NORTH ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP CLUB

by George Wheatman

February 2015 

A group of pigeon fanciers who are passionate about north road racing, and even more passionate about the historic North Road Championship Club, are working hard to make 2015 a memorable season.

Those men, already with a number of meetings under their belts, were elected as committee and officers at the annual meeting, and they have already come up with a number of ideas to give the NRCC a major boost.

The group retains the experience of previous years, and has been revitalised by more recent appointments who bring with them a bag full of ideas along with business and economic logic.

The first issue with which they had to come to terms was the stunning, and sad, revelations at the annual meeting which led to long serving Stephen Spinks being voted out of his offices as secretary and convoyer.

Subsequently Mr Spinks declined to appear before a 169 meeting called by the committee who recommended that he be expelled from the sport as per RPRA rule 70. Members will receive full details of why the 169 meeting was called in a letter which will accompany the rule books, soon to be posted out.

The December AGM was adjourned and will be re-convened at a date prior to the start of racing. Meanwhile the President has requested the accountants to produce a new balance sheet which will be circulated to members.

Once the dust settled, however, the new committee, with Ray Knight appointed as general secretary, grasped the opportunity to overhaul the whole organisation.

As those of us with a lot of miles on the clock are only too aware, age can make you a little drowsy and, with a birth date going back to 1901, the NRCC was, perhaps, looking a little weary, and needed new impetus.

The awakening is already on the way, with the immediate priority being to get all material to the printers in order to make sure that the handbooks are circulated to members.

In the meantime, the important race dates for your diary are:

May 16th Dunbar - basket Friday.

May 30th Perth - basket Friday.

June13th Frazerburgh - basket Thursday.

June 27th Lerwick - basket Wednesday.

July 17th Thurso - basket Wednesday. (This is a Friday race to enable the London North Road Combine birds to be convoyed with the NRCC should they wish).

September 12th Berwick young birds and old hens - basket Friday.

Any organisations interested in convoying with the NRCC to these races should apply to the secretary in writing. That is to Ray Knight, Lynwood, Nut Lane, Old Leake, Boston, Lincs, PE22 9JF.

Some of the other decisions made, including some which may appear radical as the committee strives to make the organisation more financially viable and more efficient, include:

Marking Stations

Yes, there are some changes with marking stations. Clenchwarton and Grantham marking stations will close, Boston and Ipswich will operate with a pickup for the first two races only, after which Boston will close and members who have used that marking station will go to the new marking station at Spalding. This is at the Services Club, the post code for your Sat Nav being PE11 1TX.

This marking station offers ample car parking, tea and coffee and a bar facility. You can even drop the wife off at Springfields shopping outlet.

Ipswich will continue to remain open with the birds being marked there and transferred to Cambridge, with the relevant security procedures in place to protect all involved.

Secretary Ray Knight says: “By now the OIC’s at these marking stations will have been advised of the changes and, although it may put a few people out, I am sure that, when we come together at these bigger marking stations, it will create some of the camararderie that used to be seen at these marking stations in years gone by, and create a big race atmosphere.”

Web Site

The existing web site, although functional, is no longer practical to support the organisation and, for some time, officers have been researching what is required to take the club forward, and how they can make more use of the world wide web and their own website to keep the members informed. By the end of March the NRCC should have their new ‘all singing, all dancing’ web site up and running.

The site will keep many of the existing features but also host many new ones where officers will be able to blanket email members, download entry forms, offer online entry and, in time, on-line verification. Yes this will all be possible.

NRCC Champions Day

What is this? It is a new idea to celebrate the NRCC season, and put the spotlight they deserve on the successful fanciers. But it is much more than that.

Normally organisations have a presentation evening and, as each year goes by, it seems harder to sell tickets, so the committee has decided to move on from these and present members with their very own NRCC Champions Day.

The secretary says: “The first such event I visited was in Holland in Bladel at the East Brabant, and I was very impressed and have been keen on the idea ever since.

“In order to present this to the members we have booked the Springfields Exhibition Centre which is located at the Springfields retail outlet in Spalding.

“Hopefully we will attract various trade stands at very attractive rates. It is also hoped that all the section winners and Open winners will bring their winning birds along to be exhibited for all to see.

“During the day all of the race winners will be presented with their awards for that year. With the club’s membership, and outside interest, it is hoped that the club will raise some funds which we can give back to members in one way or another.”

This is just a taste of things that are in the pipeline. More will be revealed as firm decisions are taken, including a partnership deal which will bring a big saving on this year’s trip to Lerwick and, hopefully, on the cost of future races from the Shetland Islands.

This year will see the NRCC’s 100th visit there, but one race was aborted, and so, with luck, next year’s race will be the 100th. Already thoughts are in place on how to make this extra special. If you would like to contribute your ideas on this, or on other matters, contact the secretary on the address above.

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