"Premier Super Rainstorm"

battles the elements for

1st open welsh national Battle 2 young birds

for 

A Buttigieg & sons Newport

Well were at the final race stage of the 2018 racing season for the Welsh National Flying Club and after a frustrating and difficult season once again the good old British weather had given us no option but to cut the distance down from Folkestone 190 miles and divert back to Battle on average 30 miles shorter to most, to enable any chance of a liberation over the coming weekend as a low pressure was forecasted to be moving in from the West due to the jet stream infringing the UK over the coming days  

With approx. 500 pigeons on board the convoy made its last run along the M4 corridor to the Battle liberation site upon arrival the boys on board who had done so well caring for the pigeons in their care during the season, for the last time tendered to the cargo within hope of a liberation as the morning at day break.

7am and with reports the skies showing minimal light over the Kent area and throughout the line of flight the race controllers and conveyors held back on any hope of a liberation and looked to review the situation around 8am, 7.45 with a report of overcast skies but good visibility on site and following a another check on the route ahead and with the knowledge of rain coming in from the West around mid-morning over the Welsh hills, the decision was made after a consultation by the race advisors and conveyors and appointed weatherman to cut and go at 8am in a light South Westerly winds to try and avoid the heaviest of the weather approaching

With the birds airborne and the pigeons reported to have cleared the site in seconds the cameras were still showing no indication of rain as far down as the seven bridge but sadly, to the dismay of us all , what happened then seem to be a total change in fortune as the heavy rain which was anticipated to come in later in the morning made its appearance earlier than scheduled and slowly shut in all areas. 

As everyone sat patiently to see the effects and impact the poor conditions would have on the pigeons, reviewing the previous outing from Battle just a few weeks earlier the birds covered the distance in just over three and half hours, so eyes were peeled from then on as fanciers sat it out in the rain hopeful to see the first spotting of birds on Welsh soil.

As time went on nerves and a fear of a wash out seemed likely until against all odds we were pleased and relieved to see the first pigeons in the clock as A Buttigieg Sons from Newport recorded two of their entries on 4hrs 5min flying 157 miles with velocities 1130.1 & 1130.0 the winning pigeons is again a Derek Nichols premier stud Cheq hen bred through the Herman Ceusters lines of dark Olympiad and a daughter of Olympiad.  Winner Supersonic Mike, the partnerships second arrival just a decimal behind the winner a young Cheq is of the Geerinx family again from Premier Stud origin but bred at the racing loft of the partnership and descends through a grandson of Miss Argent when paired to a gran daughter of Better than Bolt of Herman Ceusters bloodlines

1st open winner “premier super rainstorm”

 For 3rd open we stay in Newport as Kevin Williams timing in at  12.19 with a vel of 1052.35, smokey blue hen bred from a blend of Mike Watkins pigeons from Newport and Kev own Heinz 57 lines which come through a g. Sire and g. Daughter pairing which has produced many top club fed and previous national performances

Kevin  Williams 3rd open battle 2

For 4th open we go North to Pontypool to the Penygarn lofts of Bainton and Evans on 1026v with their team of original Scammell and Peploe pigeons of Pontypool now flying as Scammell Peploe and Bromley, their arrival a young light Cheq cock is a grandson of the  Scammell Peploe well documented “nearly cock” on the dams side when crossed with  Scammell and Peploe oudenard cock from their double gold cup hen, during 2018 the youngsters were raised on darkness but were taken off early due to loft move from one partners address to the other it’s on these hard races over the past weeks in head winds that these broken pigeons have come through 8

Bainton & Evans 4th open battle 2 young birds

Our Battle 1 young bird National winning loft of Mr Mrs J Beresford & Son who finished off a good year in 5th timing in there consist youngster to date a dark pied cock with a velocity of 1019 this game youngster was part of a team bred by the Rhondda loft of Robert Pugh of Geerinx bloodlines, once again as previously documented he has scored in each of the last two WNFC Nationals with 3rd National Maidstone and 2nd National Battle 1 plus many club and federation honours

Mr & Mrs J Beresford & Son 5th open Battle 2

Rounding up the result with the top six it the double 2018 winning national partnership of Mr & Mrs K Upham who take the 6th spot timing in a on a velocity of 1017.6 with a pure Busschaert Cheq cock down from retired fancier Hayden Minett 

Mr & Mrs K Upham 6th open Battle

As you could imagine after encountering such conditions during the day there were a lot of empty perches come nightfall to the dismay of all concerned, and just as Saturdays weather turned out to be unpredictable with the rain coming in early , Sunday was just the same as the forecast indicated heavy rain over wales during the morning however as we witnessed the day started with lighter winds blue skies and broken cloud enabling the pigeons that had experienced a night out to  shake themselves off and work in.

As the hindsight is a wonderful thing, yes the Sunday did turn out to be a better day all round but if the trio of race controllers and conveyor were faced with the same conditions and forecast and what information they had to hand at such time on any other day I’m sure we would of come to the same decision, remember 22nd Sept is autumn racing not summer and therefore the weather pattern changes for the worst from here on in making pigeon racing even harder for all the back room staff 

For the final time during 2018 here is today’s top ten

Well that's it for 2018 !!

..2018 has been a bit of a rollercoaster of a ride throughout, not starting to well with cancelled and pushed back races at domestic level which in turn had a knock on effect to the Welsh National races.  Anyhow, we’ve come through it thanks to the hard work of the individuals behind the scenes who rarely get a mention such as the Welsh National committee the Welsh North Road Federation officials, race controllers, conveyers and of course not forgetting the marking station secretaries and their club members for their dedicated commitment to the Welsh National, also due a mention the Solent Federation and CSCFC race control teams who again provided our overseas transport without such support from everyone above we wouldn't be where we are today.

As for support we must of course thank each of our outside race sponsors who have joined us during our tenth year anniversary celebrations by rewarding this years winners naming Newport pet supplies, Lewis taxis, Ian Morris carpets and furnishing, enterprise consultancy and WNFC. Hopefully we can maintain your interest in the WNFC for 2019 and beyond last and nowhere least our members who through thick and thin when last minute decisions were needed to be made, rarely moaned and somewhat accepted what we were trying to achieve. OK we couldn't please everyone.. but we did try our best to give you the best racing in 2018 that we could. which I’m sure we weren't far from compared to others.

On Saturday 1st Dec we will all be together to celebrate the winners a night we`ve had a lot of support for in the past years and no doubt looking like this year will be no different 

so on behalf of the committee of the welsh national flying club we would like to thank everyone for your support.
Let the silly season begin as we know it over the winter months until we reunite to take on 2019 

Tom Harris