ANOTHER YEAR BEGINS AT
“THE DERBY ARONA TENERIFE ONE LOFT RACE “
As we approach the end of October and with the final intake due to be completed at the forthcoming kassel show the doors will close on yet another years for entry into the arona derby Tenerife one loft race ,with a prize fund of over 300.000 euro incorporating three car races and many more prizes during the forthcoming events over the next few months it will come down to the winner of the final race to collect europes biggest prize of a GUARANTEED 1st prize amount of 120,000 euro
It’s through hard work of the many co Ordinator’s from around the world the loft at present contains approx 2,700 pigeons and with the final shipments due to arrive before the cut-off date the figure will hopefully increase to an anticipated entry of 3,500 for this year. Race With over 30 countries now competing and with the publicised success of the previous years racing all this has contributed to an annual increase in entries within the derby arona Tenerife race as once again we seem to of attracted a large number of new entries in 2019/20 ,this year there seems to be a big increase in small back garden lofts we could say, stepping up to test their stock against the many highly profiled fanciers and breeding studs containing the best bloodlines worldwide all competing over a trying and testing course including the rugged terrain of the island and sea crossings that this race offers, which entitles the derby arona to claim to be one of the hardest one loft race in the world.
The Ledesma family proprietors and management team of the derby arona Tenerife one loft race So what makes the arona olr different from any other race around the world, firstly the pigeons flight path is set over both land and sea overcoming volcanic regions and on times flying over large spans of open waters to navigate to a small patch of land in the middle of the Atlantic ocean from neighbouring islands which itself offers the ultimate challenge for the pigeons to overcome , like all one loft races, all the pigeons are all treated as equal and treated the same be it an entrant with just a few pigeons looking for some interest over the winter months or one of the many worldwide studs and highly profiled fanciers.The derby arona one loft race also offers a personal and professional set up not only based in tenerife but also in the form of country wide co Ordinator’s from all corners and continents of the world ,who work tirelessly in take the time not only to answer any queries but also organise and care for your pigeons within the transition period from your loft to the lofts in Tenerife.
Once at the loft the arona team adopt a total transparent policy, as they go about their daily routines ,they not only offer day by day information to participants as too what’s happening in and around the loft with the pigeons via the website facilities on training / race days they also provide, as it happened information via livestream during each event.
The final race over the mighty Atlantic ocean
In due course once training commences Each entrant will also receive information as to basketing and arrivals via mms tex services facilities additionally race results are displayed for all to see on the internet, not hours later but as the pigeons arrive and updated accordingly.But above all jose ,gladys and ledesma family, take pride and time out to offer a warm welcome to anyone that wishes to go along to the loft and view the lofts and pigeons housed (subject to prior arrangement) during their stay on the island of Tenerife
To give a little insight into the next stages, throughout November whilst it all may seem quieter than usual on the arona website, at the loft there is a lot of activity as the administration team gather all the relevant information on the pigeons present and assign ets rings etc ,which based on the numbers entered is a large task and time consuming operation to undertake,
The new arrivals enjoying the first sightings of their new surroundings
On completion all the information gathered being added and eventually the individual photos of the entries being taken all this ,is then added to the website in fancier/syndicate and country form for viewing, for most who entered earlier in the year this will be the first time that they can visually see how their entries have matured over the past months, also all new participants on completion of the admin in due time will receive their unique personal login and password details so that their accounts and relevant information on their pigeons can be accessed, this will become more useful as the racing goes on and the opportunity of pools and nominations come into effect as for the pigeons themselves.
it’s through the month on November and with no more additions entering the loft, the inmates undergo a series of preventative treatments for any relevant illnesses, such as canker cocci etc to ensure that all are in the best possible condition in preparation for the training and racing programme ahead of them.
December and early training begins, as always this commences from short distances at first of just a few kilometres to encourage the pigeons to orientate upon liberation and discover the line of flight home ,this increases on a regular bases as the training progresses.
Each entry in the loft in time will be photographed
Also ,between 12th and 2oth December and after the overcoming the settling in period and with the first five training races behind them, its NOW time you the fancier to have the faith in your selection by activating your pigeons which are present ,this is done on the following basis ,the first pigeon is paid through your initial entry fee, and all remaining entries will cost an additional 220 euro per pigeon this obviously we encourage you to do as early as possible to ensure your entries remain within your team ,as this is the only time that you the entrant will have the exclusive opportunity of paying and competing with your own pigeons in future races , failure to do so will result in all unpaid pigeons entering the third party activation period between December 20th and January 6th over the xmas and new year period which clearly means they become available for outside interested parties to pay the 220 euro and become the new owner of the said pigeons .. remember third party activated pigeon in past years have gone on to win major prizes in past years so your loss could be someone else`s gain
The planned route ahead
January and its onwards and northwards through the island as the training becomes more regular with the pigeons being trained further north towards the port of santa cruz they undertake a trying and testing island programme before heading out to sea and across the Atlantic ocean being liberated at various points mid seas on course for the islands of gran canaria and Fuerteventura ,more on these will come to light in the future as we progress towards the ultimate final race in march when we welcome everyone to enjoy the atmosphere and friendship at the loft throughout the day.
So once again on behalf of the arona team, thank you to the coordinators and the many participants old and new for your interest and participation as we wish everyone competing in THE ARONA DERBY ONE LOFT RACE IN 2019/20 great success and enjoyment during the coming race series and look forward to reporting on the leading pigeons once again throughout the campaign.
New loft update on our recent visit to Tenerife we again met up with the arona team for the afternoon, at such time we were updated on the progress of the new loft , jose was pleased to finally be able to show us the new planning permits which whilst needed a few tweaks to satisfy the planning authorities a process which had taken a time to complete he was at the stage thankfully with the boundary perimeters completed to move progress with the build and on seeing the architects’ drawings of the future derby arona lofts which look impressive on paper, jose , was already planning to complete the build in time to provide transport over the finals week in march to fanciers wishing to go up and see first-hand the future lofts of the derby arona Tenerife one loft race
During the coming weeks in the build up to the first few December training races things will go a little quiet as the administration team work their magic to complete the paperwork in time for the kick-off.. so we`ll leave it there for now and resume the regular updates and reports once training starts ,
so for fanciers participating old and new sit back and enjoy the thrills and excitement of the 2019/20 derby arona Tenerife one loft race
Important dates
Training commences 3rd Dec Training Flight 1 Approx 3 km
12 Dec OWNERS ACTIVATION
20 Dec END ACTIVATION PERIOD
20 Dec 3th PARTY ACTIVATION STARTS
6 Jan 3th PARTY ACTIVATION FINISH
Sat march 28th The main event finals week ..Birds are liberated (If weather permit) 275 to 300 km (500 Km stress equivalent over Land) Lunch in the Loft. Enjoy the day with local fanciers and enjoy free food and drink
Tom harris