National Record: Victor Burghiu (GJ) Takes the Top Four National Places in the Young Birds As Speed Category

The pigeon fancier from Gorj County, Victor Burghiu of Târgu-Jiu, enjoyed an exceptional 2025 young bird season, with performances that will be extremely difficult to match—perhaps even by himself. In a single competitive year, he managed to compile an impressive collection of national trophies, surpassing achievements that many breeders accumulate over an entire career. Moreover, Victor Burghiu dominated several categories outright

Petre Ungureanu and the Slăniceanu & Bartoș tandem, the aces of the 2025 Yearling Speed category

From a competitive standpoint, the Ace categories are always those that generate special emotions and require an extra level of effort. This is explained by the fact that ace pigeons must compete flawlessly, since the standards of the Ace categories in the National Championship, regardless of distance, are achieved exclusively through participation and classification in all the scheduled races for that category. The absence of a

As Speed Old Birds 2025 – A Diverse National Podium and Top-Level Performances

The national standings of the As Speed Old Birds 2025 category confirm the increasingly balanced nature of Romanian pigeon racing. The presence of pigeons from four different regions in the national top 10 highlights not only the high difficulty of the category, but also the fact that more and more fanciers—regardless of the province in which they compete—are placing strong emphasis on all flight categories. At

Simion Emil & Dumitran Stelian – a team synonym with performance

Like the great pigeon fanciers of the world, whenever a Romanian breeder hears something being said about the tandem “Simion Emil & Dumitran Stelian,” they know exactly what—and whom—is being discussed. This reputation is the result of enormous hard work, well-thought-out investments, and the expertise of two of the finest pigeon fanciers in Romania. The collaboration between Emil Simion and Stelian Dumitran began m

A Two-Man Battle for the National Podium in the 2025 Youngstres Speed Category

Opening the “Youngsters” section of the Speed category in the 2025 National Catalogue brings to light a truly unique situation. The top five national positions are almost perfectly shared between two pigeon fanciers from Gorj, creating a rare and captivating rivalry in Romanian pigeon racing. The protagonists are Victor Burghiu and Ovidiu Telescu, both from Târgu Jiu, who achieved an exceptional season. This is the first

Three hens on the National Podium of the 2025 Yearling Speed Category

The 2025 season has produced an interesting situation in the Yearling Speed category: females clearly dominated the national competition. The top three positions on the podium are occupied exclusively by young hens, and 4th place also goes to a female. Looking at the top 10 positions, only four cocks manage to make their way into the ranking, the rest being taken by the “girls”. The fanciers

Top 3 National – Mature Speed 2025

The National Catalog has recently been finalized, and the new champions are still riding the excitement of winning their national cups. For some, it is a reaffirmation of their achievements; for others, a strong start to a promising journey. The national rankings have now taken their final form, allowing us to know exactly who the top performers of the freshly concluded season are. In today’s

The New Winners of the 2025 Carol I and Ferdinand I Trophies

In Romanian pigeon racing, few categories demand more endurance and consistency than As National and As National Breeders. Both combine races across all distance types and require exceptional performances from birds and fanciers alike. For As National, a pigeon must classify in 10 races, including three marathon stages, accumulating a minimum of 5,000 km. Similarly, the As National Breeders category also requires 10 scored races, at

Breeder or Fancier? (adapted from “Doomed to Fail” by Ad Schaerlaeckens)

Within the pigeon sport, I’ve met all kinds of people — great champions, even world-famous ones, and others who will likely never reach that level. Sometimes, I can’t help but feel sorry for the latter. Their intentions are pure, but they simply don’t see — or don’t have — what’s needed to succeed. Fortunately, not everyone has to be a top competitor to enjoy the sport.

Dream Debut for Young Pigeon Fancier Cristian Bilea

Cristian Bilea, a pigeon fancier from Bălăcești in Gorj County and a member of the Turceni Pigeon Club, had a dream debut in the racing pigeon competition. First of all, he successfully completed the championship with this year’s young pigeons, which is a very positive achievement for a beginner. Secondly, the young pigeon fancier from Gorj managed to achieve several rankings that would make even

Gorj: Stavros 2 – A True Test of Endurance for Young Birds

The last day of September marked the second long-distance race for young birds organized by the Gorj Federation. Compared to the first event in this category, Stavros 2 turned out to be significantly tougher, with most of the classified pigeons returning only on the following day. Challenging Weather and a Smaller Entry Participation numbers dropped sharply for this second race. While more than 1,300 pigeons were entered

Stavros 1 – A Testament to the Courage of the Pigeon Fanciers from Gorj

The pigeon fanciers from Gorj have only been competing on the Bulgaria–Greece route for two years, but their pigeons already give the impression of being seasoned flyers on this line. Both racing seasons with the mature birds — especially this