ASRA Spinner Certification Program

ASRA

Arkansas State Roller Association

Spinner Certification Program

1. Number of birds to fly = 5. Five birds is the number because rollers find stimulation in flying with a kit. Four birds plus the certifying bird establishes the five-bird count.

2. Bird to certify will be clearly marked for easy and immediate identification. If the certifying bird is light in color it should fly with the four birds that are dark is an example or the bird being certified is painted or tagged are other examples of instant recognition.

3. Be flown under judgment for 15 minutes.

4. Flier has up to 5 minutes from release to call time-in.

5. Flier has two 2-minute time outs to use at his discretion.

6. Out-birds are not a consideration and will not distract from certification, but could influence the performance of the bird being certified. The certifying bird must roll from the kit majority. Kit majority meaning three of the four birds are in kit plus the certifying bird.

7. If the bird being certified lands early before the expiration of 15 minutes, the bird loses certification.

8. The bird being judge must be at least from the previous year’s bird and banded. The current owner must be the breeder of the certifying pigeon.

9. The bird has one opportunity only. If the bird fails to certify it will not be eligible for a retry.

10. Band number of the certifying bird will be on record.

11. The pigeon is judged for its depth; velocity; frequency; wing position; kitting instincts; and how well it finishes from the roll.

A. Depth duration must be a minimum of 2 seconds. The judge with a stopwatch will declare or announce if the certifying bird satisfies the depth requirement. If the qualifying bird does a roll of two seconds or more ; be rolling and not just falling; not plate rolling; with no twizzling; and the roll must be nearly straight down and unbroken. The roll must come out of a kit majority and the wing position must be an “A” or “wide H” or tighter. If the bird accomplishes all of this, the judge possessing the counter will initiate a click. Bird to being certified has to attain a minimum of 15 clicks on the counter over the 15 minutes the bird is in judgment.

B. Frequency must be a minimum of once per minute at the qualifying depth, high velocity, and high quality. The certifying bird must have 15 qualifying breaks over the 15 minutes.

C. Bird must finish the roll sharply with a “snap” and be flying in the proper direction. The proper direction is the direction the kit is flying. A plate roll or a twizzle conducted by the certifying bird will void the certification.

D. The wing position must form an “A” or wide “H” shape or tighter.

E. A roll down or bump to the ground will void the certification

F. Failure not to return to the kit quickly or failure not to roll from the kit majority is a quality problem. Two occurrences are excessive and certification will be void. It is a quality problem if the certifying bird rolls while returning to the kit majority. Two occurrences are excessive and certification will be void.

Kit majority meaning three of the four birds are in kit plus the certifying bird.

Plate Rolling is what takes place when a bird pushes with one wing causing it to turn around on a horizontal plane, like a dinner plate or a slow falling Frisbee.

Twizzling is what occurs in some rollers when they are ending the roll. Instead of “snapping” out of the roll, they do a twist and turn motion. It is a very short-lived movement and thought to be from the act of braking or stopping the roll during a break.

Three people must be in the judging party. One is judging to ensure the bird is doing it correctly. One with a stopwatch who will announce each time a two second roll is achieved by the certifying bird. The other will have a count clicker and each time the certifying bird achieves a qualifying quality roll plus accomplishing the two second spin duration requirement will initiate a click. One of the three will also have a timer for the 15 minutes and time outs.

The decision of the judges is final. All involved must conduct themselves in the proper spirit of the event and the lack of it will result in the removal of the program. The judges will submit a fly report to the flyer in writing the day of the certification fly.

Summary – It is a program to recognize the most extreme exceptional high value spinner found only rarely in anyone’s loft. The pigeon has to be exceptional in every way. This certification will not be a give-away program (a good ol’ boy program if you will). Avoid calling for a certification for any bird that is not truly exceptional in all aspects.

Weather will not be a factor. The flyer can call off the fly if the weather is not suitable to him/her and reschedule the fly. Birds of prey will not be a factor. If the kit gets hit or is influenced by a bird of prey the flyer can halt the certification if he chooses and reschedule the fly.

ASRA