Cristinel Chelaru, from the town of Păunești, Vrancea county, is a great lover of Long-distance races, but also a passionate player in the Gold Club. Thus, after, in the 2020 season, the performance managed to get a place on the national podium of Gold Club, this season it confirmed its status with a new exceptional ranking, namely the 6th national Gold Club place and, at the same time, the place 1 South-East Province, obtained thanks to the cock with the series 2011262-2021, who accumulated a total of 14.25 points for this norm. “I have been racing pigeons since 2011, with a four-year break between 2014-2018, when I was abroad. The results in my breeding appeared very quickly, so in the first season I won the 4th national place in the Yearlings Long Distance and the 6th national place in the Yearlings Long Distance with a cock with the series 145315-2011, so that in 2013 the same pigeon also won the 1st national Long Distance Old birds and the 1st place national Long distance Palmares. In the spring of 2014, my flyer was present at the European Cup in Dortmund, where I won 3rd place in the Long Distance category. After returning to the pigeon sport, in 2020, I obtained the 2nd national Gold Club place, the 7th national Yearlings Long distance 2020, and this season, 2022, I managed to win the 1st national Breeders Long distance, the 2nd national Long distance ace Old birds, 3rd place national Long distance Ace Palmares, 6th place national Gold Club, 7th place national Long distance old birds, 8th place national Yearlings Long distance and 10th place national Gold Yearlings category”, said Cristinel Chelaru.

“In order to win, you have to play”

Passionate about one-day flights, the fancier from Vrancea saw in the Gold Club the perfect competition for the chance to compete for the most substantial prizes in the Romanian pigeon sport. “My favorite categories are one day flights, where a 1st place pigeon can show its value successfully because it gives the flyers the opportunity to get home on the first day of the competition without spending the night out. From my point of view, the idea of establishing the Gold Club was a brilliant one because it came as a motivation for pigeon fanciers, and through the substantial prizes that are awarded pigeon fanciers can mitigate the expenses incurred for their passion. My personal opinion is that if you want to stay at the top, you also have to invest in value pigeons, because otherwise you can’t achieve top performances. After years off, when I heard about the prize money up for grabs in the Gold Club, I didn’t hesitate for a second to get back into the sport of pigeon racing, as Long Distance is my favorite category. The Gold Club rules are fair, especially since each Province wins at least one national award, regardless of the score obtained. However, I do not agree that the score of a pigeon participating in Club Gold should be influenced by the number of rings bought in the Association. I buy 100 rings every year, because I think it’s just like the lottery, where “if you don’t play, you don’t win”, and I urge every fancier who approaches the Long distance Yearlings category to buy a number of Gold rings every year, to be able to participate in this competition as well. Personally, although the rules of the Gold Club have changed and I think that I will have a lower chance of winning one of the 10 national prizes, given the fact that very few Gold rings are bought here in Vrancea, I purchased 100 rings , being motivated by the county awards”, said Cristinel Chelaru.

Quality pigeons, the key to success in pigeon racing

As for the pigeon that, through its ranking in the Gold Club, will bring the fancier from Vrancea a significant amount of money, it has its origins in two of the most famous countries when it comes to pigeon sport: Belgium and the Netherlands. “The pigeon with which I won the beautiful prize this year is bred from a cock by Andre Roodhooft, purchased by me personally from Belgium, and from a hen by Jacob Poortvliet inbred to Guy Van der Auwera’s “Dominator” from the Netherlands . I race pigeons in widowhood, both hens and cocks, from the first to the last stage. I try not to get too attached to a pigeon at the beginning of the season so as not to manage it, so I give equal chances through flights to all the racers in the flight group. All the top pigeons of this year will be raced next year as well, considering that a pigeon should be withdrawn to the breeding loft only with an exceptional record. As food for the pigeons, this season I used the assortments from the company Beyers, and supplements, as well as medicinal treatments, I use from prestigious companies in Belgium and the Netherlands, products that I alternate from year to year in order not to get resistance of the pigeons’ body to a certain product, risking that it no longer has its effect. I believe that the pigeon sport in our country has gained a lot of momentum thanks to the import of quality pigeons. With their products, we managed to break new records, season after season. One thing is certain, without quality pigeons nothing can be achieved. I am absolutely convinced that the successful pigeon sport mainly revolves around valuable pigeons, in a functional loft, in the hands of a good and observant fancier”, said Cristinel Chelaru.