Australian Glider Pilots Punch Above their Weight at World Championships
Announcement posted by The Gliding Federation of Australia 28 Aug 2012
Melbourne, Australia. --August 28, 2012 – The Gliding Federation of Australia (GFA) is proud to announce that the world gliding championships at Uvalde, Texas, USA, produced the most successful Australian team result ever achieved. Australia punched well above its weight - placing 6th in the Team Cup and is now currently ranked 11th in the world. The competition was the 32nd FAI World Gliding Championships running from July 28th to August 19th.
Despite no individual placing in the medals, this was not without clear chances for success. Two of the team were well placed to finish in the medals with only three days to run. Both finally placed in the top ten in their respective classes.
This was a very tough event in extreme conditions. The competition consists of 13 days with temperatures from 35-42 degrees C, sitting in a cramped cockpit for 6 hours each day striving to score maximum points for the day. Each day is a sprint race but with the overall feel of a marathon event. Pilots compete in tasks stretching around points covering between 311kms to over 749kms in distance. Speeds exceeded over 150km/h at times with greater than 140km/h common.
Highest placed Australian pilot was Bruce Taylor from Armidale, NSW. Bruce placed 6th in the Open Class, just losing grip on a podium finish in the last couple of days.
"I achieved my best-ever World Championships result, the experience brought home to me that winning a world championship is not just about the flying," said Bruce. "Our team was the best I have been involved with, both in pilot skill and commitment, and in crew dedication and assistance."
Brad Edwards was unlucky to not place in the top 10, missing out on 10th place by only 20 points out of a total of over 12,000. Brad previously won the world championships when it was last run in Uvalde in 1991, and came out of retirement over the past two years to qualify for a place in the 2012 team.
Lisa and Peter Trotter, were the first husband and wife team to be selected by any country in any world gliding championship. They successfully flew individually and worked as a team to finish mid-field in a very competitive class. Lisa placed just behind current women’s world champion Susan Schoedel from Germany.
“The dedication and skill levels of our competitors were extreme,” said Lisa. “It was an experience of a lifetime to be a member of a world class, highly professional Aussie team.”
Another likely podium finisher was Tom Claffey, from Sydney, who won two contest days but was overrun by the strong Polish, British and German teams in the last few days, finally placing 10th.
"The standard of the pilots and teams flying in the competition really had to be experienced to be believed," said Tom. "The foundation for podium finishes for the Australian team in the future is there."
David Jansen, from Brisbane, also won one stage during the event and was well placed, but a couple of bad days at the end dropped him out of the top eight.
“We have been part of a truly unique soaring event and even though we came here to compete, what we have really done is build bridges between the community and individuals,” said David.
The Australian team was very strong, very well prepared and well supported, enabling our pilots to compete on a level playing field and demonstrate their capabilities.
The logistics of organising gliders and getting the team to Texas is complex. The total team of 24 included Team Captain Mandy Temple and Team Captain/Coach Terry Cubley, both from Adelaide.
About the 32nd World Gliding Chamionships: wgc2012uvalde.com
About GFA: The Gliding Federation of Australia is the peak sporting body for gliding in Australia www.gfa.org.au
Dave Boulter, Vice President, GFA
0417 705 997