34Th FAI World Gliding Championships

Bulletin 2: 4th Apr 2016

34 th FAI World Gliding Championships

The Gliding Federation of Australia (GFA) proudly invites you to participate in the World Gliding Championships - Open/18m/15m - at Benalla in January 2017.

Progress so far The 2016 Ozglide Australian Championship and practice event for the 2017 World Championship was completed very successfully in January 2016 – great practice for the pilots and a good test for the organisation. The outcome was very successful on all counts with 7 competition days from a total of 11 available, task distances of 300- 650km. A full report can be seen in Gliding Australia magazine, which is available on line at www.glidingaustralia.org/GA/ (see Feb/Mar edition) and results can be seen at http://www.soaringspot.com/en_gb/54th-australian-nationals-ozglide-benalla-gld- 2016/

Competition web site: The official competition web page will be found on www.wgc2017.com which also gives links to our Facebook site. We are continually adding information to the site, so look back occasionally.

Questions? If you have specific questions, then please send then to [email protected]

Entries: Entry forms and fees are required by 31st August, The entry form will be placed onto the web page shortly.

In order to assist us with planning purposes, we request teams to submit provisional entries (number of pilots in each class is sufficient, names not required) by 30th June 2016. We will provide an on-line form for you to provide this information.

Key information contained in Bulletin 1 There is some important information available in Bulletin 1 which is available on the web page under “Useful info/documents”. Please make sure you check for these important actions:  Foreign pilots flying in Australia  Importing gliders  Shipping gliders Bulletin 2: 4th Apr 2016

 Accommodation  Oxygen  Flarm

Visas for Australia All visitors to Australia require a visitor’s Visa. Most of you should be eligible for an eVisitor visa which is free. See information at this link: http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visi/Visi and click on visitor visa. There are other options for Visa’s and information is contained in the link.

It should not take long to arrange the visa, but it is a Government department and you never know what slows things down, so don’t leave it until the last minute. Early is better.

WGC PUBLICITY Take advantage of the publicity opportunities around WGC to promote your team, your country and gliding.

 Post your news and images on Facebook.facebook.com/WGCBenalla  Communicate on Twitter twitter.com/WGC2017  Send your team’s information and any stories you have regarding your preparation for the competition, for inclusion in o wgc2017.com o and on the GFA website glidingaustralia.org

We also send your information to international media outlets.

MEDIA BRIEF NEWSLETTER Make sure you are up to date! For information to include in releases to media in your home countries, sign up for WGC2017 Media Brief newsletter.

We can supply you with publicity material including PHOTOGRAPHS - VIDEO - INFORMATION Bulletin 2: 4th Apr 2016

Sean Young Media Relations sean@wgc2017 Skype sean.young7 T + 61 02 9332 2822

https://www.facebook.com/WGCBenalla https://twitter.com/WGC2017 http://glidingaustralia.org http://wgc2017.com/

Media Brief http://glidingaustralia.org/index.php?option=com_rsform&formId=4

Importing gliders Provided your glider has a Certificate of Airworthiness (CoA) issued by a ICAO contracting state, there are no issues with the glider flying in Australia, provided you have the corresponding pilots licence.

If your glider is operating on a Permit to Fly or Experimental Certificate then you will need to get an approval from our Civil Aviation Safety Authority. Please send aircraft details to our Chief Technical Officer, Dennis Stacey at [email protected] and he will help you to go through this process. Do it early to avoid the rush.

Shipping gliders Advice and support for shipping glider to Australia is available on our “importing gliders info sheet” on the web page under “Useful info/Documents”. We strongly recommend using one of our two Shipping import agents whose contact details are on the sheet. They both have great experience with moving gliders through our import and quarantine systems.

Contest officials Championship Director: Terry Cubley Competition Manager John Switala: Bulletin 2: 4th Apr 2016

Chief Steward: Renato Tsukamoto (Brazil) Jury President: Rick Sheppe (USA)

Team Base at airfield We are arranging some transportable offices with air conditioning for teams who wish to have a base at the airfield. Once we have details we will advise the cost and explain how you can book.

Practice opportunities prior to the championships Flying at Benalla is available throughout November. Contact the Gliding club to advise your needs. There are a number of other events in the month or two before the world championships. See the GFA Calendar at http://www.glidingaustralia.org/calendar

Useful links  Gliding Federation of Australia web page: www.glidingaustralia.org  Gliding Club of Victoria: http://www.glidingclub.org.au/  Benalla Rural City Council: http://www.benalla.vic.gov.au/

Time Schedule (WGC 2017)

Provisional entry 30th June 2016 Entry period closes and entry fees due: 31st Aug 2016 Reserve pilots accepted: 30th Oct 2016 Airfield availability for training flights: Always available Pilot Registration and Technical inspection: Sat 31st Dec - Wed 4th Jan [Later dates may be available on request]. Configuration changes close Sat 7th Jan at 9:00am Unofficial training: Mon 2nd - Wed 4th Jan First official Team Captain briefing: Wed 4th Jan at 7pm Mandatory safety briefing: Thu 5th Jan at 9:30am Official training: Thu 5th Jan – Sat 7th Jan Opening ceremony: Sun 8th Jan - 5pm evening Contest flying: Mon 9th Jan - Sat 21st Jan Farewell party: Sat 21st Jan - evening Closing ceremony and prize-giving: Sun 22nd Jan - 11am