With Christmas almost upon us, just a brief roundup of Club news, and advance details of a few events planned for next year.
First Aid Course
Chris White has arranged for Jocky Sanderson to run a first Aid course at Bryn Bach Park on the 16 - 17 January 2010. The cost of the two day course will be £80. If you would like to attend, please contact Chris White (chrismeg.white@virgin.net).
Talybont
Following discussions with the BHPA and other interested parties it has been agreed that Talybont will be re-registered as an official SE Wales Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club flying site. Avon club will also appear on the BHPA sites database as a current user.
A sites guide for Talybont is currently in preparation, and should be added to the online SE Wales Sites Guide early in the New Year.
Refresher Coaching and XC Clinics
On her return from a month in New Zealand, Sheryl is hoping to run practical refresher coaching and XC clinics during flyable weekends in March to get everyone back into a safe and confident frame of mind at the start of the 2010 flying season.
The format is likely to be a 30 minute preparation discussion on the hill most likely to be flyable, with a debrief on Sunday evening at the Pentrebach pub in Merthyr. This will provide an opportunity to discuss how things went, what could have been done better, and any other topics suggested. The Pub has food until 9pm and plenty of areas to sit and talk about the epic flights of the weekend.
If you are interested in taking part, or have any questions or suggestions, please contact Sheryl by email (sherylcam@yahoo.com), or by posting in the Shout Box on the Club web site.
Each week in March, if it looks as though it‘s going to be flyable on the weekend, Sheryl will email everyone who has "signed up" on the Thursday to let them know the time and place to meet, and what to bring, with final confirmation posted in the Shout Box on Friday evening.
Blaenavon
As many members will be aware, the local council now insists that the gate to the mine track is kept locked at all times, other than when it is in immediate use.
Following negotiations with the mine owner, the Club has obtained a limited number of keys to the gate, but is not allowed to copy them. Gate keys are therefore currently held by Paul Farley, Paul Williams and Steve Millson, on the basis that if the ridge is flyable one or more of them are likely to be there. They also live locally, so if they are not on the hill, Club members can contact them to gain access.
We appreciate this is not an ideal situation, but until we can come up with a better solution this seems to be the best way to maintain vehicular access to this site for the time being.
2009 SE Wales XC League Competition
The winners of the 2009 SE Wales XC League Competition are shown below. Full details of the flights flown are shown in the 2009 XC League Tables on our web site. The winners will be presented with their trophies at the Club AGM in May 2010.
HG XC League Trophy
Rob Dowdell (391.30 Km)
PG XC League Trophy
Andrew Brazier (129.17 Km)
The Alan James Trophy for the longest HG flight from a Club site
Rob Quick (80.02 Km from Merthyr)
The PG Cup for the longest PG flight from a Club Site
Andrew Brazier (80.19 Km from Merthyr)
The Blorenge Cup for the longest flight from the Blorenge
Rob Dowdell (36.91 Km)
The Jim Hay Trophy (Novice XC)
Richard Hewitt (8.55 Km from the Blorenge)
The Steve Allen Trophy (Best XC in a BCC round)
Jason Andrews (40.49 Km from Corndon)
Most Improved Pilot
Peter Cook
National Competitions on SE Wales Sites during 2010
At the moment there are only two National competitions planned for SE Wales sites during 2010:
The Competitions Calendar on the web site will be updated if further National competitions are agreed in the New Year.
BHPA Subscription Increase
All BHPA subscriptions will increase by £5 on the 1st February 2010, so for example the BHPA Annual Flying Member Subscription Fee will rise to £89.
The BHPA Office will be closed for Christmas and the New Year from 4pm on Wednesday 23rd December until 8.30am on Monday 4th January.
Well that's just about it for now. It just remains for me to wish you all a happy Christmas and a great 2010.
Paul Dancey
SE Wales Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club
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