The 36th World Gliding Championships are in the bag!  I am really proud of this Team’s performance over the last three weeks.  Our pilots flew in very weak weather that many have said the conditions were the weakest in memory.  Yet our pilots have turned in some of the best results in resent memory for the US Soaring Team.  Every pilot flew aggressively, getting the most out of their sailplane, themselves and the weather.

Speaking of weather, we had Walt Rogers on the team to support us with outstanding weather briefs.  Walt did all this from California.  Walt’s concise synopses were delivered to us promptly at 8AM Central European Time, every morning.  The detailed synopses were supported by Windy, Topmeteo and Skysight videos detailing weather throughout the day.  Walt is an enormous asset to this team’s experience in the WGC.

Our crews also worked hard due to the weather.  Land outs were common and sometimes far away from the airport.  There were a few late nights with early morning assemblies.  One day Tim Taylor landed back on one task before the 15 Meter gate opened.  Members of several US crews jumped out to help get him get turned around and back in the air fast.  This was the day he encountered Sebastian Kawa half way in the task and Tim covered Sebastian to the finish for the first of Tim’s two podiums in the contest.

During the Farwell Party at the end of the last day, Beatrice de Reynal, the contest manager was giving out prizes to crew members and pilots.  Raul Boerner who was crew for Sean Murphy (XC), received the “Most Friendly and Helpful Crew Member” Award.  If you know Raul, you will know why.

At the closing ceremony it was nice to see that the top seven finishers in each class were awarded diplomas in addition to the top three medals awarded in each class. After the ceremony pilots and crews were saying goodbye and swapping/trading shirts, jackets and contact information.

I want to thank those people who have been working to help this team.  With the pandemic and all the unknown and craziness of the past two years your support is much appreciated.  Thank You!

The 37th World Gliding Championships will be help in Australia 2023 and our own Uvalde, Texas 2024.

Colin Mead

US Soaring Team Captain