigeons were basketed and 134 pigeon fanciers participated, the first place in pigeons is occupied by Daniel Sîrbu, and Dorin Frățilă is the one who won at the fanciers. From Bihor, 380 pigeons and 80 fanciers participated in the National Berlin. The first place for pigeons is occupied by the tandem Antal and Sons, which also ranks third on the launch, and the fanciers was won by Bogdan Boit + Ciupa Cosmin.