Day canceled - it's over! Congratulations Jerzy - XG!

At 11:00 the day was canceled for all classes. After 8 competition days for Open Class and 7 competition days for 18m and 15m Class, the 31st World Gliding Championships for 15m/18m/Open Classes are over!Assuming there are no adjustments due to protests, yesterdays' results will be the final results.
After landing 27km short yesterday, Jerzy places 4th overall,well ahead of the defending 18m champion, Olivier Darroze who came 13th and a mere 11 points behind third.11 points difference is the equivalent of 54 seconds or two circles over a 300 km task on one of the seven days.

Landing in the Puszta: After hanging on to weak thermals longer than most, Jerzy makes it far enough to secure 3rd place for the day, which moved him up to 4th place overall - his final place in the 31st Worlds

Although it is a bit disappointing that Jerzy missed the podium literally by a hair, for a Canadian to place 4th in the World Championships in a class with over 50 competitors, each of them being the best in his country, is an amazing success. Maybe the history experts and record keepers can tell us by way of comment if and when a Canadian ever placed better in World Championships - according to my recollection certainly not in the last 30 years.When I took on the job as Team Manager, I did this with the goal to see a Canadian placing in the first ten in any class. It feels good and I am ecstatic to see that one of our pilots did in fact much better.The winners in 18m Class are:1st Place: Zbigniew Niradka, Poland
2nd Place: Uys Jonkers, South Africa
3rd Place: Karol Staryszak, Poland
15m Class:1st Place: Stefano Ghiorzo, Italy2nd Place: Leigh Wells, UK
3rd Place: Thomas Gostner, Italy
After after an unlucky outlanding early on, Dave didn't have a good contest and places 34th. He is ahead of a former German Champion.
Open Class:1st Place: Michael Sommer, Germany - defending champion from Luesse
2nd Place: Steve Jones, UK3rd Place: Pierre de Broqueville, Belgium
Willem didn't feel well early in the contest and gave up on some tasks. He never recovered from the point loss.

After the cancellation was announced, gliders were prepared for travel and started to disappear into trailers. Everyone was relieved but it was bittersweet as we took down the Canadian Flag and the "Canada Base" antenna. The end of a contest, once the winners have been announced, is always very anticlimactic.


P.S. Just posted Maria's pix from the International Night a few days ago - have a look!