The amendments to the sports regulations, established in November 2018 by the Board of Directors of FNCPR, aroused many dissatisfactions among pigeon lovers. They do not agree with the replacement of the Extreme Marathon category with another called Marathon Grand Prix, because this way the Extreme Marathon Palmares category disappears and an injustice is committed to the pigeons that in 2018 made the norm, but in 2019 they can no longer achieve it. Also, pigeon fans passionate about the Marathon are dissatisfied with the imposition of the number of stages they can participate in this category during the competition season. In an attempt to sound the alarm that the decisions taken are not to the liking of many pigeon breeders in the country, Ionuț Tănasă, president of the Northern Marathon Fălticeni Club, initiated an online petition (available here) asking the FNCPR management to take into account the wishes of Marathon enthusiasts. He also sent an open letter to President Marius Tunduc asking him to solve the problem, so that lovers of pigeon sport can still have the opportunity to perform in this category. However, he did not receive an answer. We also contacted him to ask him to clarify the situation, especially to find out if the announced changes will be implemented in the 2019 competition season, but he did not want to make statements. The Minutes of the meeting of the Board of Directors of FNCPR, held on November 17, 2018 (available here) and the draft National Sports Regulations (available here) indicate that the changes will be applied next season.

Pigeon lovers feel lied to and deceived by the FNCPR leadership, because they are trying to impose some changes that are not to their liking, but especially, they were not voted in the national conference. "The leadership chosen by us and all the amendments to the regulations are decided within the national conference, the supreme decision-making body, which brings together the representatives of the counties. They vote and thus adopt or not the proposal made. In this case, it was not. It was just an online consultation with the county associations, organized by the management last autumn and in which they came up with some proposals. To understand how it went, they asked us if we agreed to set up the Marathon Grand Prix category, but we were not presented with the consequences, the fact that it will eliminate the Extreme Marathon and implicitly the Extreme Marathon Palmares. Not knowing this, we said. But, I repeat, it was not a statutory conference. From our point of view, it is illegal what is being tried, beyond the moral part, that decisions are taken against us, but on our own money ”, explained Ionuț Tănasă.

"The president motivates that there are associations that cannot fly four stages, but that does not mean that we, those who have developed, must stay put for 10 years until the others develop"

Marathoners feel wronged by imposing a limit of stages in which they can participate in a competitive season. "The problem is very painful because the Extreme Marathon Palmares also disappears, this means that the pigeons that in 2018 made the norm, in 2019 can no longer achieve the Palmares norm. Then, the federation requires us to fly only three stages of the Marathon in the conditions in which all the others, who participate in Speed, Fond and Demifond have five stages out of 12. The norm in Speed ​​consists of five stages, but they play 12 per year. Demifond have to play four, but they play six or seven, and we are forced to play only three. For example, in 2018, in Suceava, it was the first year in the history of pigeon-loving when four stages of the Marathon were played. Many said it was impossible, look, it worked. We would like to do four or even five stages again, because it is a sport and it seems normal to us to have progress, not to limit ourselves, to stop evolving. The president motivates that there are associations that cannot fly four stages, because they are poorly developed, do not have logistics, do not have the number of pigeons, do not have a car, but this does not mean that we, those who have developed, must we stay put for 10 years until they develop. What would it be like for Germany to stand still until Albania develops ?! You don't have to be a pigeon fancier to understand that these are irregularities imposed in vain ", Ionuț Tănasă also explained.

Letter to President Marius Tunduc: "behind you are us, the contributing members, the many payers on whose shoulders you stand"

Acesta i-a trimis și o scrisoare deschisă președintelui FNCPR, în care îl roagă să ia măsuri pentru a rezolva nemulțumirile iubitorilor de Maraton. „A refuzat să răspundă, ceea ce mi se pare anormal, pentru că oricât ai fi de orgolios, când primești o scrisoare deschisă, trebuie să dai un punct de vedere”, a mai explicat Ionuț Tănasă. Iată ce a scris în scrisoare: "Domnule președinte, acest mesaj îl primiți din partea celui mai puternic club din FNCPR, specializat, axat și pasionat de zborurile de Maraton. Este foarte posibil ca în asentimentul nostru să mai fie câteva sute sau mii de columbofili, dar care din lipsa unei voci sau a unui lider în care să se regăsească: TAC. Sau mai bine zis DORM. Pentru că suntem zburători de Maraton, fără a desconsidera ceilalti colegi jucători de la alte categorii, vrem să vă prezentăm câteva aspecte de care dumneavoastră, ca președinte, trebuie neapărat să țineți cont și să găsiți soluții, pentru că avem încredere că o să puteţi să vă mulţumiţi membrii din federatie. În primul rând, cerem imperios păstrarea categoriei Maraton Extrem şi implicit a celei Palmares Maraton Extrem. De asemenea, nelimitarea numărului etapelor de Maraton. Exemplele pe care le dati dumneavoastră, că unii nu pot sau nu vor să joace patru etape de Maraton, nu sunt elocvente, ci sunt prost alese şi, din păcate, nespecifice sportului columbofil. Pentru că, da, noi facem sport columbofil şi nicăieri în lumea asta sportul nu a primit limitări. Ba din contră, în sport s-au doborât recorduri, s-au spart bariere şi s-a ridicat ștacheta. Nu deveniţi preşedintele limitaţilor și al neputincioşilor. Nu faceti decât să încurajaţi mediocritatea şi să-i puneţi pe scenă, în lumina reflectoarelor, pe cei care nu pot să urce pe podium. Dacă luăm o cupă, să o luăm pe merit, să o preţuim pentru că muncim pentru ea. Vrem să ţineţi cont că în spatele dumneavoastră, ca preşedinte, suntem noi, membrii, cotizanţii, plătitorii, cei mulţi pe umerii cărora staţi. Întâmplător sau nu, trebuie să ne oferiti ce vrem. Lasaţi oamenii, pe banii lor, să zboare cât vor. Da, asta vă cerem, să ne lăsaţi să zburăm. Cu deosebită consideraţie, preşedintele Clubului Nord Maraton Fălticeni, prof. Ionuţ Tănasă”.

Prof. Mihai Vasiliu: „Dacă vrem performanță, trebuie să ridicăm ștacheta, nu să-i limităm pe jucători”

Hundreds of breeders from the country are on the side of the members of the Fălticeni Northern Marathon Club. One of them is Prof. Mihai Vasiliu, one of the most important pigeon fanciers in the country, with an experience of over 60 years. "Currently, pigeon sport tends to become one of performance, not mass. It's like limiting a jumper in height, who jumps 2.10 m, but you force him to jump 1.90 m, so that others can jump as well. We have to raise the bar all the time if we want performance. Those who can fly Extreme Marathon two or three stages, let them fly as far as the biological limits of the pigeons, and let the others catch up, catch up with them and even surpass them. If we go back to table sports, then we lower the bar. This is an old disease, taken from the FCI, because those there, the leaders, are not performance athletes in the true sense of the word; the vast majority are pigeon fanciers, employees and have only the interest of gathering as many pigeon fanciers as possible, because the contributions come from them. Another profession, not only in our country, but also in other fields, especially in politics. Have you not seen that when an ordinance is given, then another is given, to repeal it? So do the FNCPR with the sports regulations. In one year I make a regulation with some criteria, I say it will be valid for four years, and after a year I change it. They want to be champions on every street, because they see only the pecuniary part of the sport. They want to have as many members as possible, because their parallels come from them. I was part of the union's leadership for about 40 years, I worked with all the presidents, but no one took a single salary from the union. Now, everyone is living on fantastic salaries. My message for them is to let the pigeon sport progress, and those who can't, to stand aside ", said Prof. Mihai Vasiliu.