National Top 3 – All Round Breeders 2025

The All Round Breeders category, the team-level equivalent of the All Round norm achieved by individual pigeons, is built on a complex competitive structure. It requires the centralization of results from two to four speed races (100–300 km), two to four middle-distance races (300–500 km), and two to four long-distance races (over 475 km), excluding marathon events. These requirements turn the competition into a true test of consistency and, equally important, of squad uniformity across medium and long distances.

In the 2025 season, no fewer than 772 breeders fulfilled these criteria and are listed in the National Catalogue under “All Round Breeders.” However, the national podium was claimed by only three lofts: the tandem Stroe & Bartoș (Prahova), Marian Badea (Bucharest), and Team Alex Popescu (Dolj).

Stroe & Bartoș – National Champions  All Round Breeders

With an outstanding 2025 season that brought them several national trophies, Alin-Florin Stroe and Istvan Bartoș confirmed the rapid rise of a tandem that debuted in 2024. Their national title was secured with a penalty coefficient of 82.30 points, achieved by centralizing eight races—two long-distance, three middle-distance, and three speed events.

Their record included three 1st places in the overall race classifications (one middle-distance and two speed wins), a 2nd and a 3rd place at middle-distance, while at long-distance they placed 3rd and 4th overall. These performances underlined the remarkable consistency of their racing team across all distance levels.

The tandem competed under the total widowhood system from the very first races, with a team of approximately 140 racers paired at the beginning of the season. Each pair raised two youngsters and was separated after the first race. For the All Round Breeders category, they relied on a compact core of 7–8 pigeons capable of scoring consistently at the very top of the standings.

At the forefront stood the National Champion in Middle-Distance (Old Birds) and Vice National Champion Ace Middle-Distance (Old Birds), supported by hen RO-2023-0957044, ranked 4th National All Round (Old Birds).

Marian Badea – Vice National Champion with Podium Finishes Throughout

Representing the Bucharest Branch, Popești-Leordeni Club, Marian Badea concluded the 2025 season as Vice National Champion All Round Breeders with a penalty coefficient of 86.46 points.

The trophy followed a campaign in which all centralized races were finished on the podium, including the two long-distance races from Poland—Skolin 1 and Skolin 2 (674 km)—where he placed 3rd overall on both occasions, entering only eight pigeons each time.

His racing team of 50 pigeons was divided into two groups. The speed races were approached as a secondary objective on the Râmnicu-Sărat – Focșani – Adjud – Târgu-Frumos route, while the long-distance program was “attacked” with four hens. Three of them are granddaughters of his Long distance Champion, a title won in 2019 when Marian Badea competed under the Cluj Branch. The fourth hen is the result of a genetic combination between a cock from the tandem Stelian Dumitran & Simion Emil and one of his own hens.

He raced on widowhood, separating the pigeons ten days before the start of the season. Besides the All Round category, the Bucharest fancier also targeted the Speed category, achieving four pigeons ranked in the National Top 10.

Team Alex Popescu – Consistency and a National Podium at All Round Breeders

After previously winning national titles in All Round (Old Birds) and Long-Distance Breeders, Alexandru Popescu of Dolj completed an almost perfect season with 3rd National All Round Breeders, totaling 88.16 penalty points over the eight centralized races.

His strongest performances came in the three long-distance races released from Antonești (525 km), where he placed 1st, 2nd, and 2nd overall—clear confirmation of both the quality of his racing team and the pigeons’ ability to maintain peak form deep into the second half of the season.

The racing team, composed of 39 pigeons, was placed on widowhood two weeks before the first speed race. The competitive debut of the year was more reserved, but in the second half of the season the pigeons demonstrated a clear rise in form, especially in the long-distance events.

From a genetic standpoint, Alexandru Popescu’s pigeons originate from several renowned lofts, including Marius Constantin (Germany), older lines previously raced in Gorj with Stănescu + Dobre and Florin Țîrvuloiu origins, as well as a breeder acquired from Alexandru Cazacu, the father of the National Champion All Round (Old Birds).