The first Official Day:

Right from the get go the whole airport was just a-buzzing with energy. I myself, was bounding with enthusiasm. My captain and crew were taking care of all of my needs so there was not anything for me to do (aside from drink my water). It was actually pretty difficult for me to not do anything. Me: “Tom let me help you with that” “ T: “No. you just sit tight and relax”.
When the task came out we were all surprised that it was only 260k, as we were all expecting something far more ambitious, but ‘oh well’!, still a160 mile racing task is going to be great fun!
I was gridded in the second row and my new flying buddy Mark Travner from Slovenia is also in my row so I was thinking that finding each other after launch will be easier. Alas, we had no problem navigating the start game shenanigans. We started about 5 minutes after the main gaggle and then caught up to them on the first leg. From there, for me, it was a matter of not losing the gaggle nor Mark.
Everything seemingly came together today, using what I have been able to learn about team flying, Mark and I flew fast and efficiently. The second half of the course the wind started to pick up. Going into the 3rd leg we had a good tailwind and were able to push pretty good, as we approached the 4th turn we decided to stop for a climb and drifted the last bit into the turn. We probably should have pushed into the turn and tried to climb with a headwind, because about halfway to the 4th leg is when I got separated from Mark. I was still pretty satisfied to stick with him for 200k, as These things happen and onward I must press. Going into this 20kt headwind was hard at first but I connected and circled (and got blown back) but I finally found a good lift line and made the next turn. I then started my last crosswind leg to snatch the steering turn and finish this great flight. It was very tempting to take some of the strong thermals on the crosswind but I knew that I could spend too much time circling because I could potentially get pushed too far off course. So onward I pressed into the last turn and started my final glide. I was still 1,000ft too low, but thankfully a cloud hopped up good enough to get myself 1,000 above glide and make it home!
My goal for my flight was 60mph translate to 97kph, and I finished the day with 100.8kph, surpassing my goal. Each task I’ve managed to increase my speed by about 10kph! I knew when I landed that I had had a good flight, a flight that I would be satisfied with, but still I felt uneasy about what others may have done. We got my trace submitted as soon as possible and began the ‘ole refresh,refresh, refresh! When my score first came in I was 9th with a decent number of pilots below me! All said and done I finished 12 out of 45 today. Not too shabby. All scores aside, with the way I flew today I feel confident that I’ve proven that I belong here and can hang with the best of them!
Tomorrow looks like rain and a no-fly day. Lots to think about going forward!

-David McMaster

You can find the latest contest scores at:
https://www.soaringspot.com/en_gb/junior-world-gliding-championships-2022-tabor-2022/results