HOMING IN ON USD1.5 MILLION

A large number of internationally acclaimed pigeon fanciers from across the globe will gather in the resort town for the Victoria Falls World Challenge Pigeon Race on 28 July 2023.

Competitors from as far afield as Kuwait, Poland and America as well as from the region represented by Mozambique, South Africa and

Zimbabwe will battle it out in a world class One-Loft-Race with a prize pot of USD1 500 000 spread over 622 prizes.

In the build up to the race several training flights have been conducted with the first live training held on 3 May 2023 flown over 87 kilometres.

Pigeon racing is the sport of releasing specially trained homing pigeons, which then return to their homes over a carefully measured distance. The time it takes the bird to cover the specified distance is measured and the bird’s rate of travel is calculated and compared with all of the other pigeons in the race to determine which animal returned at the fastest speed.

Pigeon racing requires a specific breed of pigeon bred for the sport, the Racing Homer. Competing pigeons are specially trained and conditioned for races that vary in distance from approximately 100 to 1,000 kilometres. This year, Hotspots have increased from five to six races and there will be two races over 500 kilometres in the Yearling Series.