Oswaldtwistle. Homing Society HOW TO RECRUIT NEW ENTRANTS TO THE SPORT

Transcription

1 Oswaldtwistle Homing Society HOW TO RECRUIT NEW ENTRANTS TO THE SPORT CONTENTS The Way Forward The First Step How do we Recruit Promoting the Sport Presentation Evening

2 Introduction Two white Fantails and a Dovecote were the beginning and then I started to keep racing pigeons at the age of 15 with half a dozen birds in a rabbit hutch. The local Club let me send the birds free of charge the hobby did not last long and there was a break until I got married at 23 years of age, and in the following 12 years I won 2 races, one was the first Young Bird Race of the season by 2½ hours only 11 birds on the day, and the other was a smash at Lamballe, so probably a bit of luck in both. There then followed a break of 40 years until I restarted in the sport just over 6 years ago at the age of 75. The first problem was to persuade my wife, and she finally agreed to a 4 ft x 4 ft loft which went to 8 ft x 4 ft the following year and 12 ft x 4 ft the year after, which is the size of my current Loft. In the first year I bought 12 Jan Ardens from Louella and was left with 7 to race and was fortunate to win two races, the Young Bird Average and Points Trophies. At the AGM and Presentation Evening I walked into the room to see a pile of plastic bags with trophies on the pool table and at the end of the evening you had to sort through the plastic bags to find your trophy. The following year I suggested that we have a proper presentation but received a telephone call from a member to say it would create too much work for the Secretary so I organised an Evening with trophies on display, and arranged for the late Harry Aspin to present the prizes and tell a few jokes and a meat and potato pie and pea supper. I also invited all the former members in the hope that we might be able to persuade one or two to start racing again however some members were concerned about who was going to pay for the ex members supper!! The following season I sponsored 3 Junior Lofts each 5 ft x 3 ft with a Sputnik Trap on the front. We recruited three 13 year olds, one girl and two boys and they were each given 6 young birds and the loan of a clock. However the girl moved out of the area and one of the boys did not have supportive parents, so we dismantled the Lofts and gave them to two, more older new starters the following year and in fact the two Lofts were dismantled and re-erected on a number of occasions, basically a free trial to see if their interest would continue. At one of the winter meetings a 12 year old boy who would have received a free junior loft was refused membership because some members did not like his father, and at the next meeting a young man was refused because the members did not like his brother. I had suggested we start a League System so that the new members would have a chance of winning a trophy, but this was turned down we had to learn the hard way and they will have to do the same. Also I don t want to fly in the same League as so and so. I decided to leave the Club and join Oswaldtwistle Homing Society, where the members appeared to be keen to accept new ideas. However the following year the Club received a major setback when the local council decided to alter the allotment rules, which meant that new allotment holders would not be able to keep Racing Pigeons. After lengthy correspondence and meetings, the council were persuaded to overturn their decision, no doubt helped by the part Racing Pigeons played in winning two World Wars and the fact it was a centenary year since the First World War began. The new starter pack consists of assistance in setting up a Loft, mainly by finding small second hand sheds around 8 ft x 6 ft and fitting a 4 Bird Stall Trap on the front and 12 Box Perches, which is financed with a grant from the RPRA Future of Sport Committee. The new starters also receive 10 Free Young Birds and the loan of a T3 clock. It is surprising how many free Baskets, Drinkers and Feeders are donated by members from other Clubs, so the new starter does not have a large financial outlay One year all the new starters each received a free bag of Breed and Wean kindly donated by Bamfords. However it is very important that besides recruiting you also need to keep the new members interested and so the Club have a 4 Division League System with promotion and relegation. A New Starters League and Junior Section. There is also a Team Spirit League with an established Fancier and new member paired together, whereby their points are added together each week. The leagues enable members of a similar level to compete against one another each week and it is surprising how they go down to the last race before the winners are known. Knock Out Competitions where members nominated bird are also popular. The fact that the Club have its own Headquarters, and the facilities of a mini transporter to train the members birds twice a week is also a plus factor for attracting new members. In most Clubs one or two members usually dominate the race results and so the Club runs a First Bird Nom Competition each week where members can nominate one bird with a 2 entry fee. However the member s nominated bird will only qualify to win the prize and nom money if it is the member s first timed bird back to the loft, which evens things out and gives all the members a chance of winning a prize and decent pay out. The new starters vary in age but the last two members to join are over 75 years of age and all say they have been looking for a new hobby. It is surprising how many people would like to have a go at racing pigeons. The only problem is finding them so you can get the message across. The Club have produced a series of articles which have been collated into booklet form entitled:- How to attract New Entrants to the Sport The Way Ahead The First Step How We Recruit New Members Promoting The Sport And at the back is a list of check points together with an article on the Club Presentation which is important so that the members can be rewarded for their efforts during the season, including a number of runner up trophies as well. However there are still challenges to be overcome with club radius and federation boundaries which fanciers seem reluctant to change. At the moment there are three potential new starters within a short distance of the Club boundary who will be lost to the sport because other local Clubs are unable to offer a new starter package or support that is required. The various points highlighted in the booklet do work because in 2013 Oswaldtwistle Homing Society had 12 members and today there are 50 members and a junior school and so the club has decided to temporarily close its membership level at 50 members for the coming season, to make sure it can keep on top of administration and function properly; and in order to assist the Secretary the club has invested in a new Windows Laptop and Microsoft Office, plus an updated Toolkit to take advantage of the latest software, so it will be able to cope with any additional administration in the future. Peter Hargreaves Oswaldtwistle Homing Society HOW TO RECRUIT NEW ENTRANTS TO THE SPORT

3 Oswaldtwistle Homing The Way Forward? Society Kindly Supported by: Tricky's Oswaldtwistle Homing Society continues its drive to recruit new members, having attracted 19 new members over the past 2 years, 17 of whom are new starters. During this period membership has trebled to 42 members including 15 over 60 s and 6 Asian members of whom 5 are new starters. The Club currently has 30 individual lofts, even though some members are flying in partnership with each other next year. In 2015 there will be a Junior Section for the first time with three 12 year old boys racing young birds. But the key for young members is having supportive parents with a vehicle to train their birds. WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRY RACING PIGEONS AS A HOBBY AND GROWING YOUR OWN FOOD? WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRY RACING PIGEONS AS A HOBBY? Oswaldtwistle Homing Society has one Junior Loft available as part of their new Starter Package for new junior entrants wishing to take up the sport of racing pigeons. The Starter Package includes: Loan of Junior Loft Loan of Timing Clock to record the velocity of the Racing Pigeon when it returns home. Ten Young Birds to start racing in July 2015 Help and advice on how to start up Enquiries to: Mr Peter Hargreaves In January this year, however, the recruitment programme received a severe set back when the local council imposed a new rule that banned new allotment holders from keeping racing pigeons, a decision which would have eventually resulted in the demise of the sport in the area. This was a tremendous shock as the Club had been working with the Council for the previous two years on a poster campaign to promote pigeon racing and allotments and had helped to fill 6 empty allotments. After lengthy correspondence and a letter of support from the RPRA, the Council Cabinet Member for Recreation agreed with the arguments that had been put forward and reversed the decision. There is no doubt that the part played by racing pigeons in helping to win two World Wars and 2014 being a centenary year was an important factor in this decision. The Club s main presentation on this issue has now been filed by the General Secretary of the RPRA for use by other clubs facing the same problem. In order to attract new members, the Club has positioned a Junior Loft in the grounds of a local Shopping Village and Garden Centre, together with a poster board display, promoting the offer of a small loft and timing clock (on loan) and 10 free young birds to start racing. The Club is very grateful to members of the Blackburn Federation and Pigeon Chat who donate young birds and loft equipment for new members each year. Help and advice is provided at start up, including liaising with the local Council to find allotments, as some of the interested participants only have back yards which are subject to cat problems. The Club have previously used Junior Lofts for new starters but now find it more economical to pick up old sheds for free or at little cost, cut out a square and fix a stall trap and base to the front of the shed. It also helps because the new starters generally want a bigger loft in their second year. 12 year old Harry Sutton with his Loft, Trap & Perches donated by Pigeon Chat Members The Club has also started to promote the RPRA Homing Pigeon Starter Pack which offers a Two Tier Dovecote, two free Pedigree Racing Pigeons, a free bag of corn, pot eggs, drinker, feeder, scraper and equipment for the Loft. It also includes free registration to the Racing Pigeon Association and Midland National Flying Club, and free rings from the MNFC for young birds, which are registered with the RPRA and a free newsletter. A new campaign will also start to target the over 60 s by contacting Clubs and Societies and those who have recently retired. By 2017 there will be 10.5 million over 55 s and some will be looking for a new hobby. There will always be winners and losers in any sport and so the Club has tried to incentivize Pigeon Racing with the formation of three league divisions, so that different members can compete at the same level and have a chance of winning a trophy. There is promotion and relegation at the end of the season and trophies for the new starters and junior sections Old Bird and Young Bird Knockout Competitions Together with a Team Spirit League which pairs an established member with a new member, which all adds a bit of fun to this sport. There is plenty to look forward to prior to the start of the 2015 season thanks to a grant of 5,500 from the East Lancashire Clinical Commissionary Group which will enable a new and larger club house to be erected, which will open up new opportunities for members to socialise, and training sessions for new members on all aspects relating to marking, clock setting and checking a number of members will be changing to ETS next year and this will be another learning curve. A grant of 750 from the RPRA Future of Sport Committee has also been received for loft equipment for new starters. The Club is always looking for new members and welcomes applications for membership. It will be holding its AGM at 8 pm on Monday, 8th December at Tricky s, and Annual Prize Presentation with a Pie and Peas Supper on Monday, February 9th next year, when former RPRA President Brian Tattersall will present the prizes. 12 year old Haroon Ayub with his 4 x 4 ft starter loft The Homing Pigeon Starter Pack includes: Two FREE pedigree homing pigeons specially bred from champion racing pigeons (Male & Female) One FREE bag of pigeon food which will last a pair of birds for three months Pot eggs, drinker, feeder, scraper and equipment for your loft FREE registration to the Royal Racing Pigeon Association and the National Flying Club FREE pigeon rings from the MNFC for your young birds which are registered with the RPRA FREE newsletter

4 Oswaldtwistle Homing g Society Kindly Supported by: Tricky's The First Step Club Member Mr Peter Hargreaves recently visited Longshaw Junior School in Blackburn to give a talk on Racing Pigeons to 90 ten and eleven year old children who behaved impeccably throughout the session. The School set up was very professional with images projected onto a large screen. First of all Peter introduced six of his birds with a story about each one, including a Hen, a 4-week old Late Bred Squeaker which he gave away only for it to escape the next day and find its way back on a 2-mile journey. So Peter decided to keep her and she s made a good Channel Pigeon. Another story focussed on a 3 year old hen called Lucky who was badly injured by a Sparrow Hawk in January. Below you can see Lucky being operated on under anaesthetic by a local vet, and then waiting for her breakfast the following morning. In July, Lucky raced home from the hard 400-mile race from Fourgeres. The next part of Peter s Presentation was to enlist the help of the children in preparing the birds for a race. The children carried out wing stamping and ringing, marking up a race sheet and they placed drinkers onto the baskets. The children were then asked to work out how long the birds would take to fly home from the 137-mile race point at a speed of 60 miles per hour. It is difficult for today s children to understand yards per minute as they are only taught in metric measurements. The First Step is a follow up to an article entitled The Way Ahead which appeared in the British Homing World in November. The birds were clocked in a T3 and at clock checking the race rubbers were checked against the race sheet. The children were then told about nesting and the egg laying and hatching cycle. They were shown a photo of a loft and how to settle and look after the young birds, moving on to training and getting them ready for the first race. There then followed a question and answer session with the children really getting involved with lots of questions. The best question was, Where do racing Pigeons come from? Do they come from the streets? The birds were finally liberated in the school playground with one of the birds carrying a secret message which was deciphered at the home end and details relayed back to the school. The Secret Message The deciphered message reads: WHERE ARE THE PIGEONS GOING PLEASE REPLY TO GEMMA Longshaw Junior School is in one of the most deprived areas of Blackburn so it was great to see how the children interacted and reacted. However, the success of any school project relies heavily on having a dedicated teacher, and Longshaw Junior School certainly have one in Deputy Headteacher Jonathan Berry, who now has to decide where to erect the loft. The advantages of these school visits are twofold; one being the chance of a school deciding to install a loft of their own and the other possibility of one or two of the children persuading their parents to allow them to keep racing pigeons. However, this visit was particularly worthwhile as a reporter and photographer from the Lancashire Evening Telegraph were present and promised a full page-3 write up which will promote the sport. Following up new leads is important & thanks must be paid to club member Steven Palmer for creating & developing the original interest of the school. The presentation can be adapted for Over 50 s Clubs and Societies which are being targeted by the Club at the moment. Longshaw Junior School have now applied to join Oswaldtwistle Homing Society and the Club will provide the necessary equipment, partly from funds received from the RPRA Future of Sport Committee, and ten young birds to start racing in However, anyone wanting to contribute with any spare loft equipment or young birds would be most welcome. Please contact Peter Hargreaves on or tphargreaves@ btinternet.com Dear Peter, Thank you for taking the time to visit our school this morning. The children gained a great deal from your expertise and were clearly enthused following your presentation. A number have asked when you will be returning for round two - I think it s safe to say you were a great hit! Seldom do days come along where the children experience something so incredibly unique. The Children listened attentively You have inspired many of our children to find out more about Pigeon racing - at lunch time I had numerous children knocking at my door asking for more information. Lucky on the Operating Table Lucky next morning waiting for Breakfast Plenty of Questions I will be in touch regarding the loft, in the meantime, please accept my sincerest thanks for your time and efforts; the children experienced a truly magical, memorable day. Best Regards Jonathan Berry Deputy Headmaster Longshaw Junior School Operating a Ringer Wing Stamping A Future Show Judge? The Birds were released in the School Playground Letter of Thanks from Longshaw Junior School Deputy Headmaster Jonathan Berry

5 Oswaldtwistle Homing Society How do we recruit new Members to the Sport? Looking through the Race Results in the British Homing World, a quick analysis shows that 151 clubs have 5 members or less 5 clubs with 1 member, 20 clubs with 2 members, 31 clubs with 3 members, 42 with 4 members & 51 clubs with 5 members - and some of these fanciers will probably have to travel to other clubs to mark their birds & have their clocks set to comply with RPRA rules. Projecting forward 5 years, how many of these clubs will still be in existence? Oswaldtwistle Homing Society is now a strong Club with 44 members including 8 partnerships. During the last 3 years we have recruited 24 new members, 21 of whom are new starters including 6 Asian members, two 12 year old boys & a Junior School. The Club is projecting to have 50 members by the start of the new season. The Club has had to turn down a number of applications because Fanciers are just outside the Club boundary, so enquiries are passed on to other clubs in the Federation although opening up the club radius would be a logical solution. One of the main problems in recruiting new members is the cost of starting up, so if you can help in this area you have a chance & so the Club offers a new starter package. Previously junior lofts have been used for new starters, but now find it more economical to pick up old sheds for free or little cost, cut out a square & fix a 4 bird stall trap & base to the front of the shed, together with a set of box perches. It also makes sense because the new starters always want a bigger loft in their second year. These costs are funded by a grant from the RPRA, Future of Sport Committee, & a detailed application for financial support to this committee usually results in a positive response with the Club receiving 2000 during the last couple of years. Ten young birds are given to each new member & the loan of a T3 clock. Local Fanciers & those further afield are very generous in donating young birds & an appeal on Pigeon Chat for second hand T3 clocks resulted in the Club receiving 11 clocks, some in working order & others serviced & fitted with new batteries by B Leefe & Sons Ltd at half the normal cost, in return for being allowed to display their advert on the Club s website. Some of the lofts are on loan with a signed agreement that they are returned to the Club if the member leaves the sport, & there can be a similar agreement for clocks as well. As a result of two Oswaldtwistle Homing Society articles in the British Homing World The First Step & Way Ahead the Club is becoming known for encouraging new members to the sport, & has started to receive donations of loft equipment, baskets, drinkers, feeders & young birds which enabled some new members to be virtually set up with a minimum outlay. This year thanks to Bamfords all the new starters each received a free bag of Breed & Wean under the Homing Pigeon Starter Pack Scheme. The Blackburn & District Federation also encourage new starters with free membership to young persons under the age of 18. The Club promotes the new starter package by siting a small loft in the grounds of a local shopping & garden centre with a poster promoting what is on offer. Posters are also put on allotment fences & in Barbers shops & fly posting in discreet places one enquiry came from a poster on the door of a Gents Loo before it was taken down. Sometimes it is necessary to liaise with the local council to find an allotment, as the new starter may only have a back yard, which may not be suitable for racing pigeons, so there is regular communication with the local allotments manager. Local press are always on the look out for information about organisations & feature write ups about the Club. Small adverts in the local newspaper usually generate enquiries & details are promoted on the council s voluntary services website & newsletter. The Club runs campaigns to target the over 60 s by contacting local Clubs, Societies & Associations. By 2017 there will be 10.5 million over 55 s & some will be looking for a new hobby. Talks are also given to Schools, Rotary & Lions Clubs. The advantage of school visits is two fold, one being the chance of a school deciding to install a loft of their own, & secondly the possibility of one or two of the children persuading their parents to let them keep Racing Pigeons. One talk ended up with the school joining the Club & also resulted in good publicity in the local press. The Presentation for the older age groups is different from the ones used for schools. The key to school talks is keeping the children interested, & besides telling them about the general aspects of racing pigeons & the part they played in winning two world wars, they love to see some birds & hear a story about each bird. Dangers encountered by racing pigeons are highlighted - birds of prey, cables & telephone wires & other perils eg. which happened to a Fancier who, whilst waiting for his birds to return from a race, received a telephone call from a member of the public to say your red pigeon has just been shot. On another occasion, a bird returned from a race & did not enter the trap & when the Fancier looked on top of the loft he found it had been killed by a cat after just flying 300 miles back to its home. Another important way of finding new members is word of mouth, casual enquiries sometimes from allotment holders need to be followed up with a personal visit & explanation how the new starter package works & general information about the sport. All the members encourage anybody who shows an interest & welcome anyone who wants to join. The Club have a great membership who all help one another & there is no doubt word of mouth spreads that everyone is welcome whether novice or established Fancier. Another selling point to attract new members is the fact that the Club owns its own wooden structure headquarters which is fitted out with racks to hold the baskets, with drinkers on from the start until the transporter arrives, & members putting their birds through under cover which is an advantage in adverse weather conditions. The area is fitted out with benches, tables & chairs. There is a fridge for drinks & a kettle for tea & coffee, & an honesty box to collect the monies. There is also a heater to keep everyone warm & socialise together whilst waiting for their clocks to be set or printed result worked out by the Club Secretary. The headquarters has been financed with a grant from a local charity organisation. The Club originally applied for 1,500 to extend the original cabin but the charity committee came back & said no we don t want you to have an extension, we want you to have a new building so re-apply for 6,500. The Club now has its own website oswaldtwistlehomingsociety.co.uk which gives information on how to join with details of the new starter package & is a good way of promoting the sport locally, & has resulted in a number of enquiries. The website also contains a number of articles about the Club & information on the Presentation Evening. Some new members will need help with training their birds, as they do not have their own transport, so they can join the Club Training Programme which is run by a club member with his mini transporter offering two mid-week tosses. Once the new members have joined the Club it is important that they are given encouragement & assistance they receive specific information, how to feed & settle the young birds & how to prevent young bird sickness, & the Club runs a vaccination clinic so they can attend with their birds. The Mini Transporter There will always be winners & losers in any sport & so the Club have created incentives for all members with the formatting of three league divisions with promotion & relegation, so the different members can compete on the same level & have a chance of winning a trophy. There are also leagues for new starters & the Junior Sections & a Team Spirit League, with an established member & new member paired together, & it is surprising how the leagues are fiercely competed & go down to the last race before the winners are known. These competitive opportunities are always of interest to the new starters in the initial discussions about them joining the sport. There is a big difference between the skills of the older members & new members who need every bit of encouragement they can get & the leagues help to keep up their enthusiasm & sometimes older members in other Clubs don t want to accept change. I don t want to fly in the same league as so & so & we had to learn the hard way & new members should do the same. At the end of each season the Club organises a Presentation Evening with an Artist & Supper, so that the winners can be acknowledged & receive their trophies, & an annual brochure is produced which includes general information about the Club, race results, trophy winners & the Club constitution & equal opportunities policy. The members are always interested to see their names in print & there is a write up inside BHW Lancashire Life each week during the racing season. All these little things add up to be part of the bigger picture to attract new members to the sport. Finding new starters is like scouting promising young footballers, but if you put in the effort it can be done.

6 Oswaldtwistle Homing g Society Promoting the Sport This is the s the 4th 4th article article by by Oswaldtwistle Homing Society following The The Way Way Ahead, The First rst Step Step and and How How Do Do We We Recruit. This article describes how Longshaw Junior School in Blackburn is starting to promote the sport of racing pigeons. The school joined Oswaldtwistle Homing Society last year but due to a feral cat gaining entrance to their small loft were unable to continue racing their birds, however due to the generosity of a number of fanciers they received a team of late breds that have been trained up to race this year. Thanks to a grant of 1600 from the RPRA Future of Sport Committee the school has been able to buy a new larger loft from Parkhall Timber Products & UNIKON have kindly agreed to upgrade a Champ model donated by the RPRA to a Text system which will mean the children will now be able to receive text messages on their mobile phones & find out who has won & where their birds are placed in the race. It will also be possible to connect to a PC using USB & print arrivals at the school using UNIKON Link Software. Besides taking part in club racing with Oswaldtwistle Homing Society, the children will be competing in their own school races each week where groups of children will each own 3 nominated birds from their loft. There will also be a weekly league table based on a points system, & knockout competition. The club offer the school a reduced member subscription of 10 & there is also free membership to Blackburn & District Federation. Pigeon Fancying is now part of the School s Curriculum & has captured the imagination of many of the children, who will be able to work out the velocities in maths lessons & learn about the different towns in England & France where the birds are released in geography lessons. The children are A Team looking at their Mobiles to see when their Birds came home from training also going to start having history lessons about the Great War, so it may be worth mentioning to them that in 1845, the Duke of Wellington claimed to have a pigeon that flew 5000 miles! The pigeon is now in the Museum of London, but it probably hitched a lift on a sailing vessel. News of Wellington s victory at the Battle of Waterloo was also brought back by a carrier pigeon! Jonathan Berry, Deputy Headmaster, feels there is something about pigeon racing which allows us to bring out the best in pupils & there is nothing more Champ PC500 0 rewarding for a teacher than the children having fun during their learning. It encourages teamwork & competitiveness & being out in the fresh air which is what children need. The school will promote the sport of racing pigeons to other schools & has been supported by the local authority who are keen to promote the educational benefits associated with the sport. Longshaw Junior School will give talks & demonstrations to other schools in the area, with the emphasis being that Longshaw children take the lead by talking about their own experiences. Operating a Ringer The Class ready to see the Birds being liberated by the Longshaw Ambassadors As part of their presentation to other schools the Longshaw Deputy Headmaster & children will take a few birds with them. They will cover aspects how birds are prepared for a race with demonstrations of wing stamping, ringing the birds with rubbers & marking up a race sheet. Finally how the birds are timed into a T3 clock. The key to school visits is to keep the children interested & besides telling them about the general aspects of racing pigeons, they love to see some birds & hear a story about each one. Dangers encountered by racing pigeons are also highlighted with birds of prey, cables, telephone wires & feline perils. They will also explain about nesting & egg laying & incubation cycles. They will be shown a photo of a traditional loft & how to settle & look after young birds, moving on to training & getting them ready for the first race. WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRY RACING PIGEONS AS A HOBBY? The children are told how racing pigeons played a major part in winning two world wars & there were always two pigeons on every aircraft that went on raids & 32 birds, 28 dogs, 3 horses & 1 cat were awarded the Dickin Medal for Bravery. Finally the talk ends with a question & answer session. The Oswaldtwistle Homing Society New Starter Package will be explained which consists of assistance setting up a loft, 10 free young birds to start racing, & the loan of a T3 clock together with free help & advice. The children continue to learn about different aspects of the sport and 14 children & 4 teachers recently visited the Royal Lofts at Sandringham & received a young bird from the Royal Loft Manager. The advantages of these school visits are twofold, one being the chance of a school deciding to install a loft of their own & the other possibility of one or two children persuading their parents to allow them to keep racing pigeons. When Longshaw Junior School, where 75 per cent of the children come from disadvantaged families, start this initiative, it could have a massive recruiting potential with other schools wishing to join a pigeon club & replicate the Longshaw model. The New Parkhall 18ft x 8ft Loft Phil Murrray, President of of NW Region, presenting the the Cheque to to the the Longshaw Children Oswaldtwistle Homing Society can offer a new Starter Package for new entrants wishing to take up the sport of racing pigeons. The Starter Package includes: Starter Package Promotional Poster! STOP PRESS! THE SCHOOL HAVE JUST BEEN CONTACTED BY THE BBC TO INVOLVE THEM IN A TV PROGRAMME ABOUT CHILDRENS HOBBIES!

7 Oswaldtwistle Homing Society Lee Dawson receives his Bouquet from President Ted Dawson 13 Year Old Harry Sutton Clare Heap The year 2015 has been an eventful year for Oswaldtwistle Homing Society, starting with the move to the Club s new Headquarters in the grounds of Oswaldtwistle Mills Business & Conference Centre. The creation of a new website oswaldtwistlehomingsociety.co.uk to promote the Club & attract new members. A twice weekly training programme carried out by club member Derek Williams in his mini transporter & 10 new members, mainly new starters, which brings membership up to 44 including 6 partnerships & hoping to increase to 50 members this year. Some members moving to E.T.S. for the first time, although some of the T3 lads have still held their own. The leagues & knock out competitions have created plenty of interest & have been keenly contested with the winners going down to the last race. Oswaldtwistle is now a strong Club with members mixing & socialising together & helping out at basketing & clock checking evenings. The Club has held its own in the Blackburn & District Federation, with four different members topping the FED & taking numerous positions in the top four with Tony Gildert winning on 3 occasions in inland races, & three other members winning Federation trophies. Dawson Bros & Family - Fourgeres - Peter Hargreaves - Lancashire Evening Telegraph Carentan - Niort - Old Bird Combined Average & Channel Average - Majid Ali - Young Bird Of The Year & Young Bird Average. This year the Club held its annual Presentation at Oswaldtwistle Social Club, where 80 members & friends enjoyed artists Martin Gregory Lambert & Sheila Diamond & a Meat & Potato Pie Supper followed by a game of stand up Bingo & Raffle. The evening started with Vice President & Master of Ceremonies for the Evening Brian Dawson welcoming members & friends & special guests. The chief guests being the well known Clitheroe Fancier & Auctioneer Francis Howarth & his wife Barbara who was presented with a bouquet. Francis is a tireless worker for the sport & has raised thousands of pounds for various charities & has the knack of taking the last penny from Fanciers who attend his sales - Francis kindly donated a 50 special for the winners of this years Team Spirit Leagues & a further 50 for the winners in the forthcoming season. Thanks were given to Secretary Lee Dawson, who has done a brilliant job coping with all the new members & the change from T3s to ETS which has been quite a learning curve. Jack Pickup & the members of Benthorn Homing Society were thanked for the many trophies on display. & thanks were given to Brian Dearn & the members of Darwen Homing Society for the donation of four T3 clocks for the new members - thank you to Jimmy English for manning the door & selling raffle tickets which resulted in the evening showing a surplus of This year s prizes have been shared out with six different members winning races & obtaining top ten positions in Blackburn Federation. First up to the table was 13 year old Harry Sutton who won the Junior Section & a 5 special donated by Phillip Unsworth Oswaldtwistle Homing Society ety Members & Longshaw Junior School (LJS) were Runners Up Junior Section, Lady Fancier of the Year Clare Heap. Norman Jackson 3rd in the first race at Shrewsbury & winner of Division 3 Old Birds. John Taylor Runner Up Division 2 Young Bird. E Feathers Young Bird Team Spirit League Runner Up Division 3 Young Bird & Runner Up New Starters League. Naz Ali 1st Yearling at Messac & Runner Up Division 3 Old Bird. R Rothwell 1-4th at Niort 8th Fed & 48th Combine & Winner Division 2 Old Bird & Team Spirit League Old Birds. Shabir Ahmed - 1st Young Bird Race & Winner Division 2 Young Bird Points. Mohammed Ali - Winner Division 3 Young Birds & New Starter League also Novice of the Year. Rothwell & Pollitt 3-4ths & winner of Old & Young Bird Team Spirit Leagues. Sparkes & Haworth 1-2nd, 1-4th, & Old Bird Knockout Competition. English & Cross 1-2nd, 2-3rds, 1-4th Winner Division Two Young Bird Points. Dawson Bros & Family 1-1st, 1-2nd, 1-3rd, ths - - Fourgeres Trophy also winning 1st Fed & 10th Combine, RU Channel Points, RU Old Bird Combined Points. Carey Bros 2-1sts, 1-2nd, 2-3rds, Carentan Trophy winning 4th & 6th Fed, Carentan 1st Yearling, Fourgeres 1st Yearling & longest Old Bird Race. Majid Ali 3-1sts, 4-2nds, 2-3rds, 4-4ths, Joint Young Bird Points & Young Bird Average & longest Young Bird Race & Young Bird of the Year. Majid had a fantastic Young Bird season with some great Fed positions, 1-1st, 2-2nds, 3-3rds & 1-4th. Ace Fancier Tony Gildert had 10-1sts, 10-2nds, 11-3rds, 8-4ths - First Old Bird Race, Old Bird Inland Points, Old Bird Inland Average, Joint Young Bird Points & Young Bird Average - RU Combined OB/YB Points, Comeback Average & Highest Winning Velocity 1832 Old Bird of the Year. Peter Hargreaves 4-1sts, 3-2nds, 1-3rd - RU Inland Points & RU Inland Average - Messac Trophy & 2nd Fed & 6th Combine, Niort Trophy & 1st & 2nd Fed & 7th & 10th Combine. Niort 1st Yearling, Channel Average, Combined Old Bird Average & Old Bird Young Bird Combined Average - Lowest Winning Velocity 692, Channel Points, Old Bird Combined Points, Old Bird Young Bird Combined Points & Young Bird Knockout Competition. Prior to the Presentation, the Club held their AGM on Monday 14th December when all the officers were re-elected. Ted Dawson - President, Bob Rothwell & Brian Dawson - Vice Presidents & Lee Dawson - Secretary. Brian Dawson & Peter Hargreaves were re-elected as Federation Delegates. There will be plenty to fly for in 2016 with over 50 trophies to be won, old & young bird knock out competitions, a three divisional league system with promotion & relegation, & a team spirit league with an established member & new member paired together. Barbara Haworth receives her Bouquet from Brian Dawson Jonathan Berry (LJS) Norman Jackson John Taylor Naz Ali Robert Rothwell Rothwell & Pollitt Robin Sparkes Jimmy English Lee Dawson Majid Ali Tony Gildert Peter Hargreaves

8 Checklist HOW TO ATTRACT NEW ENTRANTS TO THE SPORT Checklist HOW TO ATTRACT NEW ENTRANTS TO THE SPORT 1) Make sure Young New Starters have supportive parents with a vehicle to train their birds. 2) Make contact with the local Allotment Manager and keep on friendly terms. 3) Try and find a local Garden Centre that would allow you to display a small loft with a poster promoting your offer. 4) A new starter pack should consist of helping to establish a Loft, ten free young birds from Club Members and the loan of a T3 clock. 5) Consider half club subscription in the first year and try and persuade the Federation to do the same. 6) Liaise with the local council to find allotments as some of the interested participants may only have a back yard. 7) Look out for old or second hand small sheds, cut out a square out of the front and fit a 4 Bird Stall Trap and 12 Box Perches. Crafty Fifer in Scotland can supply Tel No: ) The RPRA Future of Sport Committee are very supportive to well presented applications for funds for loft equipment. 9) Target the over 60 s by contacting Clubs and Societies and those who have recently retired. By 2017 there will be 10.5 million over 55 s and some will be looking for a new hobby. 10) There will always be winners and losers in our sport, so create League Divisions with promotion and relegation -Organise Knock Out Competitions with a Team Spirit League which pairs an established member with a new member-try and have trophies for runners up as well as winners. 11) Look out for local grants in your area - We managed to obtain a grant for 6,500 for a new Club House. 12) Arrange to visit a local school and follow the details in the second article THE FIRST STEP. 13) The Asian community are very keen on Fancy Pigeons. If you are able to recruit one member, he will probably have other friends who may wish to join. 14) Once your Club becomes known for recruiting new members, you will start to receive free offers of baskets, drinkers, feeders and young birds from other Fanciers. 15) Try and find sponsors - one year Bamfords provided all the new starters with a bag of Breed and Wean. 16) The local press are always on the look out for information about organisations and feature write ups about the Club. Small adverts in the local newspaper usually generate enquiries and details can be promoted on the local council s voluntary services website and newsletter. 17) Another important way of finding new members is word of mouth/casual enquiries sometimes from other allotment holders need to be followed up with personal visit and explanation how the new starter package works. Arrange for posters to be placed on allotment fences - see if your local Barber would display a poster for you in his shop. 18) Establish a new website so you can promote the Club. Try and find a sponsor who will advertise on your site. See Sandy Brown of mysoft is a good contact. 19) Organise a Presentation Evening so that members can receive Trophies and Prize Cards. Members are always interested to see their names in print, so ask for a volunteer to be a Press Officer so you can have a regular write up BHW or The Racing Pigeon. 20) Create a Facebook page promoting your Club. It is surprising how popular this can be. 21) In most clubs one or two members usually dominate the race results and so the club run a first bird nom competition each week where members nominate one bird with a t2 entry fee. However the members nominated bird will only qualify to win the nom money if it is the member s first timed bird back to the loft which evens things out and gives all the members a chance of winning. 22) Some clubs have not had a presentation for years and so may have some spare trophies- so it is worth asking around. 23) In the last article Promoting the Sport Oswaldtwistle Homing Society are fortunate to have Longshaw Junior School as a member and the children are now becoming Ambassadors to promote the sport to other schools in the area. Oswaldtwistle Homing Society HOW TO RECRUIT NEW ENTRANTS TO THE SPORT

9 WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRY RACING PIGEONS AS A HOBBY? Oswaldtwistle Homing Society can offer a new Starter Package for new entrants wishing to take up the sport of racing pigeons. The Starter Package includes: Assistance in setting up a Loft Loan of Timing Clock to record the velocity of the Racing Pigeon when it returns home. Ten FREE Young Birds to start racing in July 2017 Help and advice on how to start up Enquiries to: Mr Peter Hargreaves