ROYAL PIGEON RACING ASSOCIATION 2009 ONE LOFT RACE - RULES
1. The race is to be named the “ROYAL PIGEON RACING ASSOCIATION 2009 ONE LOFT RACE”.
2. ‘The Committee’ is the Future of the Sport Committee.
Entry of Birds
3. Entry is open to all RPRA members and those of any recognised British Union. Any applicants who are not members must submit an individual member application form as part of their entry. The Entry Fee will be £100 per pigeon. Entries are unlimited and the allocation of the 1000 spaces will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. A £50 per pigeon non-refundable deposit will secure your place/s. Full payment must be made at least 7 days before the pigeons enter the lofts Cheques are to be made payable to ‘The RPRA’. On receipt of final payment entrants will be sent an ‘Entry to the Loft’ form. This form MUST accompany the pigeon(s) and include details of the pigeon’s breeding.
4. All pigeons must be rung with only one 2009 ring from any recognised Association/Union in Great Britain and Ireland. Foreign rings are not acceptable. They can be rung on either leg. The electronic ring will be placed on the other leg. All entries will be transferred into a holding loft number to aid repatriation if lost.
5. All the relevant details of the electronic ring and registration ring will be entered onto a protected computer database.
6. The loft will be open for the acceptance and delivery of youngsters between the 23 February and 30 March 2009 by arrangement.
7. All youngsters are to be between 28 and 38 days old when they are delivered to the loft. This will assist in settling them to the loft. A transfer form is to be forwarded with the pigeon. All pigeons entered and reported as strays will be repatriated to the loft. Pedigrees are not required to be sent. These can be requested from owners when a pigeon has been purchased after the race.
8. All pigeons will be vaccinated against Paramyxovirus and Pox by the loft managers and must not have been vaccinated beforehand.
9. No international pigeons or entries from the loft managers/assistants will be accepted for this race.
10. No replacements/substitutions or refunds for lost birds or fatalities will be permitted.
Training Preparation
11. The loft will be maintained in a secure area and there will be a 24-hour security system in operation.
12. The pigeons will be housed in a luxury 176-foot loft, specially designed for this race. This loft will accommodate 1,000 in comfort.
13. The UNIKON ELECTRONIC CLOCKING SYSTEM (manufactured by Deister Electronic) will be installed into the loft and used for all training tosses, four “Hot Money Races” and the “Final Race”.
14. All youngsters will be wing-stamped with the telephone number of the RPRA in Cheltenham to assist repatriation of strays. All birds entered into this race will be formally transferred to the General Manager.
15. The anticipated training programme and dates are subject to confirmation and at the discretion of the loft manager/committee according to existing conditions at the time. The anticipated liberation sites for the four “Hot Money Races” will be:
a. 4113 Taunton 78 miles – 30 July b. 4113 Taunton 78 miles 4 August
c. 4178 Exeter 109 miles 11 August d. 4137 Yelverton 130 miles 18 August
If these “Hot Money Races” cannot be held on the appointed day because of inclement weather the Committee will have the right to move these to another date and all Prize Money and Pool Money will be flown for on the first available day.
16. A proper PIGEON TRANSPORTER will be used for the training of these pigeons.
17. All the training tosses, Hot Money and Final races will be dependent on the weather conditions and the Loft Manager will be the person to make the final decision regarding the liberation/release of the pigeons in his charge. There will be a comprehensive training programme, gradually building up the distance on a weekly basis. This will be strictly adhered to, so the pigeons have the proper education for the task in front of them but subject to the welfare of the birds and weather conditions prevailing.
Final Race
18. The anticipated “FINAL RACE” will be from 4100. Sennen Cove at 199 miles for the 2009 season. The pigeons will be liberated on Sunday 30 August 2009. If inclement weather is forecast they will be held over and then liberated on the first available day when good weather is forecast. In the event of inclement weather marking will be delayed at Birtsmorton, near Malvern, Worcs.
19. Open Race licence numbers are SW 07/09 to 11/09.
Prize Money, Trophies and Pools
20. There will be Prize Money and Pools on all the four “Hot Money Races” and “Final Race”. As follows:
ANTICIPATED PRIZE MONEY FOR THE FOUR “HOT MONEY RACES”.
1st £500 2nd £250 3rd £200 4th £150 5th £75 6th £50
7th £ 40 8th £ 30 9th £ 25 10th £ 20
£1340 PER RACE x 4= £5360 TOTAL.
ANTICIPATED PRIZE FUND FOR THE “FINAL RACE”.
1st £20,000 2nd £10,000 3rd £5,000 4th £4,000 5th £ 3,000
6th £ 2,500 7th £2000 8th £1500 9th £1250 10th £1000 11th £500 12th £400 13th £300 14th £200 15th £100 16th to 30th £75 each
31st to 50th £ 50 each
FINAL RACE PRIZE FUND = £ 53875 TOTAL PRIZE FUND £59235
THIS PRIZE MONEY IS NOT GUARANTEED, it is estimated on an entry of 1000 youngsters we hope we will get into the lofts and will be confirmed as soon as possible after closure of entries.
21. There will a Trophy for the winner of the race; also the top 15 pigeons will receive a medallion.
22. There will be an “ACE PIGEON AWARD” for the pigeon with the best average over the four “Hot Money Races” and the “Final Race”. The winner will be the pigeon with the highest average velocity over the five races, based on time into distance basis. In the event of a tie, the pigeon winning the highest position in the “Final Race” will be judged the winner. A suitable Trophy and £1000 will be given to the owner of the winning pigeon.
23. DIPLOMAS will be awarded to the first 20 pigeons in each of the four “Hot Money Races” and diplomas will be awarded to those pigeons that win the first fifty Open positions in the “Final Race”.
24. All “Hot Money Races” and the “Final Race” will close at 10 am on the day following liberation. If there are not enough pigeons clocked in race time to take the allocated Prize Money, then all the money not won will be added together and equally shared between those pigeons that have been clocked in race time. Any pigeons recording the same time will share any cash prize by adding the total of the place prizes, divided by the number of pigeons in the dead heat.
25. Pools are optional. For those participating. POOL MONEY will be as follows in all the three “Hot Money Races” and the “Final Race”:- £1, £2, £3, £4, £5, £10, £20, £30, £40, £50 and will be paid on a 1 in 20 basis. (All pools will be less 10% for administration costs/FOS Fund). If there are insufficient pigeons in any of these races to win all of this pool money in any of these races, the remainder would be equally shared between those pigeons timed in those pools.
26. A TWO BIRD AVERAGE TROPHY will be flown for in the “FINAL RACE”.
Publicity
27. News of the race will be published through www.rpra.org and information on the longer training tosses, “Hot Money Races” and the “Final Race” will be accessible for all competitors, owners or the general public to log onto to get the results. Libline will also be set up for liberation reports. Regular press releases will be issued in the “BRITISH HOMING WORLD” as soon as possible after each race.
28. Hot Money races and Final Race results will be published in the “BRITISH HOMING WORLD”. Objections must be lodged in writing to the General Manager within 7 days of publication in the British Homing World. Where objections to the results are upheld, the amended result will be published in the British Homing World as soon as possible, and again, objections must be lodged with the General Manager in writing within 7 days of publication.
Post Final Race
29. After the race the pigeons will be auctioned and after expenses have been deducted the owner will receive 50% and the other 50% will go into a Future of the Sport fund. Separate rules for the auction will be published prior to the sale. Pedigrees will be called for from owners once the final race is completed. Entrants may forgo the auction and enter directly into the 2010 yearling race if they wish at the appropriate cost. Successful bidders at the auction may also enter their purchase in the yearling race by paying the determined entry fee subject to vacant places.
Committee Responsibilities
30. In all “HOT MONEY RACES” and the “FINAL RACE” a member of the committee will be present at the lofts to ensure that marking, basketing and clocking in procedures are followed.
31. The decision of the Committee is final.