Hey Everyone, Checkout Q's Contest Report from last weeks Judges Trophy.
2012 Judges Trophy - Checkout the results under 'News'
17-18 March 2012
Klerksdorp - 
The local weather on the day before the contest was miserable to say the least - low cloud and showers that showed no sign of letting up. It was one of those scenarios where we had no indication of the prospects until late on Friday evening, so we made a call for a delayed start on Saturday morning, with the hope that it would be clear and give all the pilots enough time to get to the site. As it turned out, the skies were CAVOK at sunrise on Saturday morning. So it was briefing at 11h00 and although 24 pilots had indicated that they would compete, 11 pilots showed up at registration and a further two pilots joined us on Sunday. We were pleased to see Johnnie Smith at the briefing, even though his father had passed away a few days earlier. Our condolences go out to him and his family, and we appreciate him making the effort to participate. Todd Montgomerie took some leave and travelled all the way from his new home in Manilla, Phillipines.
As in previous years, the Klerksdorp team had everything in place. The King of Klerksdorp aka Cliff Lotter had some out-of-town commitments, but he and Len Du Preez had organised everything beforehand- except the weather. The briefing produced some curved balls for the pilots. Although we were greeted with clear skies at daybreak, the little breeze soon got stronger and eventually became a howler close to being out of limits at times. It was blowing perpendicular to the runway so the cross box was used and everyone had practised their flights along the runway. Curved ball number one! The chief judge added curved ball number two by advising that a new CIVA regulation would be used – judges now had to mark the ‘box outs’ if no line judges were used. With the wind speed increasing, it was going to be a challenge avoiding this new penalty.
So, the show began, and only three pilots incurred box-out penalties. Everyone just showed great talent and dealt with the strong wind as if it did not exist! The standard of flying throughout the day was just encouraging, and some pilots need to be singled out for excellent flying; Ben Meyer flew both his Known and Free sequences with absolute style and precision! He has improved notably. And the same can be said of Neville Ferreira. World champs in the making. Cliff Pike had clearly practised the Advanced Q – his scores were encouraging and he would also have done well in his Free if it was a legal sequence. His scores were annulled because his sequence did not meet the required criteria. Justus Venter aced his first contest in the little Pitts S1 – welcome Justus!
We were graced by the presence of a new aircraft on the flightline. Paul Quick arrived with his newly acquired One Design. Congrats Paul! However Paul underestimated the aerie’s roll rate in the spin and ended up flying most of his sequences in the wrong direction. Despite this I must say that he would have received some good grades for the flights if they were in the correct direction.
The day’s activities were dissected in the pub afterwards, accompanied by some fine red juice and good steaks on the braai. On Sunday morning we were greeted with windless, blue skies and this is when Nigel and Elton joined the fray. The trusty old judges took up their position under the trees along the main road and we were entertained by a programme of unknowns. Most competitors aced their unknowns. Which proves that the regular inclusion of an unknown programme at regional contests has achieved its desired effect.
Natalie churned out the scores in her usual efficient manner, and the final results showed that there was a close tussle in Intermediate, and also for the overall spoils. Nigel Hopkins had three excellent Unlimited flights, with no zeros or penalties. He has clearly mastered the Unlimited class and I predict that he will soon be world champion. So congratulations to Nigel, winner of the 2012 Judges Trophy, followed closely by Ben Meyer (Sportsman) and Elton Bondi (Advanced). And kudos to the rest of the field for some really good flying, and for keeping it safe.
Once again, a contest was characterised by good camaraderie and sportsmanship. There are many people to acknowledge for their inputs and I must thank Len and Cliff for getting everything ready; Mike, Charlotte and Natalie need to be congratulated for their dedication to the club for yet again travelling from Durban for a contest – thank you, we really appreciate your efforts! The starter was a natural and he’s welcome to do it again at the next one – Cwade please bring him along to Parys! And a vote of thanks to the trusty panel of judges. Laszlo made a super effort to be there despite suffering from some rather serious injuries sustained in a recent fall at his hangar. Forgive me if I haven’t mentioned you by name, but your assistance is recognised and appreciated.
As an aside, it is worth pointing out to all pilots that the CIVA regulation relating to wing rocking has been amended. Many pilots would have incurred a penalty for incorrect wing rocking, so please familiarise yourself with the rule in Section 6 Part 1.
A great time was had by all – see you all in Paris-on-Vaal next month!
Quintin
