UkPigeonRacing

Hello everyone
I used to race pigeons but stopped as had too much going on with my children 6 of them lol. Now they are all in school I have more time and have been thinking about getting into pigeon racing again as I enjoyed it before.

I'm not sure if I should get sprint pigeons or long distance, I like the idea of long distance but regarding the longevity of the sport I notice not many from UK send to longer races and I'm guessing there may not be much of a future in long distance racing.
Is there a reason that not too many send to longer distances?.
I'm also concerned about starting up as everyone keeps saying pigeon racing will be over soon due to hawks etc.

Hi Neil thanks for your helpful reply,
I live in Somerset

Shane wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2026 10:06 am Hello everyone
I used to race pigeons but stopped as had too much going on with my children 6 of them lol. Now they are all in school I have more time and have been thinking about getting into pigeon racing again as I enjoyed it before.

I'm not sure if I should get sprint pigeons or long distance, I like the idea of long distance but regarding the longevity of the sport I notice not many from UK send to longer races and I'm guessing there may not be much of a future in long distance racing.
Is there a reason that not too many send to longer distances?.
I'm also concerned about starting up as everyone keeps saying pigeon racing will be over soon due to hawks etc.

Start up again Shane and enjoy a great sport. If you listened to all the doom and gloom merchants you wouldn’t dare get out of bed in the morning.

Hello Shane, So not sure what part of Somerset your from, I think Andy that used to be on here is at Wincanton.
So you've got a few choices there's the 3 Counties club that's member's from Somerset, Devon & Cornwall, you then have the Bristol Fed, West of England South Road Combine. I was a member of the Combine up until last season, but have decided to join High Littleton FC, training on a Wednesday & race on a Sunday. Then you have the NFC, BICC, & Classic that do a program for the Channel. Hope that helps you, if you need anymore help just pm me.
Regards Dave.

Long distance racing all day long. We've been lucky to win more than our fair share at every distance but nothing touches the feeling of timing from the long distance and the further the distance the greater the thrill. But at the same time the disappointments hurt more than the short ones too so you've got to be prepared for both. Some lads get a great kick out of winning at the short one and that's great too. Whatever you decide to do I wish you all the best.

Think it depends on you as a person
If you want to enjoy pigeons and race weekly club fed racing I say it's 98 percent sprint ,middle distance you can have 23,25 races a season,
If you want distance you have more time to ya self 5,6 races a season if you join a few national clubs long distance is expensive per bird compared to club fed racing ,,
Another thing is to consider 12 months loft work for few races or 12 months loft work for alot of races
Another thing is do you want to have pigeons and look back a say I won this I won that ,,if its distance racing you might have em 20 yrs never win a race and say I timed in on 2nd day 3rd day from so n so race ,
So for me it's totally down to you as a person.

Thankyou for all the advice, when loft and birds are here il let you know what I went with. The advice has been useful i appreciate it.
Looking forward to getting back into the hobbie and I'll be on this forum a bit having a look around at posts and no doubt have more questions of my own.
Cheers guys

NeilA wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2026 9:11 pm

Shane wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2026 9:00 pm Thankyou for all the advice, when loft and birds are here il let you know what I went with. The advice has been useful i appreciate it.
Looking forward to getting back into the hobbie and I'll be on this forum a bit having a look around at posts and no doubt have more questions of my own.
Cheers guys

Ask away Shane there some good fanciers on here
Goose is a top distance flier with top bloodlines
Steve is a top nrcc distance man
Anthony for sprint fed racing is ideal if you go that way with wins into different areas of the country
Plus Mike and his family were top sprint fanciers winning feds against large numbers

All very helpful

Don't forget ya self Neil. My opinion you could live any where and compete at top level at any distance ,your a absolute top notch fancier that I respect and know for a fact u win any area in uk or abroad.

Shane wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2026 9:00 pm Thankyou for all the advice, when loft and birds are here il let you know what I went with. The advice has been useful i appreciate it.
Looking forward to getting back into the hobbie and I'll be on this forum a bit having a look around at posts and no doubt have more questions of my own.
Cheers guys

Good luck Shane

Just had my first season last year and I’d heard the same thing about the decline since I was a kid. I wanted that buzz again and figured so long as there’s 2 competitors then there’s a race. As to whether short or long distance, only you can answer that. My passion has always been long distance, but let’s see how I get on. Either way, good people need to join / rejoin the sport if they can, otherwise it is certainly doomed.