2026 WeGlide Task Week & Contest Primer

[Tony Smolder]

2026 WeGlide Task Week at Soaring Club of Houston

October 5^th through 9^th

This is the first annual WeGlide Task Flying Week in the USA and thanks to an SSA grant this 5-day event will offer a very discounted entry fee of $250 which includes temporary membership in the Soaring Club of Houston and 5 tows to 2,000' AGL.

The purpose of this event is to introduce pilots to flying WeGlide Tasks and prepare pilots for flying their first SSA regional contest.

The objectives of this 5-day event are:

·         Pilots learn about the task types and understand how to fly them

·         Pilots fly their first tasks and are scored in WeGlide

·         Pilots learn the SSA rules and how to start, fly, and finish the various task types

·         Pilots learn how to analyze their flights for performance improvements

·         Pilots go on to fly their first SSA Regional contest better prepared

·         Pilots then share their knowledge with others in their club.

This event is open to those pilots who have not flown in an SSA contest but have the desire to do so.

The event is limited to 15 entries, with a minimum of 10 required to make this a viable event.

Preferential entry deadline is September 1st. Those registered with deposits sent in before September 1st will be confirmed.

To register go to the SSA Contest Results and select the event.

Tony

[Chip Bearden]

Ever thought about flying in a contest? Intrigued, but discouraged by having to read through the exhausting (in every sense of the word) SSA Rules? Is the idea of your first contest being for real just too much pressure to have fun?

This sounds like a wonderful opportunity to cut through all that. In Region 2, Erik Mann and others used to put on a weekend cross-country/contest primer similar to this (but shorter). They were very popular and helped a number of pilots make the transition to their first contest. And they were fun and educational (often for the instructor corps, too) even if pilots didn't elect to take the next step.

I have no stake in this event and haven't flown at the Soaring Club of Houston, but I do know many pilots who have and am impressed with the way they approach a challenge like this.

If you've ever thought you MIGHT want to try a contest someday, this could be a great chance to ease into it guided by experts in a low-pressure, positive, educational environment. I wish events like this had existed when I was coming up. Throwing pilots who've never learned to swim into the deep end of the pool, metaphorically speaking, is exciting but sometimes traumatic. :)

Chip Bearden
JB

[Charles Mampe]

Even earlier, back in the 1970's, eastern PA and NJ had "Little Guys meets". They had 2 classes, silver (noobies and lower performance sailplanes) and gold (more experienced pilots and higher performance sailplanes).

We did all the regional stuff, pilots meetings, weather, tasking, start boards, photo turnpoints, etc. No SSA scoring, but a way to try it out. Silver had easier tasks, gold had harder tasks.

Good way to make mistakes while learning but not impact pilot rankings.

[chris behm]

I wish it was closer to me....

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[skysoaringgliderclub]

I got my beginning contest experience with the Arizona Soaring Association's "Local Contests". These "meets" were based on SSA regional type rules, pilots meeting, weather, tasks, safety, photo board and turn point id, and so on with tasks usually (but not always) on the easier side. They ran as a series on 5 or 6 weekends throughout the season and had a number of "drop days" so you wouldn't be crushed if you had a bad day or even missed a weekend or two. The more experienced guys almost always won but the opportunity for newbies like myself back in the early 70's to see and fly with experienced contest pilots flying on the same task, same day and same weather was very good. If you did run into trouble one of your competitors would frequently offer help. And if you did land out there was always plenty of crew help as well. In todays world I don't see this type of "meet" but I'm happy to see that it still exists. The new SSA cross country camps are similar to our old "meets" as well. 

John Lincoln 

elf

[Chip Bearden]

I've flown in the NJ "Little Guys" meets and other local contests over the years. The Governor's Cup season-long competition in NJ/NY/PA is similar. But I think there's still a need for an introductory event that helps new-to-competition pilots get over the hump of going out on course alone against other pilots. 

In my other sport, running, there are all sorts of club and local running store group runs on weekends and certain weeknights where newbies (and very experienced racers) go out on a planned loop of 1 to 20 miles, running in similar pace packs. If you're new to running, these group runs and associated group classes can get you to your first 5K or 10K or even marathon in a low-stress way, with the help of more experienced coaches and running partners who answer questions, provide basic info and training plans, encourage, motivate, and actually lead less-experienced runners around. Many runners make the transition from fun runs to races this way. 

The sessions we had in Region 2 organized by Erik Mann and others fell into this category, and I sense this session does, too.

Chip Bearden
JB

[Dan Daly]

"Proving Grounds" is a popular way to get new pilots, and those who have not 'cut the string' from the home-drome, to try cross-country in small, manageable bites. Many American (and Canadian, some European, Oceania-ian) clubs participate ( https://soaringtasks.com/category/club-instances/usa/ ). SSA/Growth and Retention supports setup costs for American clubs.

Good website at https://soaringtasks.com/