17m & 20m Volunteer Mentor Pilots Wanted for Junior Camp Contest,Elmira, NY, July 14-20, 2019

Pilot-owners of G-103, ASK-21, or 20-meter advanced trainers who hold a Commercial Glider rating or CFI-G are needed to mentor Juniors at the 2019 US Junior Camp Contest at Harris Hill, in Elmira, NY, July 14-20, 2019.

Volunteer pilots need to have extensive cross-country and racing experience.. Likewise, former National Champions and/or US Team members are highly encouraged to reach out to us too. Clubs who can sponsor and provide the camp with a ship and qualified mentor pilot are encouraged to help out too. Please call me with any questions or concerns.

Flight instructors and experienced racing pilots who would like to give a presentation as a featured guest lecturer at the Junior Camp Contest are encouraged to contact me too. The ground school portion of the camp will address a wide-range of topics that range from safety issues (such as how to enter and thermal safely in a gaggle) to utilizing lift-lines, cloud streets, and convergence to improve your speed around course. We also hope to break into groups to analyze Junior pilot flight logs to discuss the factors that effect speed and racing tactics.

For more information about the camp, please e-mail me directly with your contact info. Either myself or JP Stewart will get back to you shortly.

Thank you,

Chris Schrader,
SSA Director, Region 6

P.S. Just for clarification, all volunteer, Mentor Pilots are the PIC of their own aircraft. Juniors ought not to control the aircraft during critical phases of flight. Mentor pilots are not providing "flight instruction" as defined by FAR's. Therefore, the responsibility for the safety of both the pilot and passenger lie solely on the PIC operating the aircraft. SSA contest waivers and entry forms will be required of all volunteers and Junior camp participants. Likewise, all Junior participants will be indemnifying both the SSA and its volunteer, Mentor Pilots as a condition of participating in the Junior Camp Contest.

It's worth mentioning I think that since 2016, fifty-four (54) Juniors have participated in the four previous Junior Camp Contests held at Texas Soaring Association, Harris Hill, Sandhill Soaring Club, and Williams Soaring Center.

Many of these Juniors flew their first regional contest, completed their first racing task, landed out for the first time, won or placed on the podium for their first time in a regional contest, etc. A significant number of Juniors have come back and or plan to come back for their 2nd and 3rd time.

To get a sense what these Junior Camp Contests are like, this video was made at the 2017 US Junior Soaring Camp Contest at Harris Hill in Elmira, NY: https://youtu.be/RZEIUC0YiPM

Given the SSA's Junior Rebate Program helps subsidize the cost a Junior's participation in the camp/contest, the Junior/Youth Committee is always looking for donations to help fund these camps.

Any funds that are donated to JYC to support these events will be earmarked for such and any monies leftover will be used to fund future Junior Camp Contests. It should also be noted that any monies donated for this purpose will also work to extend the life of the Contest Committee's Junior Rebate Program so in future years the SSA may continue to offer the program to Juniors who participate in SSA sanctioned contests, not just the Junior Camp Contest.

Lastly, the 2019 SSA East-Coast Junior Camp Contest at Harris Hill will be the 2nd camp held this year. The SSA's West-Coast Junior Camp Contest was held earlier this year at Williams Soaring Center, in California, this past March. Look for future articles is Soaring magazine about these events.

On behalf of JYC and the Juniors who so many of you have helped and graciously, continue to support, thank you!

Chris Schrader
SSA Director, Region 6


To donate:

See: https://ssaeagles.ssa.org/juniordevelopment.html

See also: https://www.ssa.org/Giving?show=blog&id=5697
Note: When directing funds to JYC, please select "Junior Development" and then in the drop-down menu select "Junior XC Camps Fund"

On Thursday, May 9, 2019 at 12:49:34 PM UTC-4, Christopher Schrader wrote:
Pilot-owners of G-103, ASK-21, or 20-meter advanced trainers who hold a Commercial Glider rating or CFI-G are needed to mentor Juniors at the 2019 US Junior Camp Contest at Harris Hill, in Elmira, NY, July 14-20, 2019.


QQ is planning on being there

On Thursday, May 9, 2019 at 12:49:34 PM UTC-4, Christopher Schrader wrote:
Pilot-owners of G-103, ASK-21, or 20-meter advanced trainers who hold a Commercial Glider rating or CFI-G are needed to mentor Juniors at the 2019 US Junior Camp Contest at Harris Hill, in Elmira, NY, July 14-20, 2019.

Volunteer pilots need to have extensive cross-country and racing experience. Likewise, former National Champions and/or US Team members are highly encouraged to reach out to us too. Clubs who can sponsor and provide the camp with a ship and qualified mentor pilot are encouraged to help out too. Please call me with any questions or concerns.

Flight instructors and experienced racing pilots who would like to give a presentation as a featured guest lecturer at the Junior Camp Contest are encouraged to contact me too. The ground school portion of the camp will address a wide-range of topics that range from safety issues (such as how to enter and thermal safely in a gaggle) to utilizing lift-lines, cloud streets, and convergence to improve your speed around course. We also hope to break into groups to analyze Junior pilot flight logs to discuss the factors that effect speed and racing tactics.

For more information about the camp, please e-mail me directly with your contact info. Either myself or JP Stewart will get back to you shortly.

Thank you,

Chris Schrader,
SSA Director, Region 6

P.S. Just for clarification, all volunteer, Mentor Pilots are the PIC of their own aircraft. Juniors ought not to control the aircraft during critical phases of flight. Mentor pilots are not providing "flight instruction" as defined by FAR's. Therefore, the responsibility for the safety of both the pilot and passenger lie solely on the PIC operating the aircraft. SSA contest waivers and entry forms will be required of all volunteers and Junior camp participants. Likewise, all Junior participants will be indemnifying both the SSA and its volunteer, Mentor Pilots as a condition of participating in the Junior Camp Contest.

Is this an annual event with changing venues?

Uli
'AS'

Is this an annual event with changing venues?
Uli
'AS'


Uli,

The SSA Junior Camp Contest is an annual event and moves around geographically to different locations. Having said that, the Junior Youth Committee is looking at putting out an RFP next year that lists certain criteria and encourages clubs to bid to host Junior Camp Contests. IMHO, hosting a camp such as this is ideal because you can run it concurrent with a Regional contest, and it all but guarantees a minimal level attendance. From JYC's perspective, the main criteria are as follows: (1) the host club has bathrooms, showers, and can accommodate Junior tent campers and RV's belonging to volunteer mentor pilots; (2) the host club has at least two 17m (preferably at least one 20m) two-seat trainer such as a G-103 or ASK-21 and Commercial rated or CFIG (experienced racing pilots), who can fly with Juniors as PIC; and (3) the host club is geographically located such that it can attract 2-3 lecturers who are qualified to present on topics from entry-level cross-country soaring to advanced racing tactics, weather, and safety. There are other considerations too but this is a start.

FWIW, this is the first year the SSA has been able to put on two of these camps, one at Williams Soaring Center in California, and the other at Harris Hill in Elmira, New York. I received your e-mail last night, and we've added you to our list of volunteer pilots to contact each year. As a rule of thumb we try to reach out to volunteers in early winter. This year we stumbled a bit and had a few obstacles to overcome but the East-Coast Junior Camp Contest looks like it will be a good one!

Best regards,

Chris Schrader
SSA Director, Region 6

QQ is planning on being there

Thanks Piet! I can't tell you how much it means to us, and to the Juniors who get to fly with an experienced mentor. For me, when I was a Junior, flying with Tim Welles in HHSC's Duo Discus was like riding shotgun at the Daytona 500. That was 15 years ago... I'll never forget it!

Best regards,
Chris Schrader