On Fri, 13 May 2011 10:53:06 -0400, Luke wrote:

I rather be at cloud
base knowing that the guys up there with me are looking out as opposed
to being 1000 feet below the cloud with all of us looking at our
altimeters and watches.

You'll not only be looking at altimeters - you'll be looking at
airspeed indicators, too.

The procedure in question was first used in the Luesse WGC. The German
15m class team members described the situation like this:

15 gliders at maximum altitude in the same circle, trying to gain as
much energy (read: speed) as possible. One of the most dangerous
situations they ever experienced - day after day.

Cheers
Andreas