MIDLANDS NATIONAL ONE LOFT RACE COMES TO THE MOORLANDS

Last week I offered some suggestions regarding ways in which Fanciers could recoup some of the expenses that they incur by participating in our own Federation’s Special Races in the wonderful sport of pigeon racing and now I am able to offer yet another suggestion where the odds are very much in the fanciers’ favour and where fantastic financial rewards are very much up for grabs.

Just recently I had the opportunity to pay a visit to the partly completed site of the loft for this season’s Midlands National Flying Club One Loft Race, which is scheduled to be flown on Saturday 9 September from Coutances in Northern France, (which is one week before the MNFC’s club race from the same race point) and a distance of just over 270 miles from the home loft and I believe that, if all goes well, there could easily be a prize fund of about £50,000 up for grabs.

Although, by no means complete when I made my visit, which was early in January, the initial framework and cladding of the building was already complete and largely weatherproof, and what an impressive structure it was already turning out to be it looks as though all the race entrants (the maximum number will be 750, hence the good odds) will be living in 5 Star luxury during their build up to the Final Race.

The specially formed One Loft Race Committee, who are all taking responsibility for this event, are so confident that they have got the loft right that they are throwing it open to fanciers and non- fanciers alike to pay a visit on either 11 or 12 February, in order that they can see for themselves where the birds will be based and maybe offer a few constructive suggestions, if they think improvements can be made. Please remember though that everybody has to work within very tight financial constraints. By the time this release is published in the Fancy Press these Open Days will have been and gone and no doubt Mike Lakin, the MNFC Press Officer, will have let you know how they went.

Full details of the Rules and Regulations for the race are on the MNFC website (www.mnfc.org.uk) together with the site address for your Sat Nav. Just go to the website and click on the one loft race button on the left side of the Home Page and select what you want to look at from the drop down menu. It’s as simple as that.

Whilst re-reading last week’s article/press release I reminded myself that I had been talking about the subject of technology in pigeon racing and then, lo and behold, whilst reading my daily newspaper I found myself reading about driverless cars and the technological progress being made and a thought came into my mind which I am sure will come as a great relief to race controllers and convoyers.

Just combine driverless vehicles and the mammoth strides being made in the robotic industry and immediately we can have our birds taken down to the release point in such a vehicle which would, of course, have weather scanning antennae fitted which would ensure that the conditions would always be “perfect for a liberation” and out would jump the pre-programmed robot and cut the strings and pull the levers and away they go. A race advisor and convoyers’ dream situation resulted into yet another “Perfect” Race and there would be no one to congratulate or complain to.

Of course, as previously discussed, at the home end our all singing and dancing clocking in system would be ready and waiting to do its job and no doubt work the result out.

Easy, isn’t it?

Then, it will only be a question of time before we do away with the live birds themselves and fly robotic pigeons, which will allow us to do away with all those tedious tasks such as feeding, cleaning out, training and breeding all those young birds and provide us with even more free time to waste, developing even more technical ways to “enjoy” our hobby.

Well, if you believe that you will believe anything but believe you me some of the technophobes would like to convince us that we really would like our sport more if organised in such a way!

Not for me though, so I think I’ll stick to the old - fashioned way of doing things.

Cheers for now.

Brian T Smith

Press Officer SMDF