The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games are over and what a huge success they were. Even if you wouldn't normally cross the road to see some of the rather obscure sports, it would be hard not to be moved by the gold medal performances of Canadian athletes such as Virtue and Moir , the young pair of ice dancers, or Jon Montgomery, who won the skeleton with a used sled he bought online. However as far as VANOC was concerned the success of the games was not measured by the medal count but the overall experience for both athlete and visitor. VANOC staff, supported by thousands of volunteers, pulled off a remarkable event that was years in the making and that we will be talking about for some time. If you were downtown Vancouver or at any of the Olympic venues the one thing you heard from visitors and residents alike was the great atmosphere and what a good time it was.

So what has this got to do with pigeons? Well, although you would have to be out of your mind to compare VANOC's task to the work necessary to put on a pigeon show, any event big or small has the same challenges, such as a suitable venue, adequate financing and the good planning and organization necessary for operational success. Similarly the success of a pigeon show should be measured by the exhibitors and visitors enjoying the experience and having a good time.

Our club puts on two shows annually, a lawn show in the summer and a competitive winter show in November. Last year we had a Hawaiian theme lawn show complete with roast pig on a spit and hosted the Western National/CPFA Classic as part of our winter show. I think it would be fair to say, using the measurement of "having a good time", that both shows were a complete success. It would also be fair to say that putting on these shows is not just a bunch of people getting together for the weekend to set up some cages, but a year long task.

The biggest challenge in putting on a show is financial. To do it right, a 500 bird competitive show costs around $3,500 which without fundraising would require an $7-8 entry fee to break even. For an exhibitor to have to pay almost $100 to enter a dozen birds seems unreasonable so, while I understand some shows have entry fees around this amount, we have kept our Winter Show entry fee at $2 and provide all the amenities of the Lawn Show at no cost . This means that every year we must raise several thousand dollars to provide club members with good show experiences at a reasonable cost. Fortunately, through club president Ernie Silveri's lobbying as a PNE board member, our club has the contract to provide pigeon and poultry displays and a pigeon show at the PNE. This contract , and the work of the directors in fulfilling it, is our single largest source of funds and allows us to operate as we do without affecting the club's overall healthy financial position. However for the last couple of years the number of club members exhibiting at the PNE pigeon show has been low. The PNE contract depends on us putting on a good show so we ask that club members consider exhibiting this year to help us maintain the contract.

During the show season some of the club directors attend pigeon shows across North America and bring those experiences back with them. They see first hand how inadequate facilities and poor organization can ruin an exhibitor's enjoyment of the show and they bring back good ideas that we can incorporate in our show such as the Champions Row which we had for the first time in last year's Winter Show. The directors will continue working to provide the show experience you expect, so here's hoping to see you at the next show where we can all have a good time.