The Opening Ceremony went off reasonably well, and WGC2022 is now officially underway.
The heat was indeed intense – sufficient to account for a couple of cases of people who passed out and had to be revived. I’d guess the temperature in the shade did not reach the threatened 43C, but standing in the bright sun it felt like all of that. US soaring pilot emeritus Eric Mozer was the FAI’s official representative here, and the one who declared the competition open. In a dark suit coat he was easily the most elegant of the dignitaries on stage, though the cost in heat stress must have been considerable.
After the ceremony, a large brass & woodwind band entertained us in the public square at steps leading to the elegant Móra Ferenc Museum. The citizens of Szeged did not turn out in large numbers for our ceremony (which in fact has little to interest those not part of the contest) but it was a different story with this very talented musical group.
The US Team’s accommodations are an AirBnB apartment not far from the city center, which has received a 3-star rating from all of us. Sarah (who tends to be good at this sort of thing) was able to secure this within hours of when the contest location was announced as Szeged. We are just 10 minutes from the airfield, a few minutes from shops, and within easy walking distance of restaurants and historic sites. Szeged – Hungary’s third-largest city with a population around 160,000 – seems a notably agreeable place to spend a few weeks.