Flight time in new initiative

Excitement is building among local pigeon fanciers in the Border and Port Alfred regions as they look forward to the first South African National Pigeon Organisation (Sanpo) endorsed race from Prieska in the Northern Cape on August 25.

Pigeon transporters from all over the country are scheduled to arrive in Prieska on the afternoon of Friday, August 24, so that the pigeons may be fed and watered. The mass liberation will take place 15 minutes after sunrise on Saturday morning as the thousands of pigeons head off in all directions to their home lofts.

For this event the country will be split into three zones. A Southern Zone includes flight destinations from Clanwilliam through to Port Elizabeth.

The Central Zone extends from north-east of PE through to Richards Bay while the North encompassed areas north-east of Richards Bay to Polokwane. Thus local fliers (Border and Kowie) will be competing against other fanciers in the Central Zone.

Within each of the zones there will be three sub-zones related to the distances that the birds will have to fly to reach their home perches.

Sub-zone A will see the pigeons flying up to a distance of 400km. Sub-zone B is for birds having to cover 400-800km, and in which the Border and Kowie birds will compete with pigeons flying to East London having to fly 610km. Sub-zone C will be for lofts at a distance greater than 800km from the race-point.

Each zone and sub-zone will be awarded national prize certificates together with cash prizes. This coming Saturday sees local participating lofts flying a dress-rehearsal as their birds will head home from Prieska, and then a week later it will be ‘the big one’.

Saturday sees local participating lofts taking off in a dress-rehearsal