​It´s not really a sport, but rather a hobby (afición)„ says Pascual Mayans Zaragozi, secretary of the club Colons Esportius de Xàbia. In fact, we are referring to the club of pigeon fanciers or „colombaires“ as they are called, whose members dedicate themselves to the breeding and care of these birds……(and the sport is practised by the birds !)

Pigeon-breeding (colombicultura) has been known for centuries, but it was only at the beginning of the 20th century that it became an official sport with its own set of rules, although the first society for pigeon-breeding for pleasure ("por la diversión") was founded in Murcia in 1773. Pigeons have undoubtedly always existed in the Iberian Peninsula, but it was the Arabs who brought the domesticated pigeon to Spain in the 8th century. These were bred for their size and their main use was as food. Initially only the rich could afford to keep them (for food and pleasure), but over the centuries most people had them. As well as providing food, their droppings were good for fertilising the land. They were also used as messengers, especially by monks, to communicate between monasteries. So it was often the monks who bred them. One of these monks, Fraile Llaudì, crossed the large pigeon with the slighter messenger pigeon, thus creating the ancestor of the one used today for this sport. The most prized pigeon today is the "buchon Valenciano". And it certainly is a very Valencian sport.

In this sport, the male pigeon (palomo) has to woo or conquer the female (paloma) through innate or trained qualities. These are related to the size, intelligence and cunning of the palomo, virtues that help him to pursue, attract and conquer the paloma. A breeder's aim is to breed males with great physical appearance and seducing demeanor in order to best attract a female. 
After a gestation period of 20 days, a paloma always lays only 2 eggs. When the chicks (pichones) are 30 days old, they are separated from their mother and kept together in a pen until their behaviour tells the trained eye of the breeder which are males and which are females, between 3 and 6 months. When they are separated, the females are kept together in one pen, while the males are kept in separate pens. When the males reach the age at which they start to be attracted to the opposite sex- between 6 and 12 months- and after their first moult, their wings are painted in bright colours, with each breeder having his own distinct colour combinations to distinguish them as his own.The colombaire then chooses for the male a paloma of the same age, whose tail feathers are slightly clipped and one or two artificial white feathers are attached to the tail. This will be the distinguishing mark by which the palomo will later recognise its mate. They are then left together in a pigeon coop for 7-8 days to "fall in love". After this time they are separated. For the next few days they are sad and unhappy. After a few days, the paloma is introduced to 4-5 other palomos in the same way. When this process is over, a trial is carried out. About 2 hours before sunset, all the males that were introduced to her are let out of their cages and when the female is released, all the males want to be with her and seduce her. This is when the courtship rituals begin. When she tires of them, she flees with all her suitors behind her, looking for a place to hide from them, which she might find in the dense foliage of a tree, a hollow trunk or a hole in a wall. This could be up to 6 km from her home. As fatigue and hunger override lust, pigeons will begin to retire from the chase and return to their coop, and only the most hardy and most ambitious one who does find her will seduce her and fly back with her before it gets dark.

Competitions are basically just that. The palomo with the best instincts for seduction and perseverance, and who spends the most time around her, gets the prize. The winner is not the most athletic, or the toughest, or the most pure-bred, but the one who is the most polite, the one who shows the most constancy, and the one who has the strongest reproductive instinct. Interestingly,the palomos each have their own tricks and techniques for dealing with their opponents, and the better ones even watch how the others react and adapt their game accordingly.
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There are usually at least 75 palomos competing for the attention of a single paloma. A competition lasts for 6 consecutive days, each day for 2 hours. Two judges award points for the time spent in the air with the female and for the time spent on the ground performing courtship rituals. Extra points can be awarded for the elegance of the flight and the courtesy with which he treats the female. With so many palomos around the paloma, it's amazing what a phenomenal memory and sharp eyesight a judge must have to keep track of the action ! 
From the ground, the owners follow the flight of their pigeons - easily identifiable by their colours.

The competitions are organised by the Federación Española de Colombicultura Valenciana, a body created in 1944 to recognise pigeon-breeding as a national sport. First of all, there are the local and comarca competitions. Then there are the provincial, national and even international levels. This sport, which is said to have originated in the province of Valencia, has also become popular in Catalonia and Andalusia and, to a lesser extent, in other parts of Spain. It is even practised in several South American countries and some other European countries, such as Portugal and Austria.

The Xàbia Pigeon Club was founded around 1940, just after the Civil War. Its members kept their pigeons at home, but met at the Bar Imperial, behind the Ayuntamiento. Towards the end of the 1960s, a widow who owned a house opposite the bar La Rebotica bequeathed it to the Ayuntamiento of Xàbia on her death, with the right of usufruct granted to the pigeon club La Javiense, as it was known at the time. This was the centre of the club for the next 25 years or so. In the 1990s, when people began to feel disturbed by the pigeons in the pueblo, the Ayuntamiento gave them permission to create a club on the outskirts of the old town, just south of the Rio Gorgos Barranco. Here they have pigeon coops (cajones) for all the members' birds. They also have a clubhouse where meetings and social events are held. 

Xàbia´s club Coloms Esportius is proud of the high quality of its pigeons. In the last 60 years, many have taken part in the national championship, three of them in the last 10 years. In the 80's the club had over 200 members. In 1983 Xàbia even hosted the national championship cup, the Copa Su Magestat Rey Juan Carlos I. However, the number of members has gradually declined over the last 10-15 years.Today the club has no more than 36 members. In an attempt to change this, the club periodically visits schools in Xàbia to make young people aware of this ancient and surprising activity, so that the new generations may take an interest in it and ensure that this unique Valencian sport does not disappear. There are so many extra-curricular activities available for young people today that there is little or no interest in this age-old pastime. Although there are still more than 9000 pigeon fanciers in the Comunidad Valenciana, one gets the impression that in Xàbia pigeon-breeding may soon be a thing of the past.

There are many positive aspects to pigeon breeding : among others, the close relationship that develops between the fancier and his pigeons, the emotion that comes from observing the behaviour of these birds, the contact with nature, the brotherhood between members. 

Who knows, perhaps one day, this sport will take flight again in Xàbia.
* The information in this article has kindly been provided by Pascual Mayans Zaragozi, secretary of the club Colons Esportius de Xàbia.