The report on the "International Contests of Physical Exercise and of Sports" in Paris in 1900 lists lâcher-concours de pigeons-voyageurs (lit.'homing pigeon release competition', in French) occurring on 6 separate sundays: 24 June, 8 July, 29 July, 26 August, 9 September and 16 September 1900, all in the French commune of Vincennes.[1][4] The pigeons were originally planned to be released at 10:00 each day,[4] but, as a Dr. Conil reports, actual release times varied depending on the distance pigeons had to cover and the direction of the wind.[5] Due to additional restrictions, such as not having pigeons flying in opposite directions at the same time, there were "almost as many releases" as there were competing companies, which "could only be of interest to people initiated in our sport", hence the relatively low attendance.[5]
A French homing pigeon and its trainer
Some dates also included a lâcher-spectacle de pigeons-voyageurs (lit.'homing pigeon release spectacle'),[1] events where pigeons were released simultaneously, in the thousands, just for an audience's viewing pleasure.[5] This was due to conflicting needs when planning the competitions: pigeon races are only successful "at an early hour", Dr. Conil writes, while the majority of the public only attends events in the afternoon.[5] Thus, the pigeon release spectacles were added to give the public something to watch that was related to the competitions, while the races themselves were done earlier in the day.[5]
A subcommittee of colombophiles was in charge of preparing "the complete project for racing pigeon competitions".[6] The Fédération Colombophile de la Seine was chosen to be responsible for the competitions.[7]
The competition was restricted to French companies established at least 80 kilometres (50 mi) away from Paris.[4] Those interested in participating had to commit to sending at least 100 pigeons, which had to arrive by the day before the competition.[4]
Results
In total, there were 47 competing companies, totaling 7,721 pigeons.[5][a] The competitions had a total prize pool of 7,300 francs, reduced to 6,254 after operational costs.[5] This was split and awarded to every participating company, paid on a per pigeon basis at a rounded up value of 0.81 franc each.[5] As such, no "winner" was picked and rewarded separately; the event instead had an emphasis on patriotism and verifying whether pigeons from different regions of France could be used for war.[5]
^Though the source originally states there were 48 companies, the later table only lists 47 companies with pigeon counts adding up to 7,721, indicating 48 was likely a miscount.
^Lennartz, Karl; Teutenberg, Walter (1995). Olympische Spiele 1900 in Paris. Kassel, Germany: Agon-Sportverlag. p. 147. ISBN3-928562-20-7. In many works, it is read that the IOC later met to decide which events were Olympic and which were not. This is not correct and no decision has ever been made. No discussion of this item can be found in the account of any Session.
^ abcdefghiMérillon 1901, vol.2, p.313–315, sec. "Rapport Présenté par M. Le Docteur Conil".
^Mérillon 1901, vol.1, p.35, sec. "X – Aérostation": "Un cinquième sous-comité, composé de colombophiles, était chargé de la mission globale de préparer le projet complet des concours de Pigeons voyageurs."
^Mérillon 1901, vol.1, p.51, sec. "Troisième Partie: Exécution – Observations Générales": "Ce système a consisté à confier autant que possible aux grandes associations ou aux sociétés déjà prêtes pour cette œvre, l'exécution des différents concours ressortant de leur compétence. Il a été procédé ainsi [...] pour les concours de pigeons voyageurs, à la Fédération Colombophile de la Seine."
