Special Meeting

Outcome of last nights meeting...

Not in the order of evening but as my brain "downloads" my memories!

Not just Newcastle Fed had called for a meeting following the YB National.

Feeling was late liberation, changing forecast, 200 mile ruling and UNC liberating at 13:50 at Peterborough all combined to give us the poor race from the National...

Although the maximum is 25 per basket for Billericay if Feds wish to send 20 per basket it is allowed as price is per bird..

The Convoyers hands are in a lot of cases "tied" with the 200 mile ruling, difficulty in getting to Billericay with sufficient time to settle/water the pigeons before members expect a liberation...

Too much negativity about decisions on WWW that is a public environment and pointless complaining about decisions re lib times/basket times etc. when the majority of the membership voted them in place. The AGM via the Club and Fed is when to bring this up and try to get it changed, it is not the Convoyer/Sec/Chairman or weather committee who decide 4 hours earlier etc. it is the membership at the AGM..

Suggestion is to have a radical look at race programme etc. form a new committee to have 1 from each Fed and Peter Matthews to look at suitability of race points and race programme.
Stephen Meadows made some very good points re the "severity" of the Old Bird programme and we need to look at "easing" it slightly to get the chance to rebuild teams...

Each Fed to propose altered Programmes asap. Another meeting in a Months time..

Suggestion for only 4 channel races and move Maidstone National back.. (my opinion is if you do this put Maidstone as replacement for last Arras and keep 1st Channel race, Queens Cup, longest race, Roye National (2 Y Old X RIngs etc.) .....

1st Inland National again to be Maidstone to get birdage back up.
Shorter race than Billericay before the 1st Inland National to make it possible for top of the WDA to race back to back that early in season and make it easier for yearlings...

No NEHU racing - WDA to set it's own programme and keep its own identity... (Queens Cup/Bourges????)....

Identify restrictions put in place that make it harder to deliver good racing and remove them...

YB programme, 8 races only the 9th race runs at a loss, a lot of clubs struggle to find sufficient members to send...

1 transporter to go to Wetherby for first 6 young bird races to allow Feds to have a short race to drop back in pigeons that have been off the road/those members who miss the programme as they had problems that caused them to not be ready at start etc.

So each club/Fed to look at suggestions for a radically refreshed race programme and each Fed to nominate a representative for the Committee...

Also each Wednesday the forecast be discussed by a committee if necessary (if it looks dubious for coming weekend) and then meet to amend racepoint if necessary (to get a race that weekend shorter than a long holdover/no race)...

The pigeons are always the number 1 priority, therefore if the weather is better then that is the day the race will be held, not just thrown on a Saturday as that is the scheduled day..

I am sure Alan and the other delegates will add the bits i have missed etc.