Safety Checks

April 2022

It is with immense grief and immeasurable sadness that we bring the news of our mate, awesome friend, and my precious husband, Alan Hills, who passed away on 23rd April after a completely unexpected brain bleed. Al was 63.

Alan was one of the first instructors in NZ and embraced it with a passion! (He was a paragliding instructor, a speedflying instructor, a paramotor instructor and a tandem rated pilot).

He was intensely concerned for the safety of everyone under his instruction and was serious about that as his students will tell you, but he was also funny, cheeky, witty, clever, intelligent, thoughtful, loving, adventurous and generous - and for 31 years Alan’s influence touched so many people within the paragliding community in NZ as well as overseas - he was great at what he did and his influence will be hugely missed.

We made a bunch of amazing lifelong friends over those years, and the support and love has been phenomenal! Thank you so much everyone for all the amazing messages of support, your ongoing help and of your sorrow for Alan - he has left a gaping hole in so many of our lives.

You left a great legacy in SkyWings Alan - Hunter and I will carry on with that for you!

Thank you so much for all the amazing years we had together - I am flooded with so many great memories and miss you desperately!

Wherever you are Alan - may it be blissful, the skies blue and the lift awesome. Fly high my darling - life will never be the same without you!

- Belinda Hills - SkyWings

A life made whole in the sky,

What a thing it is.

A reference point in a storm.

A cherished place of wonder.

A friend through thick and thin.

A gift that keeps on giving.

Such a thing must be experienced to be believed.

Such a thing has value beyond measure.

Some of us are birds without wings.

Looking to the sky with longing in our hearts.

For it is there that we belong.

And it is there that we will ever yearn to return.

To our life in the sky.

Alan, you gave me my wings to fly. I’ll look for you in the sky my friend, until the earth calls me home.

-With love from Hunter on behalf of Alans flock

Have a go at a club photo competition

All NZHGPA clubs are eligible to enter a set of their club’s top shots to the Federated Mountain Clubs photo competition, with thousands of $ in prizes up for grabs. Southern Club has been doing this for the past 3 years via their Facebook group, and it has proven a fun and popular event for the end of the flying season.

There’s a templated set of rules and instructions for how to do it on the FMC blog; www.wilderlife.nz/easyonlinephotocomp Entries close 15 September for clubs. - Dan Clearwater

Site CloSureS

In Springtime throughout New Zealand, farms are expecting newborn sheep, cattle, horses, deer and other animals. Your presence on or flying over farmland could frighten or injure pregnant or newborn stock. Even at places that you usually fly without problems, please check with the farmer if it is OK to fly. This is a difficult time for farmers and they do appreciate your consideration. Not asking has resulted in the loss of many flying sites while asking has earned their friendship. If in doubt or if any stock are present DO NOT FLY without asking. BGd snUG paraglider harness

This safety notice applies to SNUG harnesses manufactured in February 2017, which use plastic wire to retain the rescue.

Harnesses which use stainless steel pins to retain the rescue are unaffected.

During recent parachute repacks with SNUG harnesses, we have found some cases where the force needed to pull the rescue handle may be too high. As stated on page 10 of the SNUG manual, a practice throw should be made each time you pack your rescue to check the correct functioning of the deployment system. If you have done this and the pull force is normal then there is no need for further action.

The ideal pull force should be approximately 7kg. A pull force in the range of 5-10kg is considered reasonable.

On some SNUG harnesses a pull force greater than 10kg is required because the black webbing of the rescue handle is too wide. It should not be wider than 70mm (see photo). If your harness has a plastic wire type reserve closure, please check this. If the rescue handle webbing is wider than 70mm please contact us and we will send you a replacement rescue handle free of charge.

Send an email to office@flybgd.com stating the serial number, date of purchase and the dealer or shop that sold you the harness. Please include an address to send the replacement handle to. - BGD, GmbH Am Gewerbepark 11, 9413 St. Gertraud, Austria sUPAir dyneema parachute bridles

Solo Dyneema parachute bridles REF: ELESOLODYNEEMA, Tandem Y Dyneema parachute bridles REF: ELEBIY, Tandem H Dyneema parachute bridles REF: ELEBIH

Every pilot having SUPAIR bridles listed above. Recipients; pilots, schools, clubs, dealers, workshop. deadline: It is imperative that you execute this modification before your next flight. Status: Critical. problem description: Possible absence of a safety seam on solo or tandem parachute bridles Facts/Observations: We had 4 customers reporting that one of their parachute bridles is missing a safety seam. As a precautionary measure, we ask that you inspect your bridles. persons able to carry out this verification: All persons in possession of the product concerned. NB: If you do not feel able to carry out this check, please contact our after-sales service in order to carry out the check, either at distance (photos or videos), or by returning your bridles to us to be inspected here. Inspection procedure: You need to check for the presence of this seam (grey thread) as shown in the photos on right. To do this, you must have access to the riser attachment points on the harness and the parachute.

NB: It is not necessary to deploy the parachute or to disconnect the bridles from the harness to execute this check. removal and isolating process: If you have detected a missing seam, remove the affected bridle, cut it in half (to make sure you do not use it again). Take a photo of the nonconforming bridle cut in half. Contact SUPAIR’s after-sales service by email with the photo. As soon as we receive your email, we will send you a new pair of bridles free of charge as soon as possible. If you wish, you can also return the bridle concerned to the following address:

SUPAIR SAS service SAV, 34 rue Adrastee, 74650 Chavanod- France, Tel: +33 4 50 45 75 29 - email: sav@supair.com

We are aware of the difficulties that this call for inspection may cause and we apologise. The safety of our customers remains our priority and we are fully committed to helping you. Thank you for your understanding. - The SUPAIR team

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NZ Para G l I d ING XCoNZ Paraglidi N g XCoNT e STN test Cro SS -Cou NT ry ChamCross-Cou N try Cham PI oP ioNS h IPSN shi P s

April 1st - March 31st. Sponsored by Wings & Waves

2022 new Zealand Paragliding Cross-Country Championships

At the time of writing this report, contrasting with the elation one gets from a great cross country flight was sadness with the news of the death of Charlotte O’leary on June 2.

2021/2022 nZ PG XC Champs Final standings (top 40 placings) For detailed flight information and relative rankings of all NZ resident pilots, see the 2022 PG

Charlotte had been a keen and improving cross-country pilot: this last season Charlotte had bettered NZ 25 km open distance with a 31 km flight from Treble Cone to the Pisa Range. My thoughts and sympathy go out to Charlotte’s family and close friends who must still be hurting very much.

Champs’ wrap-up report; Again, weather-wise the season was a mixed bag. For most of December the weather was quite poor, then during January it got quite epic (at least in the South Island), and then it got a little bit disappointing again (February). In the top half of the North Island, spring cross-country flying activity got subdued or curtailed by regional COVID-19 lockdowns.

However, when it was on, the quality of the flights flown, especially by Southern club pilots in Otago, was exceptional, and relative to other seasons it was a superlative year for the number of flights over 100 km in distance. Here’s a list of some of the highlights: • NZ’s FAI Out and Back record broken by 30% (183.8 km, louis tapper, Long Gully, Otago) • NZ’s Female Open Distance record broken twice,the mark is now 141.9 km (Kinga masztalerz,

Moke Spurs-Speed Peak, Otago) • NZ’s 6th and 8th best open distances (Chris Connolly, 174.5 km and Glen Stevens, 170.5 km respectively) • Two FAI Triangles over 140 km, and a further 12 more FAI or Flat Triangles over 100 km • The prestigious Coronet Peak open distance record broken (Connolly, 174.5 km) • A new regional open distance record for Nelson (Stew Karstens, 127 km) bettering a mark that had stood for 19 years • A two day out-and-back from Breast Hill Hawea to Mt Cook Village, then back to Hawea/

Wanaka, over 100 km open distance each way, by three pilots (leo Chelle, Jesse dhue and dan pugsley) • In total, 54 NZ 100 km flights of various course types. 2022 nZ XC Champions and Category Winners 1st place and 2022 NZ xC Champion: louis tapper. For his 4th consecutive Champs title, Louis showed what can be done with a paraglider from the more established Otago take off sites, i.e. ones that you can drive up (Long Gully, Treble Cone, Grandview and Coronet Peak), when you have very good and ambitious flight plans: very long triangles and out and return courses! Louis’s total score of 796 points is the highest yet achieved under the NZ XContest Champs scoring regime (and it needed to be high to keep ahead of Kellett in second place). 1st Runner Up: ben Kellett. 90 points ahead of third place, Ben’s bivvy flying trips saw him fly from over 25 mountain take offs in Otago and Southland. Ben’s 144 km FAI triangle flight on November 11 from Mt Prospect nudged out Tapper for the best FAI triangle course of the season and the 9th best NZ FAI triangle ever! 2nd Runner Up: Glen Stevens. Glen’s hike and fly visits to take offs in the Ahuriri and Hawea Conservation Parks reaped rewards including a 97 km FAI triangle from Dingle-Ahuriri Pass. Earlier, a Christmas Eve Coronet Peak flight of 170 km was the season’s second best open distance, helping Glen top the open distance table with a 131 km average! 2022 Women’s xC Champion: Kinga masztalerz. Kinga’s mid summer visit to Otago reaped dividends, headlined by a seven hour, 141.9 km open distance flight from Moke Spurs-Speed Peak, a new national Female Open Distance record, and the 3rd best open distance of the season! best rookie (first-time PG2 competitor): James Gibson. Placed 44th overall, James’s spring and summer hike and flies included a 42 km FAI Triangle from Cheeseman and the season’s best open distance from Bealey Spur, 22.9 km.

North Island Champion: mark macdonald. One of Mark’s flights was the season’s best open distance from Kaimai, 83 km, but not in the normal northerly direction, instead it was heading south to very near Lake Taupo!

North Island Best Open Distance: Shaun Gilbert. 111.7 km from Te Mata Peak, Hawkes Bay.

South Island Best Open Distance: Chris Connolly. 174.5 km from Coronet Peak, Otago.

Well done all of the above! (Especially Louis) :) Thank you to all who submitted flights so we could see where there was good flying to be had. April 1st 2021 to March 31st 2022 XC Champs Table at XContest (XContest season name: “2021/22”). (Note that for the NZ PG XC Champs, the XContest table is an approximate table only: some ineligible coastal soaring flights may be incorrectly included). Pos Pilot Club F1 F2 F3 Total 1 Louis Tapper Southern 289.9 284.4 222.2 796.5 2 Ben Kellett Southern 288.4 200.6 188.6 677.6 3 Glen Stevens Canterbury 213.1 195.1 177.0 585.2 4 Tomas Balik Southern 228.4 202.1 147.5 578.0 5 Thomas Rold Southern 212.4 149.8 134.7 496.9 6 Jan Zimmermann Canterbury 217.0 147.2 109.2 473.4 7 Warrick Boustred Southern 200.5 130.1 128.9 459.5 8 Aaron Ford Southern 189.3 134.7 131.3 455.3 9 Bradley Franks Southern 174.8 140.9 78.2 393.9 10 Stew Karstens Tasman 158.9 135.3 94.7 388.9 11 Peter Groves Southern 154.6 133.0 96.5 384.1 12 Chris Connolly Southern 218.2 127.2 25.0 370.4 13 Dan Pugsley Southern 145.8 137.4 86.7 369.9 14 Leo Chelle Southern 163.2 137.2 57.1 357.5 15 Jesse Dhue Southern 163.2 137.3 53.8 354.3 16 Petr Poboril Canterbury 122.8 121.0 106.5 350.3 17 Kinga Masztalerz (F) Auckland 177.4 89.3 77.0 343.7 18 Clemence Cadario (F) Southern 134.0 109.4 94.7 338.1 19 Mark Hardman Southern 125.5 109.4 98.9 333.8 20 Matt Jeffery Southern 200.2 71.3 58.9 330.4 21 Doug Patterson Southern 134.2 109.1 80.4 323.7 22 Nicolas Sand Southern 165.3 80.5 65.5 311.3 23 Mark Macdonald Waikato 111.8 104.6 91.8 308.2 24 Ondrej Wieden Canterbury 136.1 91.9 77.9 305.9 25 Nick Taber Tasman 113.5 100.8 90.3 304.6 26 Laetitia Bottollier Curtet (F) Southern 117.2 107.5 77.0 301.7 27 Timothy Shoultz Southern 145.8 78.0 74.6 298.4 28 Tim Percival Tasman 105.0 101.7 90.2 296.9 29 Barry Sayer Hawkes Bay 106.2 94.2 79.7 280.1 30 Blake Round Southern 134.8 81.9 57.3 274.0 31 Dave Watson Southern 156.8 69.8 41.0 267.6 32 Shaun Gilbert Hawkes Bay 139.6 72.8 51.0 263.4 33 Aaron Chesterman Hawkes Bay 91.6 82.1 80.9 254.6 34 Sanae Noguchi (F) Southern 127.1 60.3 56.1 243.5 35 Tim Brown Southern 115.1 69.2 38.5 222.8 36 Joshua Short Southern 85.5 68.1 64.8 218.4 37 Greg Allum Tasman 84.5 69.9 61.4 215.8 38 Ross Gallagher Bay of Plenty 78.1 73.8 58.0 209.9 39 Irwin Imhoff Wellington 77.5 59.9 56.6 194.0 40 Mal Haskins Southern 78.0 59.4 55.1 192.5 north island table (top 20 placings) (Top scoring from North Island flights). Pos Pilot Club F1 F2 F3 Total 1 Mark Macdonald Waikato 111.8 104.6 91.8 308.2 2 Barry Sayer Hawkes Bay 106.2 94.2 79.7 280.1 3 Shaun Gilbert Hawkes Bay 139.6 72.8 51.0 263.4 4 Aaron Chesterman Hawkes Bay 91.6 82.1 80.9 254.6 5 Ross Gallagher Bay of Plenty 78.1 73.8 58.0 209.9 Open distance table (top 20 placings) 6 Rob Gillard Waikato 112.0 55.9 0.0 167.9 (Ranking based on the maximum distance of a pilot’s flights). 7 Elliot Revell-Nash Auckland 60.6 51.0 37.2 148.8 Pos Pilot Club F1 F2 F3 Total 8 Anand Srinivasan Auckland 61.7 51.1 31.1 143.9 1 Glen Stevens Canterbury 170.5 130.1 94.3 394.9 9 Ken Beach Hawkes Bay 57.1 53.1 25.7 135.9 2 Ben Kellett Southern 125.0 122.9 104.5 352.4 10 Peter Jones Waikato 61.2 40.7 28.9 130.8 3 Stew Karstens Tasman 127.2 107.7 75.8 310.7 11 Craig Miller Hawkes Bay 59.6 36.6 34.0 130.2 4 Louis Tapper Southern 109.6 95.9 91.5 297.0 12 Rebecca Rae Hawkes Bay 51.3 38.4 31.9 121.6 5 Tomas Balik Southern 118.0 92.6 77.2 287.8 13 Eden Radonich Hawkes Bay 58.9 31.7 26.7 117.3 6 Dan Pugsley Southern 116.7 109.9 57.3 283.9 14 Pete Martin Waikato 44.1 39.5 33.4 117.0 7 Jesse Dhue Southern 130.6 109.8 43.0 283.4 15 Andy Owen Hawkes Bay 43.8 37.3 25.2 106.3 8 Petr Poboril Canterbury 98.3 90.6 85.2 274.1 16 Bruce Vickerman Waikato 72.5 18.1 14.0 104.6 9 Peter Groves Southern 123.7 77.2 67.4 268.3 17 Emlyn Revell-Nash Auckland 52.4 27.2 23.8 103.4 10 Leo Chelle Southern 130.6 109.7 23.4 263.7 18 Nick Buhaets Auckland 40.0 36.6 25.1 101.7 11 Jan Zimmermann Canterbury 117.8 76.2 51.4 245.4 19 Scott Arrell Auckland 52.6 28.3 0.0 80.9 12 Mark Hardman Southern 100.4 86.9 57.4 244.7 20 Dawid Wisniewski Auckland 51.3 15.8 0.0 67.1 13 Nick Taber Tasman 90.8 80.7 72.2 243.7 13 Chris Connolly Southern 174.5 49.2 20.0 243.7 15 Tim Percival Tasman 84.0 81.4 72.1 237.5 16 Kinga Masztalerz (F) Auckland 141.9 48.4 43.1 233.4 17 Barry Sayer Hawkes Bay 84.9 75.4 63.8 224.1 18 Warrick Boustred Southern 103.2 74.5 43.8 221.5 19 Shaun Gilbert Hawkes Bay 111.7 58.2 40.8 210.7 20 Bradley Franks Southern 112.7 49.5 40.0 202.2 north island Open distance table (top 3 placings) (Ranking based on the maximum distance of a pilot’s North Island flights). Pos Pilot Club F1 F2 F3 Total 1 Barry Sayer Hawkes Bay 84.9 75.4 63.8 224.1 2 Shaun Gilbert Hawkes Bay 111.7 58.2 40.8 210.7 3 Mark Macdonald Waikato 83.7 59.5 50.7 193.9

Northland Kamo Auckland Moirs Hill 15.8 Ernst Pfister 12/01/2022 29.1 Nick Buhaets 11/01/2022

At 14 July 2022

Waikato Alans Hill 17.9 Mark Macdonald 11/01/2022 Waikato Kaimai Range 83.7 Mark Macdonald 19/11/2021 (Kaimai) Bay of Plenty Paeroa 62.5 Ross Gallagher 20/11/2021 Hawkes Bay Burma Road 53.9 Aaron Chesterman 23/01/2022 Hawkes Bay Te Mata Peak 111.7 Shaun Gilbert 17/02/2022 Hawkes Bay Turiri 37.1 Aaron Chesterman 15/02/2022 Wairarapa Kourarau 17.8 Irwin Imhoff 22/01/2022 Nelson Barnicoat Range 127.2 Stew Karstens 17/02/2022 (Barnicoat) ** Nelson Beebys Ridge 17.6 Cody Pickles 09/03/2022 (Beebys Corner) Nelson Birds Clearing 21.2 Greg Allum 29/12/2021 Nelson Inwoods Lookout 84.0 Tim Percival 09/03/2022 Nelson Mt Murchison 98.3 Petr Poboril 02/01/2022 Nelson St Arnaud 90.8 Nick Taber 04/01/2022 (Mt Robert) Nelson Takaka - Riwaka 29.0 Nick Taber 15/10/2021 (Takaka Hill) Marlborough Blowhard 34.0 Nick Taber 21/02/2022 Marlborough Mt Tarndale 20.0 Chris Connolly 08/02/2022 Canterbury Avalanche Peak 27.1 Tomas Balik 14/03/2022 Canterbury Black Range 22.9 James Gibson 15/09/2021 (Bealey Spur) Canterbury Craigieburn Range 52.1 Petr Poboril 17/01/2022 (Long Spur) Canterbury Dingle Burn-Ahuriri Divide 94.3 Glen Stevens 17/01/2022 (Dingle-Ahuriri Pass) Canterbury Organ Range 85.2 Petr Poboril 03/01/2022 (Shale Peak) Canterbury Sealy Range 130.6 Jesse Dhue 15/01/2022 (Sebastopol) Canterbury Tekapo 35.5 Kinga Masztalerz 18/01/2022 Otago Cairnmuir 57.6 Ben Kellett 09/11/2021 Otago Cardrona area 28.0 Jan Zimmermann 22/10/2021 (Motutapu 1594) Otago Coronet Peak 174.5 Chris Connolly 14/01/2022 * Otago Glenorchy Eastern Ranges 33.6 Ben Kellett 11/02/2022 (Mt McIntosh) Otago Haast Pass 67.4 Peter Groves 14/01/2022 (Brewster Hut) Otago Hawea Eastern Ranges 112.7 Bradley Franks 14/01/2022 (Breast Hill) Otago Hawkdun Range 71.2 Louis Tapper 18/11/2021 (Saddle Ridge) Otago Humboldt Mountains South 107.2 Clemence Cadario 30/11/2021 (Mill Creek) Otago Lindis Pass 103.2 Warrick Boustred 31/01/2022 Otago Long Gully 130.1 Glen Stevens 16/02/2022 Otago Lowburn Tow Launch 33.9 Pete Helliwell 09/11/2021 Otago Matukituki 38.2 Bryan Moore 08/02/2022 (Shotover Saddle) Otago McKerrow Range 51.4 Ben Kellett 21/10/2021 (Mt White) Otago Mt Ida 54.8 Glen Stevens 23/01/2022 Otago Mt Maude 51.2 Peter Groves 30/11/2021 Otago Pisa Range 52.0 Ben Kellett 03/11/2021 (Mt Pisa) Otago Richardson Mountains 141.9 Kinga Masztalerz 14/01/2022 (Moke Spurs-Speed Peak) Otago Rock And Pillar Range 10.7 Doug Patterson 28/11/2021 (Summit Rock) Otago Roys Peak 63.3 Aaron Ford 11/02/2022 Otago Shotover Ranges 77.2 Peter Groves 06/11/2021 (Mt Siberia) Otago Treble Cone 100.4 Mark Hardman 18/01/2022 Otago Waikerikeri 55.2 Ben Kellett 15/01/2022 (Leaning Rock Spur) Otago Young Range 60.8 Peter Groves 07/11/2021 (Makarora Knoll) Southland Eyre Mountains 38.5 Ben Kellett 22/09/2021 (Hummock Peak) * Ratified Site Record ** Ratified Site and Regional Record ratified FAi Out-and-Back site records Region Site/Site Group Distance Pilot Date Take Off SR Hawkes Bay Burma Road 45.7 Aaron Chesterman 15/01/2022 * Nelson Takaka - Riwaka 30.8 Greg Allum 29/01/2022 (Takaka Hill) * Otago Long Gully 183.8 Louis Tapper 31/01/2022 † * Ratified Site Record † Ratified National Record Flat triangle Region Site/Site Group Distance Pilot Date Take Off Waikato Kaimai Range 74.6 Rob Gillard 08/01/2022 (Kaimai) Hawkes Bay Burma Road 53.1 Aaron Chesterman 15/01/2022 Wairarapa Kourarau 39.9 Irwin Imhoff 22/01/2022 Nelson Barnicoat Range 34.0 Sam Hamill 23/01/2022 (Barnicoat) Nelson Takaka - Riwaka 32.1 Greg Allum 29/01/2022 (Takaka Hill) Canterbury Dingle Burn-Ahuriri Divide 133.8 Ben Kellett 14/01/2022 (Dingle-Ahuriri Pass) Canterbury St James Range North 39.9 Jakub Krauz 25/02/2022 (St James 1781) Otago Cairnmuir 100.1 Ben Kellett 09/11/2021 Otago Long Gully 193.2 Louis Tapper 31/01/2022 Otago Mt Maude 88.7 Peter Groves 30/11/2021 Otago Roys Peak 39.2 Matt Jeffery 05/01/2022 (Hill End) FAi triangle Region Site/Site Group Distance Pilot Date Take Off SR Waikato Kaimai Range 36.9 Ross Gallagher 29/01/2022 (Kaimai) Hawkes Bay Burma Road 45.8 Aaron Chesterman 21/01/2022 ** Canterbury Avalanche Peak 58.8 Tomas Balik 14/03/2022 Canterbury Craigieburn Range 68.0 Ondrej Wieden 08/11/2021 (Long Spur) Canterbury Dingle Burn-Ahuriri Divide 97.6 Glen Stevens 11/02/2022 (Dingle-Ahuriri Pass) Otago Cairnmuir 49.1 Tomas Balik 14/09/2021 (Clyde) Otago Coronet Peak 114.2 Tomas Balik 15/01/2022 Otago Hawea Eastern Ranges 144.2 Ben Kellett 30/11/2021 (Mt Prospect) Otago Lindis Pass 101.0 Tomas Balik 31/01/2022 Otago Treble Cone 142.2 Louis Tapper 05/11/2021 • Ratified Site Record ** Ratified Site and Regional Record

It’s been a cold and snowy winter. the skiing is pretty good and still some of us are managing to fly from the local sites.

It is with envy that I see so many kiwis flying and competing overseas and doing so well. Richard has been in America. Louis, Aaron, Chris, Aaron Ford, Kylie and many others have been flying competition in Europe. Louis has particularly excelled in Cat1 World cup competitions. Thank you all for the efforts to compete and to represent New Zealand in far off lands. At home the competition scene is quiet and for the near future looks to remain so. I sent letters to all the Clubs in May asking, as per usual, for nominations to host a NZ PG Open next summer (2023) but to date there have been no firm offers. If the competition fraternity wishes to compete and hone their skills it is imperative that they speak with their Clubs and organise a competition. Competitions don’t have to be grand extravaganzas. The PCC is able to offer assistance in organising such an event. The FAI/CiVL website has a new platform (like ‘Airtribune’) that simplifies and streamlines competition organisation making it easier for Competition directors and organisers. The PCC will continue to make enquiries.

Paragliding Competition Committee Write Up July 2022 Be prepared for a late notice event or even no event at all! As I write this, Louis Tapper and Chris Connolly are participating in the European Championship in Serbia. Louis is in the top 20 on Task 1. Go team! Importantly, it has come to my attention that even in Cat2 events all participants must have a NZ Sports Licence. I must admit I have been under the impression that it was OK to compete without one but that your score would not count to the World Rankings. That is not the case. In order to compete in a FAI sanctioned Cat1 or 2 event you must register using your CiVL ID and your FAI NZ Sports Licence details. That has been the case in all the Cat2 events I have attended in overseas competitions. The NZ Sports licence is obtained each year by ticking the box near the bottom of your NZHGPA renewal form each November. (Otherwise you will need to write a very nice letter to our FAI representative in NZ, Liz King). I didn’t realise: if you compete and you don’t have a Licence Liz cops the flack from the FAI. Be warned. We look forward to some great flying next summer. Bring it on! -Tim Brown (PCC)

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