I just searched on "glider" on the BBC's news web site. What I found shocked
me. Of 46 results returned for the period since May 1998, not a single one
mentioned any form of achievement whatsoever in gliding. See here for the
search page:

http://newssearch.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/...&start=1&q=gli
der&scope=newsukfs

Given that British pilots have been spectacularly successful in
international competition over the last few years, either our world-famous
national TV news service is deliberately ignoring us, or our governing body
is failing miserably in getting the message across.

We all know the press love a good disaster but when a few Brits kick a ball
into a net they all get gongs and the papers go wild for weeks. Why can't
gliding get so much as a mention, even when we produce a world champion? I
know ours is a minority sport but the British media are not usually shy
about trumpeting British successes.

For the (dismal) record, here are 33 of the 46 headlines on the BBC site; I
think they speak for themselves. (The rest are mostly about Steve Fosset's
preparations for record flights or other non-fatal glider incidents
reflecting in various negative ways on gliding):

Glider death crash boy named
Teenager dies in glider crash
Glider death would be 'perfect'
Crashed glider 'caught on cable'
Glider pilots in mid-air collision
Fatal glider crash witness appeal
Glider pilot dies after crash
Glider crash inquiry opens
Glider crashes into mountain
Dead glider pilot named
Pilot powerless to stop mid-air collision
Inquest into air collision
Glider pilot dies in crash
Crash pilot faces law suit
Glider crashes on main rail route
'Experienced' glider in crash
Glider crash pilot named
Glider crash inquiry starts
Inquest into glider deaths
Glider death pilot named
Glider crash victim 'loved flying'
Glider crash victims named
Two die in glider crash
'Freak' air crash inquiry continues
Elderly man survives glider crash
Two dead in glider and plane crash
Two dead after glider accidents
One dead after mid-air collision
Three killed in air crashes
Three dead in glider crash
Pilot unaware of rambler death
Leading glider pilot dies in collision
Two killed in gliding accident