So the 2009 season is over (and 2010 commenced) and for those of you who can’t be bothered to read the whole report, the results can be found in the appropriate tab. Note the more specialist leagues RES, Classic, and Vintage can be found in the Open League area. Miniglider is in the F3K tab.
Just before you trip off, can I remind all current trophy holders to return them before, or at the AGM, see Hayley’s note on the front page of the website. Certificates have been sent to second and third place winners and BARCS would like to thank Joe Hanna at Superior Colours for his usual efficient production of these. We look forward to welcoming the trophy winners to the AGM Sunday 6th December for the awards presentation.
As proposed at last years AGM we have introduced a couple of new leagues. The All Rounder Trophy, rather than requiring a claim, is now open to all multidiscipline competitors. The scoring system can be found in the updated handbook or on the archived front page news (01/12/08), on the website. On the whole the aim of finding the most successful soaring pilot, has been achieved and congratulations go to Brian Johnson. As you can imagine the scoring table for this is large and complex, so only the final excerpt has been published. If anybody would like to see the complete spread sheet, a copy can be emailed on request.
Although there is no trophy, National Open Standings have been calulated, the details can again be found as referenced above. As the name suggests, the regional scores have been distilled into one overall league and here Peter Allen is the deserving, head of the table.
Producing the All Rounder spreadsheet revealed some interesting information. 91 BARCS members took part in the leagues. With several entering more than one class, a total of 201 league entries were made. As one might expect, Open, 100s and F3J are the most subscribed, however with the introduction of height limiters, along with the 200watt/kilo rules, SLG has now established itself very strongly. Indeed Brian Austin put in 12 cards for his joint win of the class with Chris Foss and Alan Twine. Not sure how they are going to share the trophy? It’s quite an unusual situation but the executive committee will be discussing if there is a need to separate such ties in the future. The total number of competition entries recorded over all classes was 699 which, given the changing face of aero modelling and flat field soaring in particular still shows quite a healthy interest.
One sad feature is the lack of juniors coming into the hobby. However we are pleased to record that for the first time in some years, we do have a winner of the Junior Trophy in Liam Hawes. Let’s hope his interest continues and as he is mentored by Richard Swindells, could go on to be a very proficient competitor.
So what of next season? There may need to be some small revision of the All Rounder league, this will be published in due course. Also there are some exciting new developments in the guise of a multidiscipline competition. The original idea was tested by Terry Weeks at Aldershot, flying winch and HLR together. Colin Lucas of the Sussex Club has taken this one step further by bringing Miniglider into the mix. Certainly both formats proved very popular amongst the pilots and really showcases the relative skills in each class of model. Hopefully there will be an informal winter league at Sussex and from this, BARCS may be able to introduce a league structure in the near future.
Finally, BARCS would like to thank all the clubs and CD’s for their continued efforts in running competitions. We appreciate it is becoming increasingly difficult to get pilots to commit to an entry in advance and with the current economic pressures and seemingly less reliable weather patterns, people often make a decision to attend an event at the last minute and consequently paying on the day. However we would ask members to think of the CD and the extra effort required in updating the matrix and also covering the financial viability of prizes, field rental and other costs. Please, wherever possible enter early, pay in advance and turn up. All will help make for a better day for everybody.
Happy Christmas to all. Here’s hoping you get that shiny new model and look forward to getting out amongst your fellow flyers on those balmy summer days.
Graham James
grjinflight@yahoo.com