Sunday

Starting to wake up after the 10 hour time change!  Today was a long day!  Some of us started early to get a jump on the registration process.... OMG I guess I'm pretty spoiled with the PWC which usually takes less than half an hour!  After 4 hours and counting, the FAI folks got together and decided that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to check, one at a time, every pilots harness back protector and helmet, and then match the glider serial number to a signed photo of the same serial number submitted prior to the 30 day deadline.  Instead they will be doing a random selection of equipment checks throughout the competition.....

We finally made it up to launch around 12:30 or so to find nice cycles moving through, a nice enough sky, and plenty of gliders soaring.....  Today was all about the speed system for me and getting things dialed in once and for all. I'm not so sure that going pully to pully was as critical in the past as it is now....  The R10 and the R11 have introduced a whole new world of stability on full speed which is kind of a game changer.  I fully anticipate that if the next climb is a sure thing, that gliders will be transitioning faster than ever before.  I'm thinking that if you give up your position to max out a climb with this crowd... hmmmm, lets see - probably just once on a full on racing day it will be game over!!

A single piece of 5mil Mammut Pro Cord running continuously from the speed bar up through the riser pullies was the ticket for me.  Never have I had such easy access to all the speed so here's hoping I can respect it at all the right times!

We landed just in time for the MANDATORY pilot meeting where we were taught 2 liner safety by Russ Ogden, along with some good local info.The organizers along with the city of Piedrahita made us feel very welcome with a great crowd and a fun Olympic type of parade nation by nation.  The official speeches were mercifully short and then on to the cultural entertainment, food, drink, and more entertainment, which at 3am is still going strong!

Being an afternoon site with an easy 20 minute drive to launch on a nice paved road, we are treated to bankers hours and don't have to show for the buses until 11:00-11:30!  Tomorrow is not just the official warmup day, but the official warmup task.  I'm thinking I'll just see how it goes and enjoy the flight without too much of a physical drain.  It's quite possible that we could fall into a favorable weather pattern and fly 10 to 11 race days... I know that XC Skies is happy for the next few days anyway.....

Jack

Registration and Practice Day

Sunday: The team got the registration part out of the way and then it was up the hill for an afternoon flight.


Later today is the MSB (mandatory safety briefing) followed by the opening ceremonies.

Jeff

Team USA Arrives in Spain ready for battle!

Team USA pilots and team leaders are converging in Piedrahita fired up and ready to race. A string of recent high level accomplishments have proven that our pilots are as capable as any to take gold at the World Championships both on an individual and team basis. Jack Brown recently won PWC Korea and set a new XC record for the state of Alaska, forget flying over tiger country, this is Grizzly bear country! Josh Cohn needs no introduction, he became the 2010 PWC Americas champion after winning PWC Chelan. Josh has been winning tasks at the World Championships since 1997 and placed 8th overall at the 2007 Worlds in Manilla, Australia. This spring Josh broke the site record for Dunlap California flying in a southerly direction, the very next day he broke his own record flying North!  Brad Gunnuscio is no stranger to the podium or speedbar, early in his career he was known for mashing around a course at full speed, in more recent years he has learned consistency and reserves his speed for just the right moments, he recently placed 2nd at the 2011 Colombian Open. If you don't know the name Melanie Pfister, you will soon. Melanie was the 2010 US Women's National Champion, Placed 2nd at PWC Chelan and has flown 115 miles XC in the big mountains of Utah. Melanie has recently taken up the sport of Roller Derby so don't cut her off in the thermals, she is likely to start throwing some elbows! Our team leaders, Jeff Huey and Rob Sporrer, have decades of international competition experience between them, we can't thank them enough for taking time from their busy lives to lead this wonderful team! Team USA is stacked with talent, even the founder of our fund raising arm, Tony Lang,  broke the Nevada State Paragliding XC record in May 2011 with a flight of 86 miles. Go Team USA!!!

Meet Nick Greece

According to the 2012 NTSS interim rankings Nick is currently the #1 ranked Paraglider pilot in the USA and recently became the 2011 PWC Americas champion after taking second in 2010. Despite a busy job as editor-in-chief of USHPA magazine and an insane travel schedule, Nick still finds time to donate a lot of time to several Nonprofit organizations that utilize free flight to help others.  Nick is a true ambassador of our sport, to learn more about him and the projects he is involved in click on the links below.

KAVU

http://kavupulse.com/?p=393

The Cloudbase Foundation

www.thecbf.org

Able Pilot

www.ablepilot.com

Jack Brown, US Team member, in the lead in PWC Korea

After the second valid task, where Jack came in 11 seconds and 1 point behind the winner, Lucas Bernardin, he has now pulled into the lead in the meet.

Of course it's not over and legend Jimmy Pacher is nipping at his heels, but it's a strong start.

Go Jack!

PWC Korea - Task 2 won by Dean Stratton!!!

Two time national champion Dean Stratton has won task 2 of the Korean PWC, Jack Brown places 5th. 

Full results, reports and videos of the Korean PWC available here.

http://www.paraglidingworldcup.org

Save The Date: Friday the 13th of May SF Team Fundraiser Party

What: Food, drinks, slide show and a 50/50 raffle.  Suggested minimum donation: $25, to cover food, drink and then some.
Raffle Prizes:

• SPOT 1
• VX150 Radio
• Tree Rescue Kit

Where: Badger Lair (Eric Reed's place on Potrero Hill) RSVP to me or on Facebook to get the address.
Why: To help support our Team to kick some butt in Spain this July.
When: 8pm-late Friday the 13th of May
Who: Please RSVP to Josh Cohn  jbcohn AT gmail.com or 510-299-3701