In Romanian pigeon racing, few categories demand more endurance and consistency than As National and As National Breeders. Both combine races across all distance types and require exceptional performances from birds and fanciers alike.
For As National, a pigeon must classify in 10 races, including three marathon stages, accumulating a minimum of 5,000 km. Similarly, the As National Breeders category also requires 10 scored races, at
Within the pigeon sport, I’ve met all kinds of people — great champions, even world-famous ones, and others who will likely never reach that level.
Sometimes, I can’t help but feel sorry for the latter. Their intentions are pure, but they simply don’t see — or don’t have — what’s needed to succeed. Fortunately, not everyone has to be a top competitor to enjoy the sport.
Cristian Bilea, a pigeon fancier from Bălăcești in Gorj County and a member of the Turceni Pigeon Club, had a dream debut in the racing pigeon competition. First of all, he successfully completed the championship with this year’s young pigeons, which is a very positive achievement for a beginner. Secondly, the young pigeon fancier from Gorj managed to achieve several rankings that would make even
The last day of September marked the second long-distance race for young birds organized by the Gorj Federation. Compared to the first event in this category, Stavros 2 turned out to be significantly tougher, with most of the classified pigeons returning only on the following day.
Challenging Weather and a Smaller Entry
Participation numbers dropped sharply for this second race. While more than 1,300 pigeons were entered