US Soaring Team News

World Soaring Championships & Team News
Multi Class Team 28th Championships Leszno, Poland Jly 27 - Aug 9, 2003		18-Meter Team 28th Championships Leszno, Poland Jly 27 - Aug 9, 2003		Club Team 2nd Championships Musbach, Germany Aug 10-25, 2002
World Team 4th Championships Nitra, Slovak Republic Jly 7-19, 2003		Junior Team 3rd Championships Nitra, Slovak Republic Jly 7-19, 2003		Feminine Team 2nd Championships Jihlava, Czech Republic May 18-Jun 1, 2003
2001 News	2002 News	2003 News	2004 News	2005 News
Multi-Class - Open, 15-Meter, Standard. To include 18-Meter in 2003

2002 US Soaring Team News O

12/15/02	U.S. TEAM TASK FORCE PROPOSAL & REPORT The final SSA Team Task Force report and proposal have been published to the task force web page available for public comment and review. The public comment period will end on January 1. The U.S. Team Task Force was established by the SSA Board of Directors to review current U.S. Soaring Team policy and operation then make recommendations for improvement. After an exhaustive process these recommendations will be presented to the SSA Board at the upcoming meeting in Dayton. Task Force members include Doug Jacobs, Ken Sorenson, Jim Payne, John Seaborn, Tim Welles and Jim Short. See the task force web page here for the complete listing of team topics covered and to download the various sections here.
12/03/02	WORLD CLASS CHAMPIONSHIPS TO NITRA From Max Bishop, Secretary General, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale "Following the unfortunate, but fully justified, decision taken by the New Zealand organizers to cancel - owing to lack of entrants - the World Class World Gliding Championship originally scheduled to take place early next year in Matamata, the International Gliding Commission (IGC) Bureau has now decided how to proceed. After taking soundings regarding the likely participation in a re-arranged World Championship in the 2003 Northern Hemisphere summer, the IGC Bureau has decided to accept the offer of the NAC of the Slovak Republic to hold the 2003 World Class WGC at the same time and place as the 3rd Junior WGC in Nitra, Slovakia." See the U.S. World Class team here or visit the official Junior/Worlds WSC web site here.
12/02/02	TEAM E-NEWS BULLETIN 7 The seventh U.S. Soaring Team e-Bulletin has been send to subscribers. The seventh issue carried all the international and team news. To receive future team E-News Bulletins subscribe by clicking here.
11/20/02	WORLD CLASS CHAMPIONSHIP MAY MOVE TO EUROPE With the cancellation of the PW-5 World Championships in New Zealand the IGC and the organizers of the 3rd FAI Junior World Soaring Championships scheduled to be held in Nitra in the Slovak Republic (July 7-19) have been discussing the feasibility of holding the PW-5 championships concurrent with the Junior event. While these discussions are in their preliminary stages the idea looks possible.
11/20/02	PRE-WORLD TRAINING OPPORTUNITY IN POLAND From the organizers in Poland comes word that the Polish Nationals in the Open Class will be held in Leszno from the 17th May to 1st June 2003. Information Bulletin with an Entry Form will be available on the website www.aeroleszno.org before the end of November 2002. Participation in the Polish Nationals will be the best occasion for training before the World Championships.
11/15/02	NEW TEAM APPAREL - ON THE WAY FOR CHRISTMAS Team Apparel is a great way to show your support for U.S. soaring teams. By wearing high quality shirts, hats, jackets and polos with the U.S. Soaring Team Logo you not only look great but are helping to insure our soaring teams have a chance to compete and win internationally. Net proceeds from the sale of team merchandise goes to help fund U.S. soaring participation in World Soaring Championships. This apparel has been hand selected for its quality and durability, perfect for those hot days on the ramp or a sporty addition to the dinner table after the days flying. See the team apparel web site here
11/15/02	ONLINE SSA CATALOG MAKES TEAM CONTRIBUTIONS A BREEZE The SSA has just released its online merchandise catalog which has been completely redesigned to provide a more satisfying shopping experience. One of the exciting features is the catalog can be used to make contributions to U.S. soaring teams online using a credit card. Just select the U.S. Team from the donations list, put in the amount of your contribution and your on your way. See the new catalog here and select the donations link an the top of the page here.
11/05/02	U.S. TEAM SWEEPSTAKES TO OFFER TOP PRIZES The team sweepstakes will be bigger than ever this year with the lucky winner receiving an soaring dream vacation to the Senior Championships in Florida to fly with the legendary Karl Striedieck in his new Duo Discus. For details on this opportunity see the 11/02/02 information below. Other prizes include a U.S. Soaring Team Performance Soaring Seminar for you or your club, a Dittel 720-channel radio base station, a Cambridge GPS-NAV, a Ridge Sewing canopy cover and many more. This years Sweepstakes will be run a little differently than the past direct mail effort. The January issue of Soaring Magazine will have a two page Sweepstakes spread with an envelope to enter. This is more cost effective than direct mail and avoids the conflict with the holiday mail. Watch for the Sweepstakes starting in January. All sweepstakes entries go to help fund U.S. soaring teams. See all the Sweepstakes details on the U.S. Team Sweepstakes page here.
11/05/02	NZ WORLD CLASS CHAMPIONSHIPS - CANCELLED Regrettably the 4th World Class Championships scheduled to start February 8, 2003 in New Zealand have been cancelled. The organizers report this difficult decision was the result of the low number of entries. Roy Edwards, the director, said the organizers had to make the tough decision because the low number of entries didn’t make the competition financially viable or competitively broad. The New Zealand National PWS competition has now been moved from November to February 6-15. See the excellent Gliding & Motorgliding magazine for full details or the US Team news. http://www.glidingmagazine.com/ Condolences to the U.S. pilots Francois Pin, Pat Tuckey, reserve pilot Bill Snead and team Captain Conrad Suechting who were looking forward to the championships.
11/05/02	TEAM TASK FORCE PUBLISHES FINAL SECTIONS The final sections of the U.S. team task force project have been published to the task force web page and are now available for public comment and review. The newly published sections include, 7 Team Pilot Obligations, 8 Team Communication, 10 Pilot Selection and 11 Contest Preparation. Also included on the task force web page is a full report on the team's recent online survey. This report is available in three parts including an executive summary. The U.S. Team Task Force was established by the SSA Board of Directors to review current team policy and make recommendations for improvement. After an exhaustive process these recommendations will be presented to the SSA Board at the upcoming meeting in Dayton. Taskforce members include Doug Jacobs, Ken Sorenson, Jim Payne, John Seaborn, Tim Welles and Jim Short. See the task force web page here for the complete listing of team topics covered and to download the various sections here.
11/02/02	KS OFFERS Competition Training in Duo Discus - COURSES ARE FULL! Pilots interested in one-on-one competition and performance cross-country training in a high performance two-seat glider will have the opportunity at four contest sites in 2003. Karl Striedieck will offer dual performance soaring in his Duo Discus to those interested in improving their contest and cross country skills, or are simply interested in riding along on contests tasks. The format is flexible depending on the desire of each participant. Pilots will have their choice of front or back seat, flying or watching, receiving commentary or not, alternating legs flown and so forth. A debriefing session will be included when appropriate. The cost will be a $200 per day donation to the US Team Fund (tax deductible). All other costs will be borne by Karl. The 2003 Contest Schedule: Region 5 North Perry, SC Late April, Region 2 Mifflin, PA May 18-24, Sports Nationals Elmira, NY June 17-26, Region 4 South New Castle, VA Late September. All courses have been filled as of 11/13/02.
11/01/02	ROBERTSON TRUST ON TARGET FOR DRAMATIC FINISH The Robertson Trust's 2002 Funding The Future campaign has raised over $100,000 so far this year. The campaign ends on December 31. The Robertson Trust, as part of the SSA Foundation, is a dedicated trust with the sole purpose of helping to fund United States Soaring Teams competing in sanctioned World Soaring Championships. See the Robertson Trust web site for more complete information on the trust including the recently published background document on the SSA Foundation.
10/01/02	U.S. YOUTH TO FLY WITH THREE TIME WORLD CHAMP GEORGE LEE Through arrangements made by John Campbell and facilitated by John Seaborn, several U.S. pilots under the age of 26 will be traveling to Australia to take part in an extensive cross country and competition training course with three time World Soaring Champion George Lee in his Nimbus 4DM. Liz Schwenkler started her course on September 29 which will conclude on October 17. Each course includes two junior pilots, one from the USA and one from the United Kingdom. Other U.S. junior pilots staled to take part include, Mike Robison, Garret Willat and Dillon Krapes.
10/01/02	U.S. TEAM MEMBERS PROMOTE SOARING AND GAIN RECOGNITION IN MEDIA Recent coverage of U.S. soaring team pilots has resulted in more exposure for the sport of soaring. The August issue of the Pacific Northwest Aviation and Business Journal carried a in-depth article on the recent Club Class team while the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics AeroStar newsletter carried extensive coverage of David Mockler's team membership. Additional coverage is planned by an Austin area paper on Ron Tabery. All together this soaring and team related information was carried to over 50,000 readers.
10/01/02	U.S. TEAM e-SURVEY RESULTS NOW ON WEB One month after the close of the first ever U.S. Soaring Team e-survey the results are now posted on the US Team Task Force web page. For ease of downloading the survey report comes in three sections: 1 Executive Summary, 2 Multiple Choice, 3 Open Ended Responses. See the team task force page here.
9/20/02	DATES FOR 2004 US NATIONALS The dates for the 2004 US National Championships have been selected. See the US team calendar.
9/20/02	NEWS FLASH! WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TO TEXAS? Lubbock, Texas won the bid to host the 2006 World Soaring Championship winning over strong proposals from Ephrata, Washington and Tonopah, Nevada. In their written and oral presentations to the board, each of the prospective sights highlighted unique soaring conditions, facilities, management resources and local amenities that would attract more than 100 competition glider pilots from around the world. The IGC still needs to review the bids and choose final site.
9/18/02	PRE-WORLD REPORT NOW ONLINE Read Chip Garner's report on his experiences flying the warm-up contest for the 2003 28th World Soaring Championships in Poland. See the edited version here.
9/10/02	WORLD TEAM SELECTED Francois Pin, Pat Tuckey and reserve pilot Bill Snead have been selected to represent the U.S.A at the 4th World Class Soaring Championships in New Zealand from February 8-22, 2003. See the World Class team page to learn more about this class and meet the team. See Bill Snead's Pre-World Report here.
9/5/02	POLISH WSC DATES DONE The IGC and organizers have established the dates for the 2003 18th World Championships in Poland. Official training - July 19-25, Opening Ceremony - July 26, Contest flying July 27 to August 9, Closing Ceremony - August 10. Thanks to Marek!
8/31/02	TEAM TASK FORCE - FUNDING & ORGANIZATION The US team task force has published Topic 3 Organization and Topic 5 Funding have been posted for public review and comment. See the task force page.
8/31/02	US TEAM E-SURVEY CONCLUDED The first every US Team e-Survey concluded on August 31. Over 220 SSA members completed the extensive team survey. The final survey report will be post online. Thank you for your participation!
8/27/02	JOHN GOOD TO BE U.S. TEAM CAPTAIN IN POLAND - 2003 Team Chairman, Doug Jacobs and US Competition Chairman Ken Sorenson have announced that John Good has been selected to Captain the 2003 US Soaring Team taking part in the 28th World Soaring Championships in Poland. John is an experienced competition pilot, with excellent organizational skills and long involvement with World Soaring Championships. See the Multi-Class team page for complete biographies on the pilots and Team Captain plus pictures.
8/24/02	GARNER 3rd In PRE WORLDS - POLAND While the pre-worlds were sparsely attended this year the point is to become familure with the country, complete the early logistics and get accustomed to the contest organizers and tasks. At the conclusion of the warm-up for the 28th World Soaring Championships in 2003, Chip Garner placed third behind Weis or Germany and Schmid of Switzerland.
8/23/02	TABERY WINS OPEN IN UVALDE - ON TOP FOR POLAND Ron Tabery has won the Open Class Nationals in Uvalde and is on top of the Open Class team selection list for Poland and the 28th World Soaring Championships in 2003. To see the team selection lists in the various classes see John Leibacher's excellent team listing.
8/23/02	CLUB CLASS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS CONCLUDED With an exciting finish the 2nd Club Class World Championships in Musbach Germany have concluded. The US Club Class Team would like to thank all the supporters and contributors to the US team. The contest was run from Aug 10 to the 25. Click the Go Team! for the day reports direct from Germany or meet the team on the Club Class page. The Day Reports page features links to the official web site plus near real time reports from Germany.
8/20/02	U.S. SOARING TEAM SURVEY - CLOSING AUG 31 With only a few days to go over 185 SSA members have taken the U.S. Soaring Team e-survey. Everyone from world champions to student glider pilots have participated. Through a combination of multiple choice and open ended questions the e-survey gives SSA members the opportunity to help shape the future of U.S. soaring teams. Take the survey today! For information on the survey click here
8/12/02	CHIP GARNER - FIRST REPORTS FROM POLISH PRE-WORLDS August 11-23 Chip filed this report from Leszno Poland, the site of the 28th Multi-Class World Soaring Championships in 2003. Chip is compeating in the pre-world event. "We have had one short flying day followed by a rain day. Ten pilots are in the standard class, another eleven are in a mixed, handicapped class. They are also having the Polish Junior Nationals, a club class and a standard class of all Jantars. About 30 pilots in their early 20's. Their first day was cancelled so no results yet. Follow the pre-worlds on organizers web site in Poland (in English) - here. An edited version of the Multi-Class pre world report will be available on this site when Chip returns. See the photos from Poland below.
8/9/02	ITTNER WINS 18-METER IN LUBBOCK - ON TOP FOR POLAND Gary Ittner has won the 18-Meter nationals in Lubbock and is on top of the 18-Meter team selection list for Poland and the 28th World Soaring Championships in 2003. David Stevenson wins the Sports Nationals by a big margin over Alfonso Jurado. Both pilots have a shot at the club team. To see the team selection lists in the various classes see John Leibacher's excellent team listing.
8/8/02	TEAM TASK FORCE - FUNDRAISING The US team task force has published TTF Topic 6 - Fundraising for public comment. See the task force page.
8/1/02	TEAM E-NEWS BULLETIN 3 Third U.S. Team E-News Bulletin has been sent to subscribers. Bulletin three included a run down on the newest team members Ton Beltz and Chip Garner, the contest in Tonopah, the Club Team heading to Germany and the team survey. To receive future team E-News Bulletins subscribe by clicking here.
7/28/02	GARNER TO POLISH PRE-WORLDS Chip Garner going to Poland to participate in the Multi-Class Pre Worlds. See the Leszno home page for more.
7/26/02	NEW TEAM MEMBERS IN MULTI-CLASS Two more members selected for US Soaring Teams. With the conclusion of this summer's Standard and 15-Meter national championships two new US team members have been selected for the Multi-Class World Soaring Championships in Poland. From the Standard Class comes a familure face in Tom Beltz and in the 15-Meter class, new team member David Mockler will be competing. See the Multi-Class page for more.
6/19/02	U.S. SOARING TEAM e-SURVEY - TAKE THE SURVEY! The first ever U.S. Team e-survey is now open to SSA members. Run on the internet, the e-survey is designed to provide the Team Task Force and ultimately team management with a better understanding of how the US Teams are perceived by the US soaring community and to act as a guide in developing sound policy for future teams. All SSA members are invited to participate. Areas covered include competitive issues, team goals & policies, funding, committee structure and selection. The survey takes about five minutes and is open to all SSA members. Only valid SSA members are invited to take the Team Survey. The U.S. Team survey is now live on the Internet. Click here to take the U.S. Team e-survey!
5/16/02	OFFICIAL FAI WORLD CLASS INVITATIONS ARRIVE Gliding New Zealand has issued an invitation to all members of the FAI to participate in the 4^th World-class World Gliding Championships, which will take place in Matamata, New Zealand, 8 to 21 February 2003. The Official Practice period will be from 1^st to 7^th February. For latest information please visit the website www.worldclass2003.com The New Zealand World-class National competition will be held in Matamata from 25th November to 7th December 2002. Overseas pilots are welcome to enter and use this competition as a “warm up” for the main event. Roy Edwards, Competition Director, roy@smartvote.co.nz
5/16/02	NEW DATES FOR 2002 28th PRE-WORLDS The Organizers of WGC 2003 and Pre-World 2002 have moved the dates (13.08-29-08.2002) of the Pre-Worlds slightly to 11.08 - 24.08. Pre-World 2002 will be held in Leszno, Poland at 11.08 - 24.08.2002. There are now internet services at www.wgc2003.pl
5/8/02	TEAM E-NEWS BULLETIN 1 First U.S. Team E-News Bulletin has been sent to subscribers. Bulletin One included an update from Team Chairman, Doug Jacobs, Club Class Team Captain Dianne Nixon and the latest team news. To receive future team E-News Bulletins subscribe by clicking here.
5/5/02	28th WORLD SOARING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2003/PRE-WORLDS 2002 Announcement from Marek F.Uzarowski, Leszno, Poland. "The decision made by the International Gliding Commission that WGC 2003 has given us the 'green light' to go ahead with the so-called Pre-World Competition 2002. Due to lack of time we will have to run it together with the Polish National Juniors' Gliding Championships. We therefore invite all those interested in participating in the Pre-Worlds to Leszno from 13.08 until 29.08.2002. The airfield area will be opened to all of you the week before the 13th. To those of you who cannot come to Leszno in August we can offer as an alternative participation in the International Polish Gliding Championships in the Open Class, from 18.05.2002 until 02.06.2002. We do realize that the time for this event is very short, but anyone willing and able to take part can download the entry form from www.aeroleszno.org . Send the entry form by e-mail to al@aeroleszno.org or by fax to +48 65 5293 219." The official web site for the WGC 2003 and the Pre-Worlds 2002 will be established in one or two weeks time. There you will find all relevant information for both events. There will also be an on-line entry form.
4/29/02	28th WORLD SOARING CHAMPIONSHIPS MOVED International Gliding Committee (IGC) President Tor Johannessen, recently announced that based on the lack of preparations for the 2002 Preparatory Contest, the IGC Bureau has decided that the venue for the World Gliding Championships in 2003 will be moved to Leszno in Poland instead of Rieti in Italy. See the Leszno web site (in English) - here.
4/27/02	JUNIOR PILOTS TO TRAIN WITH GEORGE LEE IN AUZ Over the next two winters members of the Junior soaring team will be traveling to Australia for a series of two week high performance training courses put on by three time World Champion George Lee. Each participant will receive one-on-one coaching in George Lee's Nimbus 4DM. For more information contact John Campbell.
4/24/02	2001 TEAM FINANCE REPORT The financial information for the 2001 US team effort has been posted on the funding page.
4/23/02	TEAM E-NEWS! Subscribe to U.S. Soaring Team e-news to receive periodic updates from the United States Soaring Teams. Follow the progress of our teams and receive news, updates, pilot tips, web site alerts and championship coverage direct to your e-mail. You can change list membership at any time after signing up. This service is brought to you by the SSA. Subscribe here.
4/13/02	GOOD NEWS FOR YOUTH The World Class Soaring Association has several sponsorships available to support participation by Junior pilots in the US World Class National Championship. These sponsorships are made available through generous donations of World Class pilots and enthusiasts, and cover registration fees and up to ten tows. Junior pilots must qualify for entry in FAI Class Nationals. Very noteworthy is that one of these sponsorships will be offered this year, and on a perpetual basis thereafter, through a very gracious donation from legendary Dr. Paul MacCready. This perpetual sponsorship has been named the "Paul MacCready's World Class Youth Sponsorship." For application, contact Francois Pin, 4917 West Summit Circle, Knoxville TN 37919, E-mail: pinf@aol.com
3/25/02	TROUBLE IN 2003? Reports from the recent IGC meeting indicate there may be trouble ahead for the 28th World Championships in Italy and another site may be selected. More news to follow.
3/25/02	CLUB CLASS TEAM SET With the dust settling and the fog lifting on the club class selection process it looks like in addition to Steve Northcraft this years Club Class Team qualifiers are Alfonso Jurado, Hank Nixon and Mike Newgard. Alfonso has decided not to participate this year so the 2002 US Club Class Team will be Steve Northcraft, Hank Nixon and Mike Newgard. Meet the team.
2/19/02	WORLD CLASS The World Class has been very active over the last year. There are many new developments including a new board of directors for the World Class Soaring Association. See the WCSA web site... Click here.
2/9/02	NEW TEAM CHAIRMAN Doug Jacobs takes over as US Team Chairman. Doug's long experience as a team member and expert organizational skills will be a real asset to building a strong organization.
2/9/02	US TEAM TASK FORCE SSA Board of Directors created the US Soaring Team Policy Task Force (TTF) at the SSA Convention in Ontario California. The goal of the task force is to accomplish a fundamental review of how our soaring teams do business, solicit community input and develop a plan to establish U.S. Soaring teams and underlying organization as the most capable of all international teams. See more on this important development.
2/2/02	FUNDING THE FUTURE The Robertson Trust's Funding the Future campaign is off to a winning start. See the Robertson Trust Web site.
2/1/02	WORLD CLASS PRE-WORLDS REPORT World Class Pre-Worlds Report on Matamata, New Zealand By Bill Snead. Read all about it.
1/1/02	TEAM CHAIR STEPS DOWN Gary Kemp has decided to step down as US Team Chairman after his tour of duty in South Africa. Thanks to Gary for his work on behalf of US Soaring Teams.