Covid 19 info from SSA, so the 2020 GTA season was on hold:

US Contest Pilots,

The SSA Contest Committee has issued guidance to contest organizers with regard to COVID-19. It is available to all interested parties on SSA.org at the following link:

https://www.ssa.org/files/member/Guidance%20to%202020%20SSA%20Contest%20Organizers.pdf

These are challenging times. The situation remains very dynamic with large and growing numbers infected people along with expanding restrictions on movement and gatherings that extend into the summer. The Contest Committee is working with organizers – especially for National Championships – to manage the situation. As decisions are made we will make further announcements on SSA.org and on this forum.

For the Contest Committee,
Andy Blackburn
9B

Obsolete text and schedule below, hope to restart as soon as possible.

Mark your calendars for 2020 (scroll down for calendar).

Our rules are based on the SSA Sports Class Regional rules with only a few changes. We standardized on a pilot meeting time of 11:00 am, Grid at Noon. Also standard Grid procedure will be: A class first on the first weekend Day, then B Class grids first on the 2nd day. We strongly encourage pilots to pregrid before the pilot meeting – this will keep us from missing an hour or so of the best soaring due to late start times.

You do not need to attend every race. Just come a few weekends a year to be competitive in the scoring. However the more you race the better your chances. In order to qualify for a trophy the pilot must compete on at least 4 days during the season.

We score the best 6 races. If there are ties we will compare points on head to head races between tied pilots.

For a valid day, the standard minimum Task in A class will be 40 handicap miles & need a minimum of 2 pilots competing for 1000 points, if only 1 A class pilot flies/competes 600 points is the max, for B class it will be 30 handicap miles & 1 pilot for 1000 points. [Since 2009]. Start Gate does not open until most of the competitors can maintain 3300’AGL. For GTA we standardize on a 3 mile radius start cylinder. Our finish standard is a 1 mile radius finish cylinder with a minimum of 1000’AGL, some sites especially those with more traffic choose 2 mile finish with 1200’AGL. Both Start and Finish altitudes are given in the task as MSL.

Anyone that wants to fly as a team with communication is welcome to practice, however we will score them as guests just as is done at regionals – no points will count for season totals.

For 2020 we will again award a GTA OLC Speed Trophy to the registered GTA pilot that posts the best Region 5 OLC Speed Championship sum for the season. The OLC Speed championship puts more emphasis on speed than just the distance score of the classic OLC, so it fits more as racing. The emphasis is on your fastest flight segment up to 150 minutes see Speed OLC Rules. Our idea is to experiment by encouraging pilots to fly faster cross country. Pilots must submit their own OLC flight claims.  While not required, it is easier to track the competition if everyone joins the “Club GTA” on OLC.

Flight traces must be turned in promptly to allow for scoring. At regionals you have until 9am the following morning or you do not get scored. The GTA scorer does not need to wait more than 72 hours after the flight to allow for flight log submissions.

The CD should have everyone fill in the GTA sign in list, and provide the following information to the Scorer:
[] Date:
[] Type of Task: MAT or TAT
[] Start Gate opening time for each class:
[] Start Gate Turnpoint #:
[] Start Height MSL:
[] Start cylinder radii (3 mile GTA standard)
[] Minimum Time for task:
[] Finish Gate (confirm 1 mile 1000AGL GTA standard, or 2 mile 1200AGL, report as MSL)
[] Turnpoints Called and Radii:
[] Contestants:  Race ID, First & Last Name, A or B Class, Glider Model & configuration if changeable, and dry all up flying weight (to determine handicap).
[] .IGC files submitted by CD or by pilot [please encourage everyone that flies to turn in a trace even if they did not complete the task, we use the information to gauge participation].  Do not change the name of the .igc file, Winscore requires the default file name.
[] Optionally please ask a participant to write up a description of the day.

Winscore Procedures for GTA are documented with several helpful hints and useful links – Please volunteer to learn how to score.
Contestants and Scorers should review the list of Handicaps.

Download & Print this PDF GTA_flyer – Post it at your Clubhouse.

3 Donation Payment Options:
1. Pay the annual donation via this paypal button:

2. Logon to paypal on your own and Pay the annual donation via PayPal to:
3. Mail a check to Tim’s Address as shown on the GTA_registration form (rightclick save locally, edit and send).

If you have SPOT, InReach, or Cell phone GPS tracker please register with the SSA Sailplane Tracker.

2020 Schedule

Information on our competition sites can be found on the links page.
Spreadsheet shown below is also available directly if you want to print it.

scroll vertically & horizontally if needed