[TVHGC Members] TVHGC April Newsletter

	TVHGC – Read All About It!
19th March 2016	Volume 1, Number 2
In This Issue ·    April Cub Meeting with Nancy and Carlo ·    Future Events & Articles – What's coming in the next newsletter ·    TVHGC Site Bites – 10 top tips for the beginning of the season ·    Comps & League Update – News of the club sites comp, the BCC and how we're doing in the league Links www.flybubble.com A link to contact Nancy & Carlo www.theswaninn-organics.co.uk The venue for our club meetings www.xcleague.com For the latest on paragliding XCs across the UK www.social@tvhgc.co.uk Send, articles, pictures and general info to Mike here.	April Club Meeting & Social – the Swan Inn Wednesday April 4th – 8 until 10pm     We're delighted to have Nancy Elliott & Carlo Borsattino as guest speakers for our April meeting. Flying against EN D and CCC wings, never flying in conditions they were uncomfortable with, they enjoyed some great XC adventures and won the 2015 UK XC League women and men's champions on an EN B and EN C respectively.   This promises to be a great interactive presentation, designed to inspire and inform those wishing to take their first steps toward doing XCs or the experienced XC pilot wishing to gain a better understanding of how the 'sky gods' do it!   Come along, hear the talk, and enjoy their journey!   Future Events and Articles We'd like to encourage you to forward short articles about your flying experiences on Thames Valley sites. Nothing more than 150 words, so keep it tight. If you have a picture or two that would really help bring the experience to life (Anything to replace my rubbish Pics!). We will also start running an article entitled 'Getting Back to the Hill!' As the title suggests it will focus on tips for getting back to take off. Our site at Gallows Down, AKA Combe Gibbet, will be the first site to feature. Do send in any suggestions you feel others might benefit from! TVHGC Site Bites As Spring approaches and paragliders get dusted off please give a thought to the countryside code as you head for the hills. Lambing, calving, pheasant rearing, dog-walking, breaking in young horses and crop drilling is taking place all around our sites and also in the fields you may be landing in after your epic cross country, be it 9km or 90km. Here are the Top Ten: 1. Read and Respect: Our site guides including access routes, parking (no more than 5 cars in the Milk Hill car park, park in the correct place at Uffington) permitted landing areas etc. Ask if unsure. 2. Animals: Do all you can to avoid startling animals of any kind and ensure grazing animals can pass by freely. 3. Fences: Never climb over wire fences because it stretches the wire and loosens posts – there will be a gateway somewhere. 4. Access: Don't drive on to private land to collect your mates (or your kit, unless you have permission), they can walk to the road. 5. Landing at sites: Take off and fly only when you are certain you can land in a designated area and not on crops. If you are caught out and forced to land on a cropped field you must either apologise to the nearest farmworker and/or let me, the Sites Officer, know, or one of the Committee. 6. Landing out: We hope you'll have fabulous XC flights, so when you land away, out of courtesy try to find an owner/farmworker and let him/her know you have landed safely and take care in finding your way out. 7. Be polite and friendly: This applies to all passers-by and avoid spreading out all over the hill in the way of walkers. 8. Be a great ambassador: For the club and for our sport. We are trying to negotiate new sites and improve access on others so it's important to remember that landowners talk to each other. We have many stakeholders – farmers, landowners, land managers, gamekeepers, Natural England, National Trust. 9. Look out for each other: We do have some mavericks who behave inconsiderately, fly dangerously or who may not be club or BHPA members and may not have insurance – it is up to all of us to be courageous and approach anyone like this to encourage them to join the club, get better training if needed and to respect the rules that the rest of us comply with. If in doubt, just ask. 10. Finally, have a wonderful season, fly high, fly far and enjoy many soft landings. Fi Burgess – TVHGC sites Officer Comps & League Update TVHGC Sites Comp Well, the scores as of the 11th March show we now have 11 club members in the running, with current top dog having bagged just over 26% of the comp waypoints (16). Current medal positions are: 1)     Chris Williams  2) Ian Pepper 3) Harry Bloxham The odd warm day gives a hint of spring so download the waypoints and get involved! Don't forget there are surprise prizes, waypoint prizes, most waypoints achieved prizes . . . you get the picture. All prizes generously provided by the event sponsors Fiona Burgess and Cloudbase Paragliding Need help? There's always someone around willing to help with equipment. As a club we really are knee-deep in equipment techno geeks! So just ask! British Club Challenge (BCC) All TVHGC pilots (yes, CPs too!) are invited to join this year's British Club Challenge (BCC) team. The challenge offers low airtime pilots the perfect opportunity to fly their first XCs in a safe and friendly environment, while offering an element of competition for more experienced pilots. TVHGC were runners up last year, out of 13 teams, so it would be great to improve on that, but it's the taking part that really counts...so please join us! See the website (http://www.flybcc.co.uk/) for more info or contact me directly (comps@tvhgc.co.uk) We have a dedicated Facebook page for sharing information about upcoming rounds, but if you don't use Facebook you are still invited! The challenge is huge FUN, as all those who have taken part in recent years will confirm. The entry fee has been paid already from TVHGC club funds so it's completely free to take part! National XC League The UK Paragliding and HG XC leagues are a great way to showcase the flights you've had whilst increasing the club's national profile. Any flights entered will be set against your primary club. The combined score of the top 4 pilots make up the club score. Our current crop of club deities are Nik Valiris and Alan Birtles, the only entrants for TVHGC, positioning the club in 19th. Here's hoping Nik and Alan have some company on the old score board in our next BSN edition.