And The Winner Is

Well folks, it’s a wrap.  The beers are being consumed, the gliders are being put in the trailers, and the winner for the 2021 club class national contest is none other than Tony “Leroy” Condon, from Kansas Soaring Association!  This is Tony’s first snatch of the big “W” in a national soaring contest.  This is the culmination of a lot of effort, a lot of practices and a lot of simply thinking about the sport to come away with the big win.  For the amount of effort, and the amount of life this man has dedicated to the sport, it just goes to prove that it’s all worth it when you’re holding the trophy.  Way to go, Tony!  A special nod should go out to his crew, Leah Condon who was there by his side helping him out and making sure he stayed on track.  Bravo to her as well!

The last day was a tough TAT from the North Start to a 15km ring around Dalton, a 1km ring around Georgetown, 10km around Ferguson, 15km around Mark Anton, 5km around Tellico Planes and a .5 steering turn around Etowah.  Minimum task time was 3:30.  Although this contest will be de valued due to only getting three days in, Tony, along with first runner up Mike Westbrook, and second runner up, Tom Holloran is truly a champion’s domain.  

Chilhowee provided some tough race conditions for all competitors, and, for the most part, everyone really had fun racing this site.  This is how you grow as a glider pilot, and races like this toughen you up and make you a better racer.  These contests are great fun, with great food and great friends.  I look forward to seeing y’all at the airport where hopefully my next contest will be Montague, California.  Thanks to everyone who read these reports, I hope to correspond with you again soon!

-Triple Alpha