Marcus Stent
1/45 Rigel Rd
Lara 3212
Ph: 0400100454
4/2/08
Kevin Dodds,
MAAA Secretary
Dear Kevin,
I am writing on behalf of the LSF executive and the wider gliding community to appeal the decision the MAAA made to reject the LSF proposal to hold the 2009 F3B selection trials at Milang. Since the rejection by the MAAA of our proposed trial there has been widespread disappointment and disbelief that the MAAA has taken this stand.
We wish to appeal on the following points:
1. The trial is outside the 12 months window set out in MOP24
2. The trial was not given 6 months notice to the MAAA
3. The Milang Trial is the best way for Australia to select the best possible team.
1. The trial is outside the 12 months set out in the MOP.
a) This time period is what the Gliding community want. The time it takes to raise the funds to attend a World Championship and the lead-time to purchase world competitive aircraft can be greater than 12 months and World competitive aircraft are not available in Australia.
b)F3B is a team event and requires many months of practice. The Speed and Distance Tasks are unique to F3B Gliding in that they require 2 experienced callers to be part of a team. Their duties include launching the model, re-launching the model, calling the air, calling opponent’s positions, discussing distance strategies and calling speed turns. Team practice - especially across Australia is paramount to success.
c)The LSF saw this ruling in MOP 024 as a guideline only because the previous 8 World Championship selection trials (4 for F3B and 4 for F3J) have fallen outside the 12 month criteria (as you yourself mentioned, other disciplines require different timing, to best select their team). We are disappointed that this rule is being applied so burecratically, especially when it is a rule with no benefits to the Australian gliding community.
2. The trial was not given 6 months notice to the MAAA.
We accept that a mistake was made here, but only the MAAA missed the notification due to a misunderstanding between 2 members of the LSF committee. We would prefer the MAAA to reprimand the volunteers who have made the mistake rather than the wider gliding community.
It is important to note that the Australian gliding community was notified within 6 months (on the 6th September) of the selection trial by ALL of the following methods:
i) email. The list of email contacts that the LSF holds includes every pilot that has competed at the LSF Jerilderie Tournament in the last 5 years. This is the mecca of gliding competitions and there are 102 people on this email list.
ii)RC-Soaring OZ. This is the Yahoo Groups chat group that contains 993 members and is an active forum to discuss Australian gliding matters, rules, technical and technique matters. The Yahoo Groups site contains a forwarding system which send posts directly to members’ email addresses
iii) The LSF Web site. This is the LSF's primary communication tool and attached is the data that shows 4,455 visits from Australians in the last 6 months. This Website was updated with the Milang team trial announcement on the 6th September.
We believe that every effort has been made to notify all of MAAA members who take an interest in gliding and we are extremely confident that every pilot who is capable of achieving a place on the World Championship team is fully aware of the selection trial, at Milang in March 2008.
iv) We are not sure how often a MAAA newsletter is published but we doubt that even if we had sent notification to on the 6th September that notification would have been sent to the wider modelling community before the Milang event and with the necessary time to prepare a team of helpers and the necessary aircraft to compete in F3B to the level required to achieve a place on the team.
Please remember the new executive took over on the 12th August and it was the new Executive’s first order of business. We made every effort to abide by MOP024.
3. Milang is the best possible way for Australia to select its team.
a) The Competition will be run by the SSL who have run this event to an International standard, with over 30 dedicated SSL club helpers, on four previous occasions. This event has been the F3B selection trials for two of the last four World Championships.
F3B events require at least 8 dedicated helpers per day to run the distance task, 4 pilots per heat, 4 callers at ‘Base A’ and 4 callers at ‘Base B’. (24 helpers total over 3 days). There is no other event in Australia that can provide this level of support required to run an F3B event.
The only other option (If we were not able to hold a trial at Milang) is to hold a competition where the competing pilots become helpers for the event. This can seriously undermine the integrity of the event, and causes a conflict of interest between two pilots who are both competing for place on the World Championship team and are being asked to call for each other.
b) There are International competitors attending, making this the most competitive event in Australia and a perfect competition to select the best pilots in Australia.
c) The Competition Director will be Mike O'Reily who has been to many world championships as a pilot, helper and team manager. He is an experienced CD having CD’d Jerilderie and the previous Milang events.
d) There is nearby accommodation at a number of towns and localities.
e) Since the notification by the LSF of the trial in September 07, we have had confirmation that pilots are flying in from Dubai, Tasmania, Western Australia and Queensland (and travelling from Victoria, NSW and South Australia) to compete. Cancellation at this time will cause serious inconvenience to all concerned.
In conclusion the LSF has been proactive in providing Australian glider pilots with the best possible chance to earn a place on a World Championship team and with the details outlined above we believe every pilot capable of achieving a place on the team has been notified of the trial, in the necessary time frame, which best suits the Australian gliding community. We hope that the MAAA see fit to sanction our requested trial, and be seen to support the gliding community, rather than reject our proposal based on a set of rules that does not serve the best interests of Australian gliding.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Best Regards,
Marcus Stent
LSF President on behalf of the LSF executive and LSF gliding community.