BGA
BGA Executive Committee. A new Executive Committee was elected at the BGA AGM earlier this month. The committee now includes four new members – Nick Bowers (Bath, Wilts and North Dorset), Bill Craig (London), Lisa Humphries (Devon and Somerset), and George Metcalfe (Lasham). The other executive members are Pete Harvey (Chairman), Ron Bridges, Dave Fidler, David Latimer, Andy Perkins (Vice-Chairman) and John Williams. Matt Cook retired having served the maximum term and Tony Smith has stood down, although he continues as BGA Company Secretary.
Chief Technical Officer. Our Chief Technical Officer, Jim Hammerton, will be retiring from the role at the end of September 2014. We intend to recruit a successor during August to allow a handover period. This is a competitively remunerated and rewarding opportunity to make a difference working with and leading the development of a very motivated and primarily volunteer team. Full details, including a job description and an application form, are at http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/technical/newsitems/BGAChiefTechnicalOfficerApplication.pdf
Annual Report. The BGA Annual Report for 2013 is now available to download at http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/documents/annrep2013.pdf
Inspector Seminars. Additional dates for inspector continuation training seminars have been announced. The additional seminars will be held on Saturday 22nd March at Easterton (Highland GC) and on Saturday 10th May at Keevil (Bannerdown GC). Both seminars start at 9.30am and will finish at 4pm. The Easterton seminar is intended primarily for inspectors in Scotland who could not attend last year. Please note that the seminar at Oxford GC on 22nd March is now fully booked. An ARC Initial Authorisation course will be held on Friday 16th May at the BGA offices in Leicester, starting at 10am and ending at 2pm. A full list of currently available seminars is at http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/technical/news.htm#ict and bookings should be made with Debbie Carr at the BGA office – debbie@gliding.co.uk. If applying for the seminar at Keevil, please supply car type and registration number for security purposes.
The BGA Shop. A gentle reminder that the BGA Shop now stocks over 240 lines dedicated to glider pilots and their sport. You can find it here: http://www.bgashop.co.uk
Regulatory
Farnborough Airspace Change Proposal - 1. An information meeting about the Farnborough airspace change proposal will be held at Lasham at 1pm on Sunday 23rd March. If you fly anywhere in the south of England, you need to know about this. If you want to continue to fly anywhere in the south of England, you need to do something about this. The meeting is designed for all aviators, not just glider pilots, so please let all your friends involved in other forms of air sports know and encourage them to come along. More details, including information for those who would like to fly in are at http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/airspace/FARNBOROUGHAIRSPACECHANGEPROPOSALMEETING.pdf. Anybody who is travelling by car and not familiar with Lasham and who may be

relying on SatNav to find their way there, should note that an earlier version of the information notice contained an incorrect postcode. The correct postcode for Lasham is GU34 5SS.
Farnborough Airspace Change Proposal – 2. The BGA, along with the rest of the GA Alliance, continues to work hard to develop our arguments against this audacious air-grab attempt. In early April we will publish guidance on how to complete the response to the Farnborough consultation which closes on 2nd May.
EASA Licence Conversion. A presentation, originally used during our recent regional presentations and designed to help pilots understand the basics of the EASA Part-FCL pilot licence conversion process has been published at http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/Conversion/Conversion.pdf. Although not intended to replace the detailed conversion guidance supplied on the BGA web site at http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/licensing/easalicensing.htm, it provides an easy to understand guide to the basic principles and procedures. Well worth a read.
Club Management
Community Sport and Recreation Awards. Nominations are now being taken for the Sport and Recreation Alliance’s Community Sport and Recreation Awards 2014.The awards, which have been running for over 20 years, are the premier grassroots sports club awards and prizes of up to £2500 are on offer. This year there are six award categories: Community Sport and Recreation Overall Winner; Volunteer Management; School Links; Professional Club Community Programme of the Year Award; Green Thinking; and Innovative Project Award. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on 9th July at St James's Palace in London by HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex. The closing date for applications is 5pm on 4th May. More details at http://www.sportandrecreation.org.uk/news/21-02-2014/community-sport-andrecreation-award-nominations-open
Competitions and Cross-Country
2017 European Championships. Congratulations to Lasham GS which has been awarded the 19th FAI European Gliding Championships for the flapped classes. The event will run from 23rd July to 6th August 2017. More details, including a summary of all the 2017 FAI gliding events that were awarded at the recent International Gliding Commission meeting are at http://www.fai.org/igc-events/igc-events-calendar-and-results
Aim Higher – Coaching the Coaches Event. As part of the BGA Aim Higher initiative, which aims to help clubs to support pilot development, we will be running two one-day ‘Coaching the Coaches’ events in March. Each event will include a number of presentations and discussion facilitated by Kevin Atkinson, the BGA Aim Higher lead who is himself an experienced club soaring and cross-country coach. The events are on 29th March and 30th March at the Gliding Centre, Husbands Bosworth. Anyone who coaches at their club or is an aspiring coach is welcome to book onto one of these free, full day events. To book, please contact Debbie Carr debbie@gliding.co.uk. Catering will be available on site.
Wolds Regionals. The Wolds Regionals (5-13 July) have, unfortunately, had to be cancelled.
Upavon Frequency. Please note that the Upavon RF has changed. Both Wyvern GC and 622 VGS (Air Cadets) now have to operate on the new Upavon frequency of 124.100 when within the Upavon Glider Protected Area. There will be no established base station operated by the airfield and when neither gliding operation is active at weekends, control will devolve to Salisbury Plain Operations Cell on 122.750 (as is normal established practice) which will also

be in control during the week and when they are active. This change will only affect visitors at weekends when the gliding operations are active.
World Games. The World Games 2017 will take place in Wroclaw, Poland. Air sports, in the form of paragliding and parachuting, have featured in past games and there is currently a campaign underway to convince the 2017 organisers to include gliding in these games. The campaign is asking glider pilots (and others) from around the world to show their support by completing the form at http://www.smykinastart.pl/in-english/41.html. More information about the World Games and the International World Games Association can be found at http://www.theworldgames.org/.
Juniors
2014 Junior Championships & Two-Seater Training. The 2014 Junior Championships will take place at Lasham from 16-24th August. As usual, we will be running a two-seater training course alongside the competition. Applications are now open for both the competition and the course. If you are not sure whether to enter the competition, you can apply for both. Applications should be submitted by 30th April and, to qualify, you should be 25 or under at the end of 2014. You need a silver badge to fly in the competition. (You can enter before you obtain this, but your place will not be confirmed until you do). Apart from your age, there are no requirements to apply for the two-seater training, other than being very keen. This year there is no entry fee, but there will still be a number of free aerotows available. Of course, sponsors are always welcome and any leads would be appreciated - please email pete.masson@launchpoint.co.uk. More information and online entry is www.gliding.co.uk/juniorsentry.
General
FAI Angelo d’Arrigo Diploma. The FAI has created a new award – the Angelo d’Arrigo Diploma. The Diploma may be awarded to individuals or organisations that have contributed significantly to the defence of and respect for the environment affected by air sports. Their activities may include: scientific research, private, public or commercial events or activities, developed or promoted directly by pilots, sport flying clubs, NACs or public or private bodies. Nominations for the first award must be received by the FAI by 31st May 2014. More details are in the FAI By-Laws, section 7.14 at http://www.fai.org/downloads/fai/fai_by_laws.
FAI-Breitling Awards. The FAI is seeking nominations for the 2014 FAI-Breitling Awards for 2014: the Breitling Milestone Trophy and the Breitling Youngster Award. Both awards will be presented this coming October at the FAI General Conference in Thailand, where the winners will be invited and hosted by Breitling. The Milestone Trophy is awarded to an individual or a group of individuals who have achieved a significant milestone, technological step or invention in aeronautics or astronautics (first flight, new technology, etc.) during the previous year which might contribute to future developments, especially in the practice of air sports. The Breitling Youngster Award is awarded to a youngster who, during the previous 12 months and before the date of his or her 26th birthday, achieved an outstanding sporting performance; excelled in a certain area of his or her sport and is considered as a reference; or significantly contributed to the development and promotion of aeronautics or astronautics. Further details are at http://www.fai.org/awards/fai-breitling-awards. The deadline for the receipt of nominations is 31st May 2014.