Preparations for next year’s 60th Horsham Week Gliding Competition are already underway after the Horsham Flying Club celebrated the conclusion of this year’s competition on Saturday.

Club president Michael Sudholz hailed the event as ‘very successful’, with flyers enjoying favourable conditions after smoke from bushfires in the Grampians led to the cancellation of the competition’s first day.

He said an influx of younger competitors at this year’s competition was particularly encouraging.

“The competitors enjoyed themselves. They had a couple of challenging days, but they all got around and got home, which is the main thing,” he said.

“It was good to see quite a few younger competitors this year, because a few of them are getting a bit older. It’s good to see some young blood coming through.”

Mr Sudholz said competitors from across Victoria and interstate entered the competition, with New Zealand man Michael Strathern the sole international entrant.

Mr Strathern, from New Zealand’s Nelson Lakes Gliding Club, was the winner of the club class category, with Gliding Club of Victoria’s Terry Cubley second and Geelong Gliding Club’s Jaroslaw Mosiejewski third.

Rayan Driscoll for the Gliding Club of Victoria was victorious in the open/18m class, beating Michael Durrant of Bendigo Gliding Club, with Chris Thorpe and Noel Vagg of Beaufort Gliding Club finishing equal third.

Bendigo Gliding Club’s Jack Hart took out the standard/15m class, with Horsham Flying Club’s Neil Campbell second and Gliding Club of Victoria member Tim Shirley third.

Mr Sudholz said Mr Strathern was impressed with the Horsham competition.

“It was the first time he flew in Horsham and he was very impressed with the gliding conditions here and how flat and landable the paddocks here are, because where he flies in New Zealand, it’s all mountains, hills and trees,” he said.

“He couldn’t believe the options we had here. He said ‘if there’s going to be a gliding Mecca, this is the one’.

“He commented on how well the competition was run. He’s been to plenty of other competitions and was pretty impressed with us, so that was nice to hear.”

Mr Sudholz thanked competition director Craig Dilks and the club’s volunteers for their work across the past three weeks and said club officials were already working on plans for next year’s 60th anniversary competition.

“Plans are already afoot for that,” he said.

“We’ve got people booking accommodation already and wanting to enter next year’s competition, which is quite encouraging.

“I think next year is going to be quite a big event for our 60th. We’ll have our normal competition, but we’re brewing up some other ideas as well.”

– Colin MacGillivray

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