THE BARCELONA CRAZE
Jim Emerton
There is a great deal of dreams, and chat about Barcelona. It has become the hot chestnut of the popular consciousness. Studs are springing up to market the bloodlines, which are swapped, out bred and made available. It has become a modern, cultural phenomenon. In race reality entry numbers in the BICC remain relatively low, yet have increased by 100 percent in my 21 years of promoting the race point. The brakes are put on because of the desire, time and patience to wait for up to 10 days or so, the difficulty for the birds and the awesome grandeur of the race. It is for tough men and tougher individual birds, expertly prepared for the one magical race a year-I have been involved in 9 timings so far. The essential element is to send all available birds to it and wait and wait and wait till the cows come home and the crows go to roost. The BICC has 4 trophies donated by me as an incentive to clock - have a go live the dream.
AN ULTIMATE CHALLENGE FOR THE FANCY
An idea for the dedicated and purist fancier of the future is so simple, yet so difficult to practice from year to year. It requires some unconventional thought and practice, and there is no hiding place for those who may practice it. Now Barcelona is “the” race point for the UK and Ireland, yet is laden with awesome difficulty. You may command some respect and notability if you endure long enough to develop a Barcelona International strain. Here generations of actual performance birds are paired together after the great race. This is progeny testing like neo - Darwinism. The philosophy is extreme, yet every timer in this race is a good bird that was fit for purpose and an accurate pedigree will look great. Few people will tackle this onerous concept in race reality-the exclusiveness of it is appealing. Nick Harvey is well on his way with realising this project. He will be remembered for his dedication to objectives-the only race greater than ourselves. The task is very suitable for monks, and compulsive types-a pure labour of love.
TRUE PURPOSE AND MEANING OF INTERNATIONAL RACING
The appeal of this sport is very easy to perceive and understand. You are in competition with not just England on a national level, but with fanciers and their birds in other countries in Europe. The radius is bigger; the birdage is greater as is the commercial aspect for some people. It is a natural and logical progression to start in local club racing and terminate at Barcelona International - a race of wonder, magic and a prover of great birds. To the UK it is not to be won in a hurry as the total flying conditions are so severe. A good strain can result from repeated performance levels to rival the best Europe has to offer. The BICC will cater for all your needs from sprint to marathon racing over 700 miles. My personal performances up to 879 miles were at Dax and Barcelona. The demands on man and bird are well remembered after the races are over. However, we have a large diversity of clubs catering for all from sprint to marathon racing - you can do it with the same strain.
HARDINESS IN RACING PIGEONS
I like em street wise and country wise. It is tough, hard little birds that do the trick for us. Fed a rich diet all winter, as they grow and moult, they thrive in rude good health for being out in the elements of frost, sun, wind and snow-like wild birds. In the spring no training tosses are needed, and you can bring them along in the race programme, where winning shorter races is of zero interest to us as marathon men. All Barcelona International candidates will roost out and have the need to forage as the race is open for 10 days plus. It is a real test of patience, where success is based on long term dedication and tunnel vision. I much prefer country lofts and have written a new book - Jim Emerton ; Countryman, out soon on Amazon. I hope you enjoy my 6 books!
PRIORITIES IN PIGEON RACING
Talk of pigeons is fine, and can be effective communication, and makes up popular culture. However the lone wolf who aims to perfect his practical work and insight and knowledge is one i look out for. As a thinker and creative innovator, he sets ambitious and nearly impossible targets to achieve. In this way he may transcend the sport, and make a major contribution to it. He is a singular individual, where simplicity is genius. I am waiting for this inspirational fancier to come from Ireland in the BICC races. The BICC welcomes all paid up members to distinguish themselves in hardcore marathon racing over there. The difficulty makes the challenge a worthy one-who will it be?? It is the final frontier of European pigeon racing and there are 3 solid silver salve trophies to be won and bear your name.
