My 1991 cap …..and it was necessary to wear one! Gosh , was it hot! As you can see I still have it as well as about 13 badges from comps where I had the honor of being a  juror, steward or journalist. I did not count the badges as TC for The Netherlands.

At this stage Uvalde  has 108 entrants from 24 coutries. My Australian friends have, as I expected, entered as well now, with six pilots, two in each class.

The IGC plenary is over. Some delegates had the pleasure of a nice flight over Potchefstroom before the hard work started. As in every year I am very pleased to have a compact summing-up from my USA “mate”  Rick. We never met but we are “one ” in writing. Will meet him in a few months…yes in Uvalde. Here he is;

Summary of voting results:

Future Championships:

7th WWGC (2015) – Arnborg, Denmark
8th JWGC (2015) – Narromine, Australia
18th EGC in 18m, 20m multi-seat, Open (2015) – Ocseny, Hungary
18th EGC in Standard, Club, 15m (2015) – Rieti, Italy
Bid for 1st WGC in 13.5m class (2015) withdrawn, due to unavailability of open airspace in the task area.

Class definition:

20 meter multiseat class: handicapping allowed in Continental Gliding Championships;
No handicapping allowed in World Gliding Championships beginning 2016.

New rules (effective October 2012):

Club class reference weight will be taken from a list of constant values. Handicaps to be adjusted for overweight, but not underweight.

GPS altitude, not pressure altitude, will be used for altitude record flights above 15,000 meters.

For Silver and Gold claims, Pilot ID and Glider ID in the Flight Recorder need not match official statement of Observer.

GPS altitude may be used for Silver and Gold claims.

World Class entry limits raised from two to three entries per country in 2012 WGC.

Proposals to be considered again in 2013:

Establish Team Medals in WGC and CGC.

Unification of three separate safety programs.

Class structure, merged class competitions, handicaps for gliders other than Club Class.

Free distance claimed must be at least 110% of declared distance claimed, if both are claimed on the same flight.

Ranking list rules established for 20m multiplace entries.

2012 FAI Awards:

Pirat Gehriger Diploma awarded to Andrea Tomasi (Italy)
Pelagia Majewska Medal awarded to Gill Van den Broeck (Belgium)
Lilienthal Medal awarded to Giorgio Galletto (Italy)
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Congratulations to the winners of the FAI awards. I know them all and they just deserve it. They have and still do commit a huge part of their lives to soaring.

The next plenary will be in Lausanne [Switzerland] on March 1-2, 2013 and the next agenda will be published on January 17, 2013.

For all the other news please go to  www.soaring.eu