"Who the heck are these new players in the Pigeon Racing world”?“SARPU” And “Own Loft IRPA”and what exactly is Own Loft Racing and Loft Grouping?

Own Loft IRPA, an abbreviation for Own Loft International Racing Pigeon Association, serves as the overseeing body for SARPU (South African Racing Pigeon Union), the South African entity. Both organizations operate as voluntary associations for profit and are based and registered in South Africa.

Are they in competition with SANPO and the FCI?

No, not at all. The only difference now is that there are two champions in Own Loft IRPA participating clubs: the traditional champion is still based on individual bird results and then there is the Own Loft champion, whose achievement is calculated using the Loft Grouping App by averaging the weekly scores achieved.

The main goal of the Own Loft principle is to create global competitions that attract sponsorships. By generating revenue for the sport, we can better afford the rising costs of transportation, timing systems, pigeon food, health supplements, and medicines as well as desperately needed research in a dedicated laboratory equipped with a wind tunnel to do in-flight simulated tests

Think about it: where would professional sports like rugby, soccer, golf, and tennis be without sponsorships? While pigeon racing isn't a spectator sport in the traditional sense, live results displayed online and on cell phones, along with the anticipation of final results, create excitement and engagement. International competitions can keep fans excited for hours sometimes days as results from different time zones and seasons are coming in. The world champion is determined by scoring the best averages annually over 10 races

The Golden Drop, Own Loft Racing's "hole-in-one," proves the excitement the Loft Grouping App can bring. In 2020, Gordan Schmidt from Sprins Pioneers club achieved the qualifying score of 0.075 KLPHF winning the sought-after 1Oz Bullion Krugerrand with all birds home on the day, and in 2021, Witpen Hokke, from the same club, broke records twice with a score of 0.035 KLPHF. Unfortunately, he couldn't get all his birds home from the race on the day. In 2023, Pieter van den Broek, from River Park Club in Kempton Park, narrowly missed out on an “Oom Paul” as the gold coin is now called, by scoring 0.085 KLPHF with all his birds home.

Two very capable private actuators tested the Loft Grouping scorecard against national and international race results before advising their client to underwrite the risk of a prize indemnity insurance. This shows that hitting the "Goldendrop" requires exceptional skill from the fancier or loft manager. They capped the prize at R 1.8 million to manage their risk for future events."

Are SANPO clubs and members forbidden to participate in “Own Loft” activities?No, they are NOT, in fact, here is an extract from a Sworn Affidavit signed by the SANPO president Mr George le Roux 30. Ad Paragraph 5 of the Applicant’s founding affidavit

30.1 The Respondent (SANPO) denies the allegations made in this paragraph and submits that the restriction is only pertaining to membership, therefore the First Applicant (ODRA)  can offer transport to members of the Respondent for the purpose of racing in a SANPO-sanctioned race under the rules and regulations of the Respondent. (SANPO)

30.2 The Second Applicant (ZA Pigeon League) can still offer a competition based on its mathematical algorithm (Loft Grouping) to any organization including the respondent's (SANPO’s) member organisation as this is only the accumulation of race data and not the physical hosting of a race.

30.3 any member of SANPO can send their results through to the Applicant but such result will not constitute a national result and will not be taken into account in determining SANPO merit awards.

On the contrary, both SARPU and Own Loft IRPA will award their own National and International colours to worthy participants.

Who is ZA Pigeon League?Let's look at the Organogram of the Global setup of “Own Loft” pigeon racing, and we find that ZA Pigeon League is a services-providing entity that will on a future date present the long awaiting R 3 M prize money International Own Loft Competition. In the interim Own Loft IRPA and SARPU affiliates will use the Loft Grouping scorecard to further establish the new concept in Pigeon Racing.