50,000 Euro. Will it be Yours ??

[adie]

The Galway One Loft, Bigger, Better and Ready to Roll

Situated on the West Coast of Ireland, Galway is a famous tourist destination, renowned for its tradition, scenery and its festivals, amongst which the Galway Races is the main event. This seven-day horse racing festival attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators over the past few decades. Last year another top race entered the sporting calendar, the Galway One Loft Pigeon Race, created by a local Galway flyer, Mike Flannery, under the banner of WestWings Lofts, in a place called Abbeyknockmoy, near the famous low-lying fields of Athenry. In its first year it aimed for, and received 500 entries and dared to run a new type of race, a cross-channel 245 mile east to west race from Chester to Galway, an ambitious plan for its first year. Sadly they suffered heavy losses throughout the season and come race-day the challenge was too great and they had no winner for the €40,000 prize money. It was a major disappointment considering all the hard work but they dusted themselves down and they rolled over the money and created a new race for their second year… a 250km race from The Giant’s Causeway in Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland, to Galway, a more achievable race, yet still a good test for young birds against the wind and with tough terrain.

Half of last year’s intended prize money was put into discounts for last year’s entrants, with the other half added to this year’s intended top prize… This makes a Top Prize of €50,000 Euro, the biggest in Europe, with a further €30,000 in runner-up prizes, that’s €80,000 in total prizes! The Galway One Loft’s ethos has always been to put the majority of the prize money on the top prizes, as they believe fanciers want to compete to win, not just finish in the last 50, and although finishing is an achievement, in this race the winner (almost) takes all! In this race they’re keen to point out if you win as always you get paid in cash!

The race has a well organised and daily updated website, http://www.westwingslofts.com, featuring films, pictures, weather report, news, and the daily training results as they happen. They have also updated the site to increase the amount of information available with better plans to update the bird lists directly from the ETS as the birds arrive from racing. They also have an email address so that entrants can contact them whenever they wish.

Despite the high achievements of last year, this family-run race has learned many valuable lessons and admits it was a steep learning curve, but the lessons have been acted on and they’ve made vast improvements to the loft capacity, environmental systems, clocking and trapping systems, health controls, training facilities and website information delivery. No stone has been left unturned to improve upon last year’s work and they’d be the first to admit it has become a major part of family life and they take massive pride in their achievements and give every bird the care that they’d give their own.

They had a fantastic day on race day last year, with music, food and refreshments in their massive marquee; the only thing lacking was a winner. This year they intend to do it all again but with that winning bird! With live music, food and refreshments, ample free parking and a likely winner on the day. They also point out the beauty of the West of Ireland, and Galway in particular, as a major tourist destination, with fantastic scenery, festivals, towns and markets, a great place to spend the weekend whilst visiting the One Loft Race. In fact, the two hotspot races fall on either weekend of the main Galway Races meeting on the 26th of July and 2nd of August so that you can bet on the horses and wait for the birds in the same weekend! (The main race is scheduled for the 16th of August).

Having filled the 500 places last year, they are well on course to fill the 750 places they are aiming for this year, having passed last year’s figures in early January. It’s a great achievement considering the economic downturn, but it’s an indicator of the high esteem to which they are held by the pigeon community. There are still places available for new entrants to have a chance of winning the massive prize. This race has already gathered a loyal following and more and more top flyers are joining the party, and with its top prizes, great destination and well-run facilities, this race is destined to grow and grow. For further information check out their website, http://www.westwingslofts.com, or call +353 (0)93 43645.