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Schalkwijk Speaks: Digitalisation in Pigeon Racing. Progress or Another Obstacle?
First, something personal
Recently, I received a message from Jan de Wijs of PigeonBoss that really made me stop and think for a moment. My blogs have now been read more than 100,000 times. Who would have thought that when I started Schalkwijk Speaks?
That means a great deal to me. Especially because so many fanciers around the world are interested in my experiences and hopefully learn something from them. After more than fifty years in pigeon racing, I really enjoy sharing my knowledge in this way. Even during the busy period I am going through at the moment, this gives me extra motivation to keep writing. So, to everyone who follows my blogs, thank you very much!
Our pigeon sport is going digital
There is quite a lot of discussion at the moment about the digitalisation of pigeon racing in the Netherlands. The NPO, the Dutch national pigeon racing organisation, is working on plans to further digitalise vaccination records, race administration, electronic clocking systems and results.
In itself, I believe this is a development we cannot stop. Almost everything around us has become digital. So why should pigeon racing be left behind?
But when you follow the reactions of fanciers, you quickly notice that not everyone is enthusiastic. And I can understand that.
What will it cost? Will the current clocking systems remain usable? Will clubs have to invest in new equipment? And how will an older fancier who hardly uses a computer continue racing his pigeons?
The NPO has indicated that not all existing clocking systems will automatically have to be replaced. Nevertheless, there is still uncertainty about how everything will work in practice and what the costs will be. I believe good communication with the fanciers is important.
Can't the old and the new simply exist together?
As far as I am concerned, digitalisation does not have to mean that everything we have built up over the years must suddenly disappear.
Why shouldn’t we try to let both worlds exist side by side?
Let older fanciers continue participating in the way they are familiar with, as much as possible. Going to the club, basketing their pigeons, having a good chat with fellow fanciers and waiting at home on Saturday for their birds to arrive.
At the same time, we can develop new digital possibilities for people who want to follow our sport in a different way.
I would find it a great shame if digitalisation eventually led to empty clubhouses. For many fanciers, the social contact is at least as important as the race itself.
But perhaps modern technology could actually bring new people into those clubs.
GPS and tracking offer opportunities
Since becoming involved in international One Loft Races, I have discovered how interesting it is to follow races from a distance. Sometimes my pigeons are thousands of kilometres away at an OLR, but through the internet I can follow the arrivals and rankings almost immediately. AfrikaPro is a good example, and if you follow our social media channels, you will know exactly why.
Just imagine if, in the future, we could also follow the actual routes flown by our pigeons in national races using GPS. Why does one pigeon choose a different route from another? How do they respond to wind and weather conditions? As a fancier, I would find that extremely interesting.
Of course, we must distinguish between electronic clocking and actually tracking pigeons with GPS. The latter requires different technology and involves additional costs.
Reliability must also be guaranteed. Nobody should be able to manipulate arrival times, GPS data or race results. Proper security and independent checks are essential. Because without fair competition, we ultimately have no sport left.
And who will attract the next generation?
Perhaps this is the most important question.
Our pigeon sport, especially in Europe, is ageing. Many fanciers are now getting older, and attracting young people remains a major challenge. If we keep everything exactly as it has always been, we must ask ourselves what our sport will look like in ten or twenty years.
Young people grow up with smartphones, games and interactive technology. They will not automatically become interested in a sport they hardly know anything about. So we will have to step a little further outside our familiar world.
Our sport has so much to offer. Just think of a pigeon flying hundreds of kilometres home from Barcelona, sometimes even through the night. People around me who know absolutely nothing about racing pigeons often ask me how a pigeon manages to find its way home. The orientation skills and performances of these birds are remarkable enough to interest a much wider audience.
But we must also present our sport in a way that fits the times we live in. Digitalisation can help with that. Whether it will actually attract more young fanciers remains to be seen.
My view
I understand the concerns of older fanciers, and I believe the NPO should handle these changes carefully. New systems must be reliable, easy to understand and, above all, affordable. Nobody should be unnecessarily excluded from the sport because of these changes.
At the same time, I believe we cannot keep holding on to everything exactly as it has always been.
We need to look beyond simply digitalising forms, clocking systems and results. The real challenge is how we can use these developments to make our sport more attractive to new generations.
Perhaps a 70-year-old fancier can continue racing in the way he has always known, while his grandson follows the same race on his phone.
That seems like a good combination to me.
Gerard Schalkwijk
Schalkwijk Speaks
Questions? Contact Gerard...
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