YOUNG PILOTS SOAR IN AUSTRALIA

Melbourne, Australia - March 11th, 2012 - The Gliding Federation of Australia (GFA) today announced that the bid for the 8th Junior’s World Gliding Championships has been awarded to Australia for 2015. The competition will be held in Narromine, NSW and will attract the cream of young glider pilots from across the world. Juniors are 25 years or younger as defined by the International Gliding Committee (IGC) who awarded the contest to Australia last week.

The competition will be held 1st-12th December 2015 and there will be a lead up practice event, at Narromine, in December 2014. The GFA expects the site will cater for in excess of 80 gliders and an influx of 300 people consisting of pilots, crew and organisers to the township of Narromine for the two week period.

“The idea of the event being held outside of Europe for the first time has generated a lot of excitement worldwide” said Anita Taylor, Chair of Sports Committee, GFA. “I am confident that our pilots will perform well in home conditions which are vastly different to those encountered in Europe.”

The event is held every two years and is currently scheduled for Poland in 2013.

“This event is great for Gliding and also for the economy in Narromine, a town of approximately 3,500 people. Gliding as a sport has become more viewer focused with opportunities for people to see the progress of the competition via the internet and also on the ground via GPS technology” said Phil McCann, President of GFA. “We hope to see goodwill support for our pilots via emails and Facebook as the buildup to competition continues.”

About GFA

The Gliding Federation of Australia is the peak sports body for Gliding in Australia. Gliding Clubs are located across Australia and pilot training as well as competitions are held at club, State and National Level annually.

Contact Information:

Phill McCann, President: president@sec.gfa.org.au

Anita Taylor, Chair Sports Committee: csc@sec.gfa.orga.au

Dave Boulter, Vice President: 0417 705 997