SAFA Skysailor Magazine

13 July | August 2021 SKY SAILOR by Peter Beamish – Competition Director & President, Newcastle Paragliding Club The Paragliding State of Origin has been held at Mt Borah, Manilla, since 1996 with the exception of last year when it was cancelled due to COVID. After the disappointment of last year, the organising committee was focused on running the competition in 2021, while observing all of the current health advice. What a roller-coaster experience that was as the health advice and COVID conditions kept changing throughout the year! But we had a plan and wanted to see the competition go ahead in 2021. Why were we so determined for the event to proceed? The Paragliding State of Origin is a SAFA C sanction comp and a great way for Novice (PG2/3) to get into competition and XC flying in a fun and safe way. It’s all about the pro- motion of skills and safety with the comp format based on ‘Flying Crews’ (5-pilot teams, one PG5, two PG2/3, plus two other pilots). Within this team system, senior pilots coach the novices, and handicapping is used for scoring. The event is held over three days and the competition is open distance and direction. Pilots score points based on the kilometres they fly in a straight line from take-off to landing. Funster pilots have their distance covered in kilometres multiplied by three to give their points, Sportster pilots have their distance multiplied by two and Ace pilots are scored on one point per kilometre. This scoring system enables novice and intermediate pilots to have a realistic chance of winning the event. By the time we got to March of 2021 all the approvals were in place. The Newcastle Paragliding Club organises the competition and at this stage we were optimistic that the competition would proceed. The COVID plan was ready and we were good to go. Pilots had quickly registered once registrations were opened, and the competition was full, with over 200 pilots expected at Manilla for Easter. Only days before the competition was to start, Brisbane was placed into lockdown. We announced that the competition was on hold and jumped in the car and headed to Manilla, still determined to follow all the health advice, but hoping that somehow the competition could proceed. What a relief when the Queensland government lifted the Brisbane lockdown the day before the competition started, allowing it to proceed. The lockdown did mean that not all registered pilots were able to attend, due to the last-minute announcement that the comp would proceed. In the end, 170 pilots competed, and with over 30 free flyers, we had more than 200 pilots in the air! There were 75 Fun class pilots, 45 Sports class pilots, 16 Ace pilots and 34 Crew Chiefs. Two thirds of the pilots were from NSW and our thanks to NSWHPA for their generous sponsorship of NSW pilots. From the top: Winners are grinners, QLD Canetoads Neil Schaefer and Malcolm Hughson; Parawaiting in the Mt Borah shade; Ground handling competition; Morning briefing at Manilla HQ All photos: Courtesy of Peter Beamish, Godfrey Wenness and Melissa Pemberton