A pigeon can join a match if it is well-trained. The pigeons may then participate in specially organised competitions, in which the pigeons are taken away to a certain distance and released all at once. The first pigeon that comes home to its own loft, wins the race.
The Nederlandse Postduivenhouders Organisation (Dutch Homing Pigeon Keepers Organisation) is an umbrella organisation that represents the interests of the homing pigeon keepers. The organisation has eleven departments, spread throughout the Netherlands.
The homing pigeon hobby, the practitioners of which started to organise races, was established between 1815 and 1825 in Belgium. From Belgium, the hobby spread over Europe and keeping pigeons became popular in the Netherlands as well. The homing pigeons hobby used to be a real popular sport. At the moment the hobby is practiced by people from all walks of life.
