Competitive spirit soars at gliding championship in Narrogin

Narrogin Aerodrome hosted the State Gliding Championships last week, with gliders from across the State drawn to the town for the nine-day competition. All three WA gliding clubs took part — the Gliding Club of WA, Beverley Soaring Society, and hosts the Narrogin Gliding Club. Competitors had to carry out tasks, which are usually in a triangular shape, with each leg 150km-180km in length. Pilots manoeuvre around turn points, which are designated areas on a map, then return to the airstrip within a given timeframe. The maximum score for a day is 1000 points. Greg Beecroft from Beverley Soaring Society came in first with 6173 points over nine days. Norm Bloch, also from BSS, was runner-up with 6118 points, followed by Lumpy Patterson of the Gliding Club of WA on 5912. Competing for Narrogin Gliding Club were juniors Joshua Geerlings and Michael Keller, who were selected to represent Australia at the 2017 World Junior championships in Lithuania. Mr Geerlings finished in seventh place. NGC vice-president Dayle Found said the sport of gliding and the sense of community that came with it were unique. Mr Found deemed the event a success and said “a lot of people went away with smiles on their faces”.