January 2013 Update -

Patron :- Her Majesty The Queen - Founded in 1898 - PO Drew Callan brings the Pigeonnetwork Forum members all the latest news and race reports for the above prestiage organisation.
Post Reply
willie reynolds
Posts: 6785
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2008 4:44 pm

January 2013 Update -

Post by willie reynolds »

The National Flying Club Notes

Good morning folks I hope the first working day back after Blackpool finds you all well and with clear heads. Sitting here surrounded by snow and ice I have had to admit to myself that pairing up this weekend just gone might not have been the cleverest of ideas but the few stock pairs I have put together have taken well and seem to be up for the job in hand… and I am making the most of my school being closed due to snow. The committee were fortunate in having the AGM pencilled in for last weekend as it would have been a non starter had it been last Saturday. However, good fortune shone on us and we were able to the committee meeting and AGM and tidy things up before the start of the season.

This year there were a total of six proposals on the table for members to vote on, one covering general rules and the remaining five looking at reshaping some of the racing rules. I think that the low number of proposals reflects a confidence in the structure of The National Flying Club by its members and a bit of a ‘if it aint broke…’ viewpoint. The general rule proposal looking at deleting Rule 15 and the publishing of meeting dates and agendas in the pigeon press at least 7 days prior to the meeting was carried 170 in favour against 163 against.

The remaining proposals involved the racing side of things, with the main one being the alteration of racing rule 2 and the prickly subject of young birds who do not carry NFC rings competing in the young bird national. There were 2 proposals up for consideration on:- to reduce the current additional birdage fee for non NFC rings to £1.00 or to allow only NFC rings to be entered in the race. In the end the membership decided to allow only NFC young birds to be eligible for competition in the young bird national with 208 being in favour and 127 being against. This is an important rule change and means that if you really want to compete in the young bird national you need to get your hands on some NFC rings pretty soon before they are all gone … if you turn up in September to compete with non NFC rings the birds will be turned away so please make sure you have the right rings in plenty of time to avoid disappointment later.

The next 2 proposals dealt with the meat and bones of competing with The National Flying Club, namely sending to the races. Proposal 4 looked at deleting rule 8 and replacing it with ‘clocks must be set at official NFC clock stations’, this was defeated with 148 for but 198 against. This means that the flexibility of having your clock set at a more local club remains and I personally feel that this is a good move by members as we don’t all live near to or within a reasonable distance of an official clock station so the current Rule 8 allows people to compete who might not have been able to previously. Furthermore, given the distances some members have to travel to get to a marking station it balances things out a bit by having your clock done more locally. I know there have been concerns expressed about the security of the new Rule 8 arrangements but I think it is fair to say that the committee and members have endorsed their belief that those running the numerous clock stations that have mushroomed in the past few years are doing it by the rule book. the fact that Rule 8 remains as it was should be a bonus for anyone using ETS who already has the disadvantage of having to have their ETS printed out on the night of the race if they have clocked, so lets keep it as convenient as we can for all fanciers.

A second proposal that would impact on the arrangements at marking stations was proposal 6 which looks at reintroducing the wing stamping of birds on 2 flights when presented for each National race. This was defeated with 122 for but 221 against. Talking to some members the main concern was the increased time it would take at marking stations with an increased workload on the army of volunteers who already run the stations. Alongside this, if you are like me and send some birds to all races up to Saintes then you could quickly run out of flights to use, or be faced with the situation that many of us have encountered and that is being unable to read the stamp because it is smudged or on a dark flight.

The final proposition was to delete Racing Rule 33 in its entirety, this involves advertising the race dates in the pigeon press the week before the closing date for entries. The proposal was defeated with 104 votes for and 195 against.

The AGM also saw the resignation of Steve Redfern as one of the delegates for Section I, this leaves a vacancy for a new delegate for the section so if you are interested get in touch. The AGM also saw the elevation of Ray Scriven, long standing delegate for Section J to Vice President as a mark of thanks for the work he continues to do for The National Flying Club. This left a delegate vacancy which was quickly filled by Mr John Preece who had attended the AGM as a member and was quickly co-opted on to the committee….that’s what you get for putting your hand up I suppose!!

At the General Committee meeting held immediately prior to the AGM the committee discussed a range of topics and there were a few important outcomes. Firstly, it was felt that the Z pool was no longer a viable option and as the original idea was that sponsorship would be generated to ‘fund ‘ the pool had fallen by the wayside and the club was financing it themselves the money could be put to better use for the members. The end result of this discussion being that the money would be used to initially increase the 1st open prize money to £500 to reflect the prestige of winning a national race, then we would look at possibly increasing other prize money in the future.

Speaking of sponsorship, the committee are also in negotiations with several parties who are interested in sponsoring a range of prizes that are truly mouth watering and will appeal to all members and hopefully get them to raise their game a little bit and really go for it in the 2013 season. I cant go in to too much detail until every thing is in place but believe me these sponsorship prizes reflect the level of competition that exists within The National Flying Club.

The final item discussed at the meeting and for me the main one was the shape of the current sections within The National Flying club. At 4 out of 5 of the last committee meetings there has been discussion around the size of Section E and anyone who has dipped their toes in to the world of Pigeon social media will be aware of the various options that members and non- members have been suggesting. On this occasion we have grabbed the bull by the horns and a subcommittee has been tasked with the role of looking at the size/ effectiveness of the entire sectional structure of the club. The plan is that the group will discuss with members the various ideas and options that the membership want to bring forward about section sizes etc. and will report back to the committee meeting in the autumn with their proposals. It is then up to the committee to look at the logistics of the proposals, make what changes they can and put these out as a referendum for all members to be voted on for the 2014 AGM, if ratified these changes will then come in to effect from the 2015 season. Now I know that seems a long drawn out process but the committee feels it is only fair that such changes are voted on by all members …hence the time line involved. We are not making any promises but if is logistically possible and the membership votes for it then it will happen. I will in due course return to this and let you know who is on the sub committee so it gives members to get ij touch or talk about it at marking stations and let us know what you want. The committee are aware that we might be opening a can of worms here but we have listened to the members concerns and are being proactive in our response. What we ask is that you work with us on this.

Drew Callan
NFC Press Officer
Email: weebu@hotmail.com
Tel 01926817796
Post Reply

Return to “The National Flying Club”