Winfort Lofts wrote: Thu Jun 25, 2026 3:52 pm
I do think the German Union website does a much better job of advertising the sport than anything we have in the UK!
They show off the family dynamics, they also have lots of guides and information right there on the site aimed at people who are not already in the sport.
Compare that directly with the RPRA site, and the difference is night and day.
I do think that we should be doing whatever is possible to attract new people to the sport, we definitely shouldn't just roll over and do nothing.
But you also have to have the right approach for the the right people.
The sport is growing in eastern Europe, so we should be embracing the eastern Europeans in the UK that may be interested in the sport, but not so aware of where to reach out to.
How much of a jump would it be from people who have back yard chickens, to add a pigeon loft and try the sport?
You can see the similarities, but again could easily be something they are unaware of, because it's an invisible sport to most of the public.
The Eastern Europeans, can forget about keeping chickens here in the UK let alone racing pigeons. Most Councils are making the keeping of livestock harder each year.
Tell me about it i live in a village with barely 1000 people living here and even i have crazy regulations with my birds im not even allowed to build another loft if i wanted to etc etc the list goes on but yeah despite me not even living in a city the stuff me and my father have to go along with is ridiculous i cant even imagine what its like living in a "Bigger" city here in germany
Whilst I don’t disagree with you King that the sport has been in decline for 40 years it is still going. We have 18 members in our club in Glastonbury. We are part of the West Of England South Road Combine, which is struggling and also the Three Countries Classic Racing Pigeon Club spread across most of Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. This is a very strong club with now over 200 members, and growing, and sending upwards of 2500 pigeons a week. Very well run and cheap racing.
i think you will find up and down the country far less birds racing in feds and combines. i wonder how many birds race in the big barnsley fed these day. or the up north combine?
I do agree that it’s very difficult to get youngsters involved in the sport. Very difficult in modern houses where they rarely have enough room in their gardens to swing a cat let alone put up a loft. Then there is the restitutions on keeping livestock. Channel racing has become very expensive with the cost of vet visits and the birdage charges. I don’t race over the channel anymore but still enjoy sprint racing.
Andy wrote: Thu Jun 25, 2026 8:25 pm
Whilst I don’t disagree with you King that the sport has been in decline for 40 years it is still going. We have 18 members in our club in Glastonbury. We are part of the West Of England South Road Combine, which is struggling and also the Three Countries Classic Racing Pigeon Club spread across most of Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. This is a very strong club with now over 200 members, and growing, and sending upwards of 2500 pigeons a week. Very well run and cheap racing.
I agree Andy the sport WILL survive for many years yet, but not everywhere. National clubs, and those Feds that amalgamate will fair very much better. In my area it's just sprint racing now but anybody who still wanted to race from France would have to fly with the NFC, there is a marking station only 20 miles from me, but nobody local is interested in sending which I think is a sad reflection on the fanciers around me still racing. If I were still racing I certainly would make the effort to race from the channel.
Tony-P- wrote: Fri Jun 26, 2026 4:25 pm
Where is the marking station in the north west for long distance racing
What type / breed of pigeon would be best for long distance racing
