Article Published: 10 December 2008
By BY duifie



Racing pigeons in Atlantis a small industrial town on the West Coast near Cape Town and close to nothing, became more difficult over the last few years. Here ordinary fanciers battle to practise their beloved sport due to financial implications.

Factories, the major source of jobs in our town are closing down, retrenchments or working short time are the order of the day, leaving many of us with a smaller income or in some instances even nothing. Due to this reason a group of fanciers came together and decided to look for cheaper options in order to race their birds as it became clear that money was the biggest obstacle to our sport in Atlantis and surrounding areas.
After discussions with various fanciers who stopped racing and realizing that the high cost of racing forced them out of the sport, we entered into discussions with different organisations in order to find the best and cheapest option for our members.

When discussions were done we invited all interested parties in our area for a feedback session and to hear from them which option suited them best. It was decided to break away from the F.B.H.U. be an independent racing organisation and make use of the WTCA transport. After some real fun in deciding on a name we voted and decided that from there on we would be known as WESTERN FLYERS HOMING UNION. A proud moment indeed as for the first time in it’s history Atlantis had it’s own independent pigeon racing organisation.

By making use of the WCTA transport we are able to cut our racing expenses by more than half of what we used to pay. By doing our calculations very careful it was apparent the we could be racing our pigeons for just under a R1000 for the year 2010.That will allow each member to basket 10 to 12 birds per race for the entire season. Birds will only be transported to Parow which means that no fancier will have to travel further than the clubhouse for basketing and ring-outs. In the past we had to travel to other towns like Abotsdale, Paarl, Maccasar and Sonchem every second week for basketing and ring-outs, which almost doubled our expences.The WCTA option also allow us the possibility of separate liberations after the other birds on the truck were released, allowing us to train and teach our young birds to break from the drag and follow a shorter route home.Atlantis lies completely off the racing line and week after week our birds were carried with the drag to greater Cape town from where they had to turn back and come home which left us disadvantaged in competing against the other regions on the big races. We hope that the separate liberations early in the season will help our birds to stand their own later in the season or even the following years if we should decide to race combines against the rest of the unions on the truck.

The big PLUS of going solo is that no longer will we subsidise the price kitty for other unions to win. Should we have special races we will be racing for our own money won by a fancier in our area rather than someone in another area that we know we cannot beat.

The words “KRY VIR JULLE BETER DUIWE” to one of our fellow members still ring loud in my ears, but then this year a bird from Atlantis, 1091, showed that Atlantis birds don’t have to stand back for the rest of the country by ending up 2nd best average bird in the Klapmuts National Loft. A proud moment for the Leukes brothers and all fanciers in Atlantis. Well done Lefs!!

Currently we are just under 30 members belonging to WFHU and we are busy establishing a junior section in our union in order to secure the future of our sport. Presently we are negotiating with 2 schools to start the Schools project early in 2010.

We would like to thank the members of WBU/BDU/WPHU who took time and effort listening to us and trying to assist us in our problems. To the WCTA we say thank you for accepting us.
TO ALL WHO DONATED BIRDS FOR OUR STOCK BIRD AUCTION on 6 December in Brackenfell at 12h00, THANKS A MILLION!

Please feel free to contact me if you have any inquiries about the WFHU.

Basil Smith email: duifie1@gmail.com