LE TOUR DES MARITIMES FUTURITY 2005
INTRODUCTION: Le Tour Des Maritimes is a futurity consisting of
a series of 8
races for a total
of 2150 km of flying over one of the toughest courses in
Canada. (See Course) One of our goals is to provide a
series of races that would be similar to a normal young bird schedule at the
club and combine level. Needless to say, pigeon racing under these
circumstances is not a fair sport. The
Le Tour will be fair because all the racing pigeons will start and finish at the
same points.
The Le Tour series is mainly a headwind course that begins from 100 km and
ends with a flight from Glace Bay on Cape Breton Island a distance of 500 km. This must be one of the most difficult release points in Canada. The Cape Bretoners claim that
at any one time the winds can blow from all directions
across the Island. During the winter months winds can exceed 100 km/h throughout
the Cape Breton Highlands. Fortunately they are not as strong during the
summer months but they still can be a problem. At the release point
unfavorable winds exceeding 20 km/h can always be expected. If the birds fly home as
the "crow flies" they would have to fly over 400 km of open water. This is
quite unlikely so by flying along the mainland of Nova Scotia and north through
New Brunswick the actual distance the birds fly exceeds 600 km. Just
getting off the Island is challenge. Upon being released in Glace Bay and in
addition to unfavorable winds the
birds are confronted by water on all four sides. And as we know pigeons
are reluctant to fly over water. Because of this fact, the first 7 races
of the Le Tour schedule have been planned to condition and build the birds
confidence for their final task, that is, reaching home on the day from Glace
Bay which remains the ultimate goal of the Le Tour. This goal has been
achieved in each of the 8 years of running the Le Tour Des Maritimes.
ENTRY: First time
participants are encouraged to submit their tentative reservations as soon as
possible. They will be put on a waiting list. To ensure a 200 bird entry approximately 210 reservations will be taken.
All birds will be fitted with an electronic band upon arrival to assist in
regular inventories. If any participant should lose all their birds before
racing begins, one bird will be given as a replacement from our young bird team.
As well a limited number of young birds will be available free of charge for
those confirmed participants that are unable to enter their own birds. By
entering the Le Tour all participants agree to supply a pedigree for their
remaining bird(s) after the series is over. Sending a pedigree when
shipping your birds is suggested. See Reservations.
SHIPPING BIRDS: Birds will be accepted
between April 29 to May 15th, 2005. Entries can be shipped either
to the Bathurst Airport via Air Canada or the Moncton Airport.
Please note: Birds shipped to the Moncton
Airport will be picked up on 2 dates to be determined later.
Young birds hatched from April 1st to 16th should
be ready for shipping between these dates and should be eating and drinking on
their own. Birds arriving sick will not be accepted. The darkening
system will not be used but the race birds will be put on 16 hours of daylight
on June 21st.
The Alberta Classic site has an excellent health section that I refer to
often. I especially suggest the section on
Prebiotics and
Probiotics for preparing young birds to be sent to one loft futurities.
RACE SCHEDULE: Weather permitting,
training will begin in early July and the race schedule will
start around the middle of July and end the first weekend in September. The birds will be flown as follows:
2 x 100 km,
2 x 200 km, 300 km, 350 km, 400 km and 500 km for a total of 2150 km. All races 300 km and over will be considered two-day races.
If less than 50% of the birds shipped to any race do not arrive in race time the
race will be extended by one day. (See race schedule 2005)
CLOCKING: A Benzing Express electric
clock will be used.
"Timeout" is defined as the time between 1 hour after sunset and 1
hour before sunrise.
WINNER: The "Overall Winner"
will be the racing pigeon flying the 8 races in the least total time. Birds
failing to return in race time in any of the races will be disqualified from the
Overall Championship but will continue racing and qualify for individual race
results & prizes. If there are no birds in race time in any race that race will be
considered as not flown. As well, if sufficient birds return in reasonable time
the race schedule may be continued at the discretion of the organizer. If it is
decided that racing will not continue, the winner will be declared from the
results of the last completed race. In the event that there is a tie in
determining the positions for the Sprint Championship, Long Championship or
Overall Standings the race bird with the best time flown
in the last race will be placed ahead.
CORRESPONDENCE: Race Reports
and the Overall
Standings will be posted on this site as soon as they are available.
Management
and other relevant information will also be posted here. Participants will be notified by e-mail as soon as this information is
available.
MEDICATION: Our practice has
been to medicate the birds as little as possible to allow them to develop their
own immune systems. However a treatment for worms, canker
and respiratory ailments will be given when appropriate. A Complete
Supplemental System will be our our main
strategy for keeping the pigeons healthy. Upon arrival birds will be be
quarantined for several days to insure no diseased birds are introduced into the
loft and the youngsters are eating and drinking well on their own. Birds
becoming sick will
be placed in quarantine and if not recovering in a reasonable time they will
be dealt with in the usual manner. However, if the unthinkable should
occur, that is, a mass outbreak of some disease, we will be prepared to use the
appropriate treatment. All birds will be vaccinated for PMV.
FINAL COMMENTS: To ensure the integrity of the race
and to avoid any controversy, I have tried to cover all possible scenarios.
If
necessary, these guidelines may be updated for clarification only. If
something unexpected should arise, a decision will be made by the management for the good of the race and all
decisions will be final.
Thank you for considering Le Tour Des Maritimes Futurity.
Andrew Skrobot
