Save the Date!

Happy New Year! I am happy to announce Sandhill Soaring Club and Adrian Soaring Club have teamed up with the SSA to host the 2018 Juniors Contest & Development Camp to be held at Lenawee County Airport (KADG), the home of Adrian Soaring Club, located in Adrian, Michigan, from July 2 through July 7 (practice days are scheduled for 6/30 and 7/1).

Currently, the contest sanction applications are pending but the SSA's Junior/Youth Committee is working closely with the host organization to run concurrent Region 6 North Sports & Club Class contests with the Juniors Contest & Camp.

Background: This will be the third continuous year the SSA has organized and sponsored a contest and development camp for Juniors. The 2017 U.S. Juniors Contest/Camp (partnering with Harris Hill Soaring Corp and the National Soaring Museum) hosted twenty-five Junior campers, ages 13-24, twelve of whom flew single-place ships (including one Canadian Junior) - a majority of which completed their first contest. Additionally, Sean Murphy and Hank Nixon led a team of current and former U.S. Team Members, national champions and record holders who mentored more than a dozen Juniors throughout the week utilizing Harris Hill's fleet of ASK-21's, its Duo Discus, and privately owned advanced two-seaters. Most Juniors who flew with a mentor were able to fly a majority of contest days in one ship or another. For more details about the U.S. Juniors Contest/Camp, please see the recent article about the 2017 Juniors Contest in the November 2017 issue of Soaring magazine. The 2018 event will be run in a similar fashion

Region 6 North: For non-juniors & the young-at-heart, Region 6 North is being designed as a “Rookie Camp” for beginners and a “warm-up” to Nationals and an opportunity for former U.S. Team and Junior Team members and experienced Sports and Club Class pilots to mix with and coach new racing pilots – a setting we think will enhance the overall experience for all.

To put it simply, if you're new to racing, this is the place for you! If this isn't your first sailplane rodeo, you're welcome to join us too; take a pilot who's new to sailplane racing, coach and encourage them through the process... share your passion... and help grow the sport!

The Juniors Contest & R6N will be augmented by a camp that includes a morning lecture series and flight trace analysis sessions aimed at further developing Junior talent. For non-Juniors our goal is to have you leaving eager to come back (wanting to learn more), but with the confidence and desire to do this again!

Topics will range from the basics of thermal selection and entry... to modern McCready theory... to advanced team flying tactics. The range of skill levels vary among the campers; some Juniors will be experienced contest pilots having placed well at a Nationals and recently flown a Junior WGC event while others will be post-solo or just newly minted Private rated glider pilots with minimal cross-country and zero racing experience.

It’s difficult to overstate the impact the camp/contest can have on our Junior Pilots. At the 2017 contest/camp, each and every Junior left for home having achieved numerous personal successes throughout the contest; they return to their clubs sharing their knowledge and experience with others. Some, in fact, have become CFI-G and/or Commercial rated pilots. All are highly engaged members contributing significantly to their home clubs. Many will go on to participate in future soaring competitions, try for local or state records and help the soaring community continue to grow and draw in new members.

The cost to the Juniors to participate is largely subsidized through various funding mechanisms (including the 2017 Junior Rebate Program), private donors, and volunteers who donate their time and services. Consequently, the cost to the Juniors is quite reasonable, which makes it accessible to many and incentivizes widespread participation. In 2017, we had Juniors who came from as far away as Alaska to attend!

The 2017 Juniors Contest/Camp was a great success and we are excited to build on that. We’ve strategically selected a location for 2018, which we feel is conducive to hosting a large field of Junior pilots flying solo.. Lenawee County Airport, in Adrian, Michigan, is within a reasonable driving distance for Juniors and pilots who reside throughout regions 3, 4, and parts of Region 5 (the East), as well as Regions 6 & 7 (the Midwest), and Canadian Juniors coming from clubs in nearby Ontario. The local terrain is friendly and largely suitable for off-field landings, if need be.

Juniors (ages 13-24) and non-Junior Pilots alike may soon register for the contest at the SSA website by selecting forthcoming links to the U.S. Juniors Contest and Region 6 North Contest, respectively.

More information and details will follow soon. If you have any further questions, please message me privately or contact JP Stewart through the SSA or U.S. Junior Soaring websites.

Best regards,

Chris Schrader
SSA Director, Region 6