SSA Region 1 Races?

Any of the northern racers looking for a nearby competition should consider the Canadian Nationals being held 25 June - 4 July at SOSA Gliding Club just west of Toronto.

All the details on the web at: http://sac.ca/nationals/

There will be FAI and Club handicapped classes. FAI is pretty much 18 meter with a few ASW-27's - the class is defined by handicap 0.95

Club is defined as handicap 0.90. Gliders that fall between 0.90 and 0.95 can elect to fly in either class.

Depending on the number of competitors, we may further subdivide the Club class into two classes where one will be in the low performance range, ie handicap about .99

On Thursday, February 6, 2014 2:27:10 PM UTC-5, Greg Delp wrote:
Looking back through the threads for past few years, it doesn't look like there has been a Region 1 race since 2008. Do any of the racers from the area think there will be a race in Region 1 in the near future?



Is there any interest from the clubs in the Region in getting together to organize some type of soaring competition possibly in preparation for organizing a race in the future?



There are several members of the Connecticut Soaring Association who are looking to start getting involved in cross country and possibly races. Is the Red Baron Trophy still circulating somewhere in the region? Last I heard it was at GBSC. Spinning wheels here to help melt the snow faster.

Thanks everyone for the hints and suggestions. Hopefully this will help lead to some fun non sanctioned events so we can get some experience under our belts. Then maybe we can get back to regular Region 1 Races again. Evan if I can lend a hand in your process let me know. I'd love to come visit other local clubs and compete.

Greg
DY

"Fun" and "Sanctioned" are not mutually exclusive

On Monday, March 3, 2014 10:15:49 AM UTC-5, Greg Delp wrote:
On Thursday, February 6, 2014 2:27:10 PM UTC-5, Greg Delp wrote: Looking back through the threads for past few years, it doesn't look like there has been a Region 1 race since 2008. Do any of the racers from the area think there will be a race in Region 1 in the near future? Is there any interest from the clubs in the Region in getting together to organize some type of soaring competition possibly in preparation for organizing a race in the future? There are several members of the Connecticut Soaring Association who are looking to start getting involved in cross country and possibly races. Is the Red Baron Trophy still circulating somewhere in the region? Last I heard it was at GBSC. Spinning wheels here to help melt the snow faster. Thanks everyone for the hints and suggestions. Hopefully this will help lead to some fun non sanctioned events so we can get some experience under our belts. Then maybe we can get back to regular Region 1 Races again. Evan if I can lend a hand in your process let me know. I'd love to come visit other local clubs and compete. Greg DY

Pros and Cons of sanctioned contests.
Pros:
Likely to draw some good pilots to participate and help.
A good place to organize training to new cotest pilots.
Potential increase in activity during the contest period.
Pilots can earn ranking
Pilots likely will be challanged more than weekend flying with associated potential for learning and advancement.
Meeting some new good pilots.
Cons:
Sanction fee of $40/pilot
Need to find a competition director. Not hard to do in the northeast.
Need a scorer. Less of a problem than it used to be now that remote scoring is becoming common.
Need a contest manager- a person familiar with running contests.
It will tie up the facility for contest days.
Flying is on predetermined days so weather has a negative affect.
Some volunteers are needed for operations in addition to tow pilots. Running the contest on successive weekends can minimize this.
You gotta run the contest by the SSA rules. No biggie if you understand them.
There is some financial exposure but the current rules permit options to minimize this.

It is worth noting that running as a regional, even 3 days long, is very little extra work and may help the draw.

We run R2 North at Wurtsboro every year and draw close to 20 entrants. We run a rookie schools and actively coach the new people. We also have a 2 seat class to get some folks exposed. Each year we get 3-5 new pilots and expose a dozen or so others to contests.

Give some thought to some of this info.

UH

Don't know if Tony or UH's comments about sanctioned races were in response to my post where I mentioned a non-sanctioned event... but in case they we Please let me clarify that I was NOT implying anything negative towards sanctioned events! Its just that a non-sanctioned event often appears less-intimidating for inexperienced organizers/volunteers. You have no set number of days you need to fly, you can allow people to use non-approved loggers, you can get away without charging an entry-fee (if you want to maximize participation and treat it as an educational event), etc.

Certainly sanctioned events can (and should be) fun & enjoyable!

--Noel

UH,

Thanks for adding the above. I was hoping to fly during the Region 2N this year, but just like last year I will be flying a trip in Europe so will miss out again. That was one of the reasons for my original post. As a eager new cross country pilot looking to expand into racing, for the entire 2014 racing season the only possible local race I may be able to commit to is the Region 2 at Mifflin. I would love to see more races in our area just to get a better chance to attend a few more each year.

I've also been looking at Valley's XC web page among others mentioned above in an effort to create a similar fun competition system for our club as well as others close by. I love the boomerang idea and I think GBSC has a similar Red Baron trophy but haven't been able to get any specifics of it's whereabouts or if the friendly competition still even exists. Thanks again!

Greg
DY

Greg, I do know the whereabouts of the Red Baron trophy as I was the last to "steal it". It is currently hanging in the FBO at Sterling MA (3b3) (GBSC). Originally it was claimed by flying to the airport that had it, and you took it back with a ground retrieve. When i "took it" I few to Springfield and landed, then got a relight from Walter, and flew back home. I would like to think this would be the "new normal" that you would fly up and GBSC would give you a free 2k tow and you can fly back. But nothing wrong with just landing and taking it back with your crew.

Just a note, it will not fit in your glider on the way back. I was thinking about redesigning it for easier transport. But if you fly up to claim it, we will happily ship it back to you...

There, the gauntlet is thrown...

As for a new R1 Contest it would be great. If they are game, it seems Springfield would be the perfect place, and we do have lots of capable pilots up here to run it. So if we could coax NESA to host, and perhaps provide a CM, i am sure we can come up with a CD.

Rick Roelke / RR

Thanks for the info on the Red Baron Rick. I shall set out to steal it as soon as possible. I'd love to formalize the procedures so if you or someone else at GBSC is willing to talk it over let me know. I know CSA is willing to provide the free 2,000' relight too.

After flying at Springfield for a few weeks last year I'd love to see a race there. Maybe if we all make enough waves we can make it happen.

On Tuesday, March 4, 2014 11:27:59 PM UTC-5, Greg Delp wrote:
Thanks for the info on the Red Baron Rick. I shall set out to steal it as soon as possible. I'd love to formalize the procedures so if you or someone else at GBSC is willing to talk it over let me know. I know CSA is willing to provide the free 2,000' relight too.



After flying at Springfield for a few weeks last year I'd love to see a race there. Maybe if we all make enough waves we can make it happen.

A perfect airport for this kind of event is in Orange, MA. I talked to the airport manager over there about organizing a contest. He was very supportive the only issue identified was weekend parachuting operation. He thought something could be arranged with them for one weekend. I thought about talking to these guys but I never quite made it there. The airport has lots of space way more than Springfield and a really nice grass runway facing westerly direction. The runway is very wide too.

I like it. Looks like a good area

Tim
1FL



A perfect airport for this kind of event is in Orange, MA. I talked to the airport manager over there about organizing a contest. He was very supportive the only issue identified was weekend parachuting operation. He thought something could be arranged with them for one weekend. I thought about talking to these guys but I never quite made it there. The airport has lots of space way more than Springfield and a really nice grass runway facing westerly direction. The runway is very wide too.