(Article courtesy of Carnival Lofts; English below...)

Jong duiweboer van Springbok wen Medpet Junior race by Carnival Lofts...

Jong GJ Du Toit ( 13 jaar oud ) van Springbok wen Trompsburg  421 km, Medpet Junior wedvlug wat plaasgevind het op 3/8/2014 te Carnival Lofts.  Wenduif was ZA 51517  “ Ronaldinho” - Blue bar.  GJ Du Toit, `n skolier, is ook tans lid van die Namaqua Spesialiste Klub (NSK ) in Springbok.
 
Well there we have it! Well done to GJ du Toit a youngster of only 13years old who loves his pigeons won our Carnival Lofts Medpet Junior Race from Trompsburg (421km) on Sunday.  2nd in the Medpet Junior race was a local lad Justin Lambie who also turned 13 just a week before, and for some who do not follow the OERF results Justin won the Federation on Saturday from Gariep!
 
These two young fanciers along with the other 15 juniors that entered the race here at Carnival Lofts carry our hopes into the future that the pigeon sport will go on for a very long time to come! We would like to thank MEDPET (www.medpet.co.za) for again being there when we asked for some help and some sponsors for the juniors,Team Medpet has always been keen to help out and we here at Allflight Salute you for always coming to the party.
 
The first hot spot was flown from Trompsburg on Sunday and it turned out to be the first real test for the team of pigeons with the August winds blowing from the North East and the early summer sun heating up the Free State province it was to be a very tough race, and indeed it turned out to be a tough one with a winning velocity of 1146mpm. This was the first time the winning kit of pigeons was in the air for longer than 4hours and it could be seen on the pigeons that they worked hard when they arrived back at the lofts. It took the 4 pigeons that dropped together more than 6 hours to do the distance of 421km, it was soon clear to us that many pigeons would battle home as the wind picked up and the arriving pigeons were never more than a few together. But this is pigeon racing, the day before many organizations had a similar fate in the area as the sudden rise in temperatures and strong winds was not kind to our little feathered friends.
 
I have to say that I was surprized as to how many pigeons did not make it on the day as I though the two training flights from Glen (292km) should have been good enough training for a flight of 421km, the one thing that I again realized on Sunday was that no matter how strong the wind blows when the temperatures rises this has an impact on the pigeons.
 
Let us get to the winners on the day:
Trompsburg Hot Spot 1:
 
1st Andre & Frik Reynders -Benzing Express G2 clock as well as R5000
2nd Central Provincial Loft – R4000
3rd JB Lofts – R3500
4th Glenda’s Loft – R2500
5th Three Musketeers – R2000
6th Super 15 DNVL
7th Kosie Botha
8th Harry Meyer
9th Bela Vista Trust
10th Boshoffs
Position 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 each get one free entry into the Winter 2015 race.
 
Well done to all the winners on the day. Remember our 2nd Hot Spot will be on Sunday 17 August from Gariep (490km) weather permitting. This will also be the final race for the Pinda competition. All junior and Pinda race entries may be entered into the final race by paying an entrance fee of R1200 per pigeon before 19 August 2014. Final race will be from Richmond area (650km) on Sunday 31 August 2014.
 
The lofts will open for new entries for the Winter 2015 season on 15 September 2014 and we will take entries till end of March 2015, rules and entry fees etc. to follow soon.
 
We already have quite a few entries here at the loft and in quarantine for the Summer 2015 race, please note that we close the intake for the summer race at the end of this month so if you have babies ready please let us know so that we can arrange to pick them up in Johannesburg should you not be able to make it to the lofts.
 
 
 
Carnival Lofts (PTY) LTD
Copper Sunset
Vaalbank (HD7)
Deneysville
South Africa
Email: flyrite@allflite.co.za
Cell: 082 928 1742