49TH GOLDEN WING: BRUGES BARCELONA CLUB CELEBRATES ITS CHAMPIONS

Last Saturday, the prestigious Golden Wing trophy of the Bruges Barcelona Club was awarded for the 49th time. For the first time, the celebration took place at “Salons de Vrede” in Ichtegem.

This year, 774 participants entered the competition, meaning 774 potential winners, as only the result of the first nominated pigeon counts towards the Golden Wing. The winners of the Golden, Silver and Bronze Wings finished 2nd, 3rd and 14th respectively in the national results, clearly demonstrating the exceptionally high standard of this competition.

This year's winners were the partnership of Jean-Marc Thibaut and Ann-Sophie Boons from Sombreffe, in the province of Namur. The Silver and Bronze Wings, meanwhile, went to the province of Antwerp. Herman and Wim Michiels proudly took the Silver Wing home to Massenhoven, while the Bronze Wing now shines in the trophy cabinet of Jan and Jens Van Gompel in Mol.

Other notable winners included Oliviers-Devos (Kumtich), who claimed victory in the two-year ranking, and Marc Lievens (Balen), who achieved the same success in the three-year ranking. The “Vleugeltriomf” challenge trophy went to the Sans Peur pigeon club in Herent, while the “Memorial Antoine Vanhove” was awarded to national Barcelona winner Nicu Barbulescu. “Barca Lady” (BE20-6198958), belonging to the Hermans family, claimed the prestigious title of Primus Inter Pares.

The gala evening was once again a tremendous success. From the appetisers to the dessert, the food was delicious, and Danny Fabry's performance was also very well received. As tradition dictates, the main winners had been driven to Bruges earlier that day in white limousines, where they enjoyed a guided tour of the city and were treated like true “Kings of Barcelona”.

The gentlemen of the Bruges Barcelona Club — Etienne Meirlaen, Luc Delbaere, Johny Carette, Dirk Deroose, Ruben Lanckriet and Peter Symaeys — once again worked tirelessly to make the day a great success. They were joined by the very charming Wing Queen Delphine, who — and we are sure the gentlemen will forgive us for saying so — undoubtedly attracted the most attention!

It was yet another wonderful celebration. Now we look forward to next year's very special milestone: the 50th edition of the Golden Wing!