For full details , up to date results and the calendar of fixtures see www.flybcc.co.uk.

We finished 2nd in 2004 and 2005 in the Hang Gliding competition and improved to win it in 2006!

The ethos of the competition is to encourage pilots to improve their flying performances in a friendly but competitive environment and to gain experience and confidence from experienced pilots. Many people do their cross country flights while at this competition and find this a good way to fly at new sites and a good introduction to bigger and different hills which aren’t available in Hampshire.

UK National Cross-Country League

Individuals enter their XC performances in the National league and their best 6 results count towards the annual league and team results.

See www.uknxcl.org.uk

Sky Surfers Hang Gliding XC League

For 2009 it has been decided to simplify the rules for the hang gliding XC league. Instead of having several pages of rules to examine to find the best possible score and making multiple entries to different leagues, the UKNXCL will be used to determine the Sky Surfers league positions

Rules:
1. Sky Surfers member
2. You are flying a Hang Glider
Most pilots already enter their flights into this league and so are well aware of the rules and entry procedure.

For those that are not see www.uknxcl.org.uk entries are free and easy with the option to even pick your launch and landing fields from Google earth-so no reason not to enter. Alternatively entries can still be accepted by emailing the details of your flight:- launch, landing, glider type and distance to .

British Nationals

This competition is for advanced rated pilots and took place in St Andre les Alpes France in summer 2006, and more recently in at the Chabre, Laragne, also in France. There is also an 'Open' division in which those Pilot rated can take part.

See www.rogallo.co.uk for details.

British Open Series

This completion is for pilot rated pilots and is held over three weekends through the spring and summer. The three rounds are held in South east Wales, Yorkshire Dales and at the Long Mynd.

In 2009, there will be for the first time, in additional to the regular BOS competion, a 'sport' class with more straighforward XC tasks in order to introduce more pilots to the event and make it more accessible - no need to worry about complexities like start windows and turn points.

See www.rogallo.co.uk

World

The World Rigid Wing (Class 5) Hang Gliding championships took place in Florida, USA in May 2006.

Nev Almond who often gives club lectures and can also be seen on good days at Harting Down again took part competing against the world’s best and completing tasks of over 150 km each day.

The World Hang Gliding Championships (Class 1) for flex wings was held in Zapata in Texas USA in 2007

Again we recently have had club members competing at this level in Brazil 2003.

Barnett-Dignand Trophy

The Barnett Dignand Trophy is an annual friendly competition between the Wessex and Sky Surfers Clubs for hang gliders. It is a one day meeting held on a local site when the weather conditions are looking good and the task is usually a short cross country or a local ridge run. The date may be set only a few days before it is held with details being posted on the smart group and by email (please join smart groups and let us have your email address if you are interested). Over the last 4 years this has been held at Harting , Mercury and Bell (twice) and won by Sky Surfers each time. Each time a lot of flying has taken place but details are soon forgotten although a lot of fun has been had on each occasion.

Paragliding Competitions

Competitive paragliding in the club falls into three main categories:

1) The Club XC league. Open to all pilots within the club. The rules for the paragliding PG league are exactly the same as for the HG league which can be seen below. If you manage to complete any flight away from the hill which involves some flying away from pure ridge lift then you may qualify to enter the league, please send your name and flight details to .

2) BCC competition. Each year we enter a Skysurfers team into the PG British Clubs Challenge. The BCC (www.flybcc.co.uk) is a gentle introduction into the world of PG competition. There is no pressure to go XC if you do not feel ready and no previous competition or XC experience is necessary! Indeed the competition is designed to encourage new pilots rather than pander to the egos of skygods! Generally CP +15 hours is more than enough experience to join in. For many new pilots BCC rounds are the ideal opportunity to complete your first XC in a supportive environment and also to fly on new sites elsewhere in the UK (where the hills are bigger and the airspace less restrictive!) without actually having to join the local club!

3) Each year the club awards a number of prizes for paragliding achievements (see Task Masters). These are: 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the PG league, most improved pilot, best novice XC flight, and the rooster award (for those dodgy tree landings etc!). Not sure if you could really call it a “competition” for the rooster award, though some of the exploits of our pilots sometimes might lead you to think they were trying as hard as possible to “win” it!

Annual Club Awards and Trophies

There are several trophies awarded annually, including:

• Novice XC trophy: awarded to the pilot who has achieved their first cross country flight
• Most improved pilot :for the pilot who has made the best improvement in their flying capabilities/performance
• Bent upright award: for the most stylish destruction of aluminium
• XC League 1st, 2nd and 3rd: won by the top three places in the club cross country league

Sky Surfers Paragliding XC League

Here are the club XC League rules for Paragliding (for Hang Gliding, look here). As ever the rules are not always to every bodies liking!!

The rules for the Sky Surfing Club XC league for 2005 and subsequent years are set out here. The rules are designed to promote loyalty to the club and encourage a go-for-it attitude, especially from the club sites. There is always a lot of controversy about the rules and at least as many ideas as people who suggest them. So what are the rules trying to do?

• Encourage flights from local sites. The weighting is now 2 times for flights from club sites (in the years gone by it used to be 1.6 times, i.e. 1 point per mile from non-club sites and 1 point per km from club sites).
• Not discourage flights from other sites so members have the opportunity to gain the XC skills at sites which are easier to get away from than the local sites
• Encourage support for the club (e.g. by entering the BCC for the club and to enter the National XC League under SSC)
• Ensure adherence to air law.
• Prevent pilots that are not really part of the “club culture” from just joining the club and entering the league to take the prizes.
  

So the rules are as follows:
General

• The SSC XC league runs from 1st January to 31st December each year.
• All flights must abide by airlaw. Any flight that is found to have infringed airlaw (e.g. the flight has entered controlled airspace) will be excluded from the league.
• The flight distance will be the direct distances calculated from the grid reference of the take off and landing points (and any turn points)
• If any flights are entered into the national league the Sky Surfing Club shall be entered as the pilot’s main club, otherwise the pilot is ineligible to enter the SSC league
• Flights from a Sky Surfing Club site, or flown during a British Club Challenge competition to the rules of that competition (even if the flight is not counted for the Sky Surfing Club score, provided it is not counted for another club), shall be considered to be a “local flight”.
• At least one flight must be a “local flight”
• There is no minimum distance provided an attempt at thermalling cross country flight has been made (i.e. a maximum glide flight in nil lift conditions will not be counted).
• Defined flights must be at least 25% out of ridge lift
• All flights to be entered by 1st January the following year
• The pilot of all flights must be a member of the SSC and BHPA at the time of the flight
• All flights entered into the SSC league must start in the UK
• Flights made during National and International competitions (except the BCC and friendly inter-club competitions such as the Barnett-Dignand trophy) are not counted.

Scoring

• Flights will be scored as 1 point per kilometre x multiplier defined below.
• Defined flights will be scored as the National League, i.e.:
  a) Open distance = 1 x distance
  b) Flight to declared goal = 1.25 x distance
  c) Out and return = 2 x total distance
  d) Pre declared out and return = 2.5 x total distance
  e) Triangle flight (shortest leg is at least 28% of total distance) = 3 x total distance
  f) Pre declared triangle flight = 3.75 x total distance
• The score for a “local flight” will be multiplied by 2
• The total score for a flight made on a Class 5 glider will be multiplied by 75%
• Flights to be entered by a phone call, e-mail or letter to the appropriate Competitions Secretary
  for hang gliding or paragliding stating:
  
  Pilot Name:
  Contact telephone number:
  Date of flight:
  Type (Hang Glider or Paraglider):
  Take-off site:
  Take-off grid reference:
  Landing location:
  Landing grid reference:
  Any airspace avoidance action taken:
  Witness name and contact:
  (Witness not essential but helpful if available, especially if another club member and especially
  for turn points e.g. if gaggle flying where 2 or 3 pilots may attempt the same route).

The league is basically run on trust and so we will not be requiring photographic or GPS evidence of flights and turn points or mandating witnesses.

As you can see, a declared triangle flight from a local site on a non-class 5 glider will score no less than 7.5 times the actual distance flown.