Big change ahead for Littlehampton FC

[Trev]

Because of the whole channel racing debacle it was proposed at our club AGM that half way through the old bird programme the club would take a vote whether to turn North before the youngbird season. The vote was taken on Friday evening and the result was a resounding win for turning North, it is great news for those members who want more distance racing but a bitter blow to those members who wanted to stay South especially those members who only joined us just before the start of the season. As a result of this the Fed Secretary had to take am immediate vote from all the remaining clubs as to whether to turn the whole Fed North or again to remain South, as Littlehampton send the largest number if birds in the Fed it was expected that most of the remaining clubs would vote yes to this as the Fed would potentially struggle to remain viable, however unfortunately for us the vote went to remain South (personally I think the remaining members see losing Littlehampton as an opportunity for more Fed wins for them as as it stands Littlehampton take the Lion's share) this means we will now have to join another Fed. We have a couple of possibilities but only one that is really practical, there is the Solent or Southampton North road Feds but they would be over an hour away from us so we would have to basket far too early to get the birds to them on basketing night. The remaining option is the Sussex North Road Fed which was only set up last year so is still in its teething stage, not ideal but our only real choice. Sadly I think we will lose several members including a couple of our biggest fliers which is a real shame as there is such a good atmosphere at our club at the moment but hopefully it will work out ok It's going to be an interesting transition which I'm sure will be the topic of many debates during the remainder of the old bird season but I am looking forward to flying North again. Onwards and upwards

[Andy]

It is a problem that is going to be seen in many clubs and feds. Clubs and feds will only be able to have inland racing. Those that can go North, especially down South can still get some good distance racing. As we know from the past Trev, North Road can be hard with headwinds most weeks. Those clubs that think that they can amalgamate and go over the channel, maybe being convoyed buy the national clubs, are in for a rude awakening in my opinion. With vets being required at every marking station for channel racing it would mean all clubs having to travel to one marking station. I think that in the present conditions channel racing other than the nationals, and this I can see isn’t going to be viable for most, is finished for now. If things change with agreements further down the line things may be different. There are far to many members not wishing to register or get involved with DEFRA. I for one won’t be. I will be sending North again this coming weekend and could do a couple more this season. I will then have to see what is happening with regards to youngbird racing. Then see what happens over the winter.

[Murray]

I am sure there will be a lot of mixed feelings about all this, and some controversy, but it had to happen.
At least now there is some certainty for you blokes.
The constant worry about whether you would get any racing was no good for anyone.

[killer]

Sounds bad ,best of luck ,hope commonsense will prevail,

[Andy]

Sounds bad ,best of luck ,hope commonsense will prevail,

The worst thing that they could of allowed is letting DEFRA get involved. Not sure they had a lot of choice but I’ve had some runnings with DEFRA over the years I was farming. Everything will have to be recorded from what feed you use and where it came from, every pigeon that comes and goes from the loft, why and how, all treatments used including purchase dates, expiry dates and batch numbers, all of which will have to be kept in a locked cupboard. Any of these not done correctly will result in your license being removed. Murray you would lose yours just for having out of date treatments.
Their saying this won’t happen and hopefully DEFRA won’t have the time or resources to do it, but that will be the job of the vets on their yearly visits.

[Murray]

Yep, that's precisely what you do not need. And let the clipboard Gestapo get a foot in the door, they will be difficult to get out.
The obsessive, fanatical requirements are familiar to me, I run service stations.
As for the out of date medications, I had a clean out years ago. Not so much as a worm tablet on the place.

[Andy]

Yep, that's precisely what you do not need. And let the clipboard Gestapo get a foot in the door, they will be difficult to get out.
The obsessive, fanatical requirements are familiar to me, I run service stations.
As for the out of date medications, I had a clean out years ago. Not so much as a worm tablet on the place.

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