Racing pigeons.
A friend once asked, "How do they know where the finishing line is?"
(Haywood Manley, Tue 4 Sep 2012, 13:07, 9 replies)

But there are loads of things I dont understand about racing pigeons, They obviously get released in some field and get timed to get home. But what if my house is a mile further away? How do they calculate the different distances. What if my coop is 6 miles away from a competitor? Who, and how does it get qualified? Do they release the sky rats then race back home? Are there marshals at every home?

My neighbour used to keep the poo makers, they were horrible.
(feedingtimeatthezoo day 1 of his bikini diet started, Tue 4 Sep 2012, 13:33, closed)

^This^
It's not such a daft question.
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Tue 4 Sep 2012, 14:22, closed)

I think it depends.
Sometimes there is a definitive finishing point; the birds are left there for a while prior to the race so they re-home.
( Slippery Mick ‏, Tue 4 Sep 2012, 16:10, closed)

I think the average speed is what's used to determine a winner.

(oneinthepink is at your cervix m'lady, Tue 4 Sep 2012, 14:43, closed)

The average speed of an unladen pigeon?

( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Tue 4 Sep 2012, 16:20, closed)

What do you mean?
An African or European pigeon?
(The Incredible Sulk Finally remembered his password on, Wed 5 Sep 2012, 5:16, closed)

average speed over what distance?
(feedingtimeatthezoo day 1 of his bikini diet started, Tue 4 Sep 2012, 16:53, closed)

*considers*
Actually, that'd make a kind of sense. You'd decide on a start point, and could use a map to measure the distance back to the roost. Granted that some races can be quite long, it wouldn't necessarily matter: you'd just use the start as a pole.

Having said that, the pigeons with more distant roosts would be at a disadvantage, on the presumption that they'd get slower as they became more tired... and, oh god, I'm thinking about this far too much.
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Tue 4 Sep 2012, 17:57, closed)

It's average speed from point of departure to owner's loft
There's all kinds of complicated calculations and rules to do with clocks, to ensure there's no cheating. Be amazed: www.rpra.org/racing-handbook/rulebook/
(Smale is stuffed, Wed 5 Sep 2012, 10:12, closed)