Weather was good today – perhaps a bit better than forecast. Tasks were – as expected on the final day – moderate: 3-hour Area tasks for all classes. All US Team pilots comfortably completed their tasks. Mike Sorenson deserves note for finishing 13th overall – a solid performance at his first World Gliding Championships.

Gliders are now in their trailers, our team headquarters (a tent occupying a small part of a veritable tent city at the Tabor airfield) is now gone – it and other Team equipment are headed to the airfield at Zbraslavice (60 km northeast), where Sylvia Grandstaff will compete in the Women's World Gliding Championship, in July.

It's remarkable how quickly a large gliding competition can be folded up and packed away. By the day after tomorrow, little will remain apart from some strange wear patterns in the airfield grass. We were told that this will soon be the site of a music festival, some of whose attendees will perhaps wonder about those curious, fading patterns: our championship site reduced to the role of palimpsest.

It's time to look at the new World Champion in each of the three classes.

Of all classes, Standard offered the least drama at WGC2025. That's due to a remarkably strong and consistent performance by Jeroen Jennen from Belgium. Only once did he place lower than 6th for the day and he finished "going away", winning the final day for a score more than 500 points clear of the field. A dominant performance.

In Club class, Stefan Langer's victory in the 18-Meter class at WGC2024 in Uvalde pretty well made him the favorite here. And a number of notable flights with German teammate Uwe Wahlig (they took the top two daily places three times) reinforced that view. But they were not near the top every day, and going into the final task Stefan's overall lead was a mere 20 points. His final flight was an emphatic statement: he won the day by an improbable margin (117 points), erasing all doubt about who was the best here. You'll search long and hard to find anyone who believes Stefan is likely to stop at two World titles.

The real drama was in 15-Meter class: Lukasz Grabowski of Poland was standing in first place overall, with teammate Pawel Wojciechowski second and Tom Arscott of Great Britain lurking in third, 65 points back. Lukaz had a good but not a great flight, finishing 8th for the day. Tom was 4th; the difference was 55 points, making Lukaz World Champion by just 10 points. A big shock was that Pawel, on a day when nearly everyone finished, got low and had to use his motor, dropping him from second to 9th overall

-John Good

A difficult day with long tasks, more than half of which were not completed.

The forecast was for decent lift under cumulus clouds that might dry up by late afternoon. Northwesterly winds would be strong enough to generate lift streets – and perhaps to make thermaling difficult, especially at low altitude.

Racing tasks ranging from 417 to 433 km were set for all classes. Unusually here, the tasks had limited overlap: the three classes would explore different parts of the Tabor task area. Pilots had no trouble finding lift off tow, and were occasionally able to climb above 6000' – but the lift was inconsistent.

Start delays were again the order of the day. In Club class, a good number of the top pilots waited well more than an hour to start (on a task that very optimistically would require a full 4 hours, and – for many – closer to 5). Unlike many days, the best speeds came from pilots who did not wait nearly as long. Similar start delays were seen in 15-Meter class.

Inconsistent lift persisted, all through the day. Many good climbs – occasionally, to over 5000' AGL – were found. But at times pilots would struggle to stay aloft, happy with 2 kts to 2500' AGL. Speeds were thus not great, resulting in many pilots "falling off the back of the day" (they were forced to land – or start their engines and motor home – as thermal lift slowly died).

The consequence was more than 60 incomplete tasks, along with some late and low finishers. A notable example was Louis Borderlique of France in Standard class. He crossed the (5-km radius) finish cylinder at 1407' MSL – 33 feet below the official elevation of Tabor airfield. This was a straight-in, no-pattern landing in an apparently adequate field that (I certainly hope) he'd previously scouted. This earned a big penalty, but gave him a valid finish, one of just 14 in Standard class.

US Team pilots were all among those who didn't finish. In Club class, Tony got disconnected from lift and landed early. Sylvia persisted for over 5 hours and was getting close to home when the lift "switched off" – she chose to land at Sobeslav airport (just 16km south of Tabor) for a safe landing, an easy retrieve, and a scored distance of 406 km.

Jared and Mike had a reasonably good run to their final turnpoint, followed by a desperate struggle to make progress into the (still fairly strong) wind using the final scraps of lift the day offered. Jared started his jet engine about 47 km out and motored home. Mike fought another desperate battle against dying lift, this time with troublesome wind. He managed to crawl within 11 km of the finish, then chose to make the same safe landing as Sylvia: at Sobeslav airport. His distance was the best of all the non-finishers, good for 10th place.

-John Good

WGC2025 enjoyed its best weather of the contest thus far – though you could be excused for not expecting this based on morning forecasts, and indeed not until pilots were home. The prediction was for decent thermal conditions with a fair chance of cumulus clouds, especially in areas north of Tabor. But the cumulus might thin later in the day, and there was a warning about cirrus clouds invading.

In the event, the cirrus threat never materialized, cumulus clouds persisted and even streeted (uncommon on a day of low wind), good climbs to over 7000' were available, and speeds were the best of our contest thus far. In Club class, the formidable German pair of Stefan Langer and Uwe Wahlig, who'd stumbled a bit on Tuesday, were back to their usual form, taking the top two places. Stefan's winning speed was 128.4 kph – significantly better than the best in the other two (nominally higher-performing) classes. We hear reports that the two German LS-3 gliders have received a lot of careful attention and tuning (which to various extents is typical – and fully legal – here).

In these good conditions, the Racing tasks of 350 to 366 km proved a bit short. In two of the three classes, it was another day for delayed starts: in 15-Meter class, the delay was over an hour; in Club class, it approached two hours. And in both these classes the winners finished in under 3 hours, and thus earned fewer than 1000 points. All US Team pilots concluded that they started too early. Mike Sorenson was able to catch and stay with a good gaggle, posting a respectable speed of 110 kph for 13th place.

Czech drivers and roads get good marks from visitors. Drivers seem predictable, tolerant and law-abiding, though their use of turn signals is perhaps not exemplary. Horns are almost never heard – you could spend several days in Tabor seeking evidence they are actually allowed to be installed here. I've mentioned that traffic circles are common, and at normal levels of traffic they work notably well (at rush hours, lines can form of cars trying to make their way into the circle).

We've encountered a few anomalies. Yesterday, on the road into central Tabor a large sinkhole mysteriously appeared. This knocked out power – including to traffic lights – in a broad area, as well as narrowing a moderately busy road to one lane. Early in the contest, Ken Sorenson witnessed a strange accident in which a delivery truck veered off the road, ran up on a concrete barrier, perched there for about 10 seconds, then fell over onto its left side. Two apparently uninjured occupants proceeded to make their way out the right (now top) side door. The authorities had this scene cleared up promptly.

-John Good

A decidedly better forecast today. The front that brought rain has wandered off well to the east, leaving Tabor with cool temperatures, sun, and moderately unstable air productive of thermal lift to useful altitudes – and cumulus clouds. And it was thought to be a long-lasting day – decent lift until 18:00 or later – though perhaps with some thin cirrus clouds to slow things down a bit late in the day.

In view of the improved conditions, Racing tasks just over 400km were set for all classes. These once again looked a bit short: Under cumulus clouds with bases approaching 5000' above ground, top pilots should easily manage task speeds above 120 kph – possibly well above. With 4+ hours of good conditions available, tasks should be 500+ km.

In the event, the tasks proved about right. With plenty of late-morning cumulus clouds to mark lift (and perhaps with concern for weakening conditions later) most pilots set out on task promptly – a rare thing at WGC2025. Conditions were indeed good, but never really "booming". Pilots found it difficult to center thermals and to stay well connected to the clouds; most occasionally found themselves low and forced to accept thermal climbs less than half as strong as the best. More than a few encountered weaker lift late in the day. Best speeds were well short of what the optimists had predicted: Just 108 kph in 15-Meter class, and barely above 100 in the others.

Tony and Sylvia had a good flight going until finding struggles on their fourth task leg. At times both were low enough to be looking carefully at fields below (which were generally friendly). But both eventually found good climbs and got home comfortably.

Jared Granzow posted an excellent flight. He and Mike Sorenson started well, struggled a bit along the first leg, then slowly caught the leaders, ending up near the top of the lead gaggle. Jared's final glide went well, allowing him to finish 8th for the day, just 22 points out of first. Mike almost matched this, but his final glide didn't work well, eventually leaving him stuck about 900' above ground just 15km from the finish. He spent nearly 30 minutes "in jail", climbing slowly – occasionally not at all – in the weakest possible lift. His struggles were not in vain: he at last climbed high enough to finish. But the delay cost almost 100 points.

We felt Mike perhaps deserved some sort of persistence award for this – but he would certainly not be the day winner in that category. That honor goes to Grozdan Meglaj of Croatia, flying glider GM in Club Class. He started shortly after noon and finished 7 hours 10 minutes later, for a task speed just under 59 kph. The graph of his flight tells a tale of uncommon suffering (hours spent way too close to the ground) and tenacity.

-John Good

We awoke to a sky full of low clouds and light rain. It did not look like the start of a soaring day, but forecasts held out hope of clearing by mid-day, with thermal conditions possible by mid-afternoon. Late-day thunderstorm and wind warnings convinced many pilots to disassemble their gliders yesterday; they were now faced with having to re-assemble them in the morning rain. The optimists duly did; the pessimists decided to wait, reasoning that the interval between end of rain and start of lift should surely suffice.

The pessimists won: Satellite weather loops showed clearing skies well west of Tabor, but approaching very slowly. Rain was mostly gone before noon, but it was evident that soarable conditions could not realistically be expected before 16:00, and so the day was cancelled. (Skies did clear later, but definitely not in time for a task.)

Attention naturally shifted to the big evening event: International Night. All teams prepare food and drink typical of their country and offer it to all present. Counting pilots, crews, team captains, contest officials and assorted others, at 6 pm 200+ people gathered in the large hangar (where morning briefings happen) to enjoy this. Both the variety and quantity on offer were impressive.

The US Team offered chili plus Jack (Daniels) & Coke, which proved popular. Argentina had trays of empanadas looking sufficient to feed almost everyone; they were fried on the spot and went quickly. Croatia had a formidable cured ham and someone who knew how to carve it (very thin). Belgium offered what amounted to "waffle on a stick" and had eager customers lined up all night. France – always reliable in such events – had a selection that included wine, cheese, pâté de foie gras and multiple other delicacies. Switzerland offered fondue. Australia had grilled sausages and crackers with Vegemite (look it up). England scored with fresh strawberries & whipped cream.

There was, of course, also an impressive selection of beverages, only a few of which were non-alcoholic. The rest ranged from beer through wine and all the way up to such things as slivovitz, a type of plum brandy sporting a proof rating that can easily reach triple digits. Wise pilots approach these liquids carefully, especially when tomorrow has not been declared a rest day. A useful rule of thumb is that when offered a small amount of clear liquid, your level of caution should certainly take into account how far east in Europe is its country of origin. It appears the US Team heeded this advice; we'll be on the lookout tomorrow for pilots who did not.

The Jury has issued its ruling on the protest brought by Great Britain against the imposition of a 100-point penalty on Tom Arscott (DW) for an incident on 12 June. This is presented in a document 22 pages long (which of course includes copies of all the documents previously submitted in connection with the incident and the protest). Here's a summary (paraphrased) of the important points:

• The maneuver in question did constitute flying dangerous enough to warrant being penalized.
• The maneuver did not represent a deliberate attempt to gain an unfair advantage, and thus was not unsporting.
• Under the rules in effect here (The FAI Sporting Code, Section 3 Annex A, commonly referred to as SC3a), the only possibly relevant penalty category is Unsporting Behaviour – Dangerous or Hazardous Flying. This specifies a penalty of 100 points for the first offense, which was the penalty applied.
• But because the pilot's maneuver was not unsporting, it cannot be penalized under this rule. Accordingly, the penalty should be removed.
• There should be a penalty category that applies to unsafe actions that are not considered unsporting, and its specified minimum should be less than 100 points. But none exists in the current version of SC3a. Because there is no way to penalize the pilot without the incorrect implication that his action was unsporting, no penalty should apply.

This close reasoning is clear, and appears to accurately conform to the rules as written. But its implication is obvious and troubling: The IGC has put Competition Directors in the very awkward position of having no effective way to discourage unsafe acts that are not actively malicious (the vast majority of such). The IGC should promptly act upon the Jury's recommendation:
Create a new penalty for "Unsafe Operation," and allow the Director to use his
discretion in its application. The new penalty should be applicable to any phase of
flight, and it should be less severe than 100 points for the first offense.

-John Good

Today was a strange one. Forecasts agreed that an approaching front would at last sweep away the awkward airmass that has been troubling us for the past several days. As it approached, lift would improve, briefly reaching excellent altitudes (over 8000 ft) before rain invaded the task area.

The front took its time, leading to multiple launch delays (by 15-minutes steps) from a very optimistic 11:30 to 13:15. The Assigned Area tasks were short, and later shortened further: 2:00 for Club class, 1:45 for 15-Meter, just 1:30 for Standard class. The predicted excellent altitudes were eventually achieved – mostly under a certain few cumulus clouds – but good lift was sporadic, hard to center and very hard to find when low.

Most pilots again chose to delay their starts long after their task-opening time: indeed, only a few started within the first available hour. This makes sense when task times are short and conditions are improving, but of course means lots of time spent in crowded pre-start gaggles. I think there's considerable sentiment here that more time on task and less spent milling around near home would be preferable.

The key to the day was to start high and make long glides to the few strong climbs (assuming you could know where to find them). US Team pilots didn't really make this work. Tony and Sylvia found a couple of good climbs, but also had to work a number of weak ones. Mike never connected with the best conditions in the first turn area, but had a fairly good run into the second one and then home, yielding a respectable score and 16th place for the day. Jared did find one really good climb – and then not much at all. He was overtaken by shadow from tall clouds associated with the encroaching front, and had to start his engine not far north of Tabor.

The 100-point penalty applied to Tom Arscott's flight on Day 4 was (unsurprisingly) the subject of a formal protest by the British team. We now hear that the protest has been adjudicated by the Jury, with the effect that the penalty has been removed (restoring Tom to first place in 15-Meter class). The Jury will issue a full report on this, which I'm sure will be read eagerly by all here.

I'm remiss for thus far failing to mention an important part of life here in Czechia: beer. This area can in some sense be considered the home of beer as a refined – even elegant – beverage. A monastery in Prague is recorded as brewing beer 1100 years ago. The connection of two nearby towns – Plzeň and České Budějovice – to beer is more evident to Americans under their German names: Pilsen and Budweis. The largest Czech brewery – and certainly among the best – is Pilsner Urquell. Our careful research here finds that the ranking of Czechia in the list of per-capita beer consumption (first in the world) makes perfect sense.

-John Good

It's a non-flying day for the 39th World Gliding Championships at Tabor. Forecasts called for another weak blue day: not actually unflyable, but probably lower & weaker than the previous two. With much better weather said to be on the way, a rest day was declared yesterday evening.

Much of the US Team is now in Prague, doing some of the many touristy things that noble city is famous for. It's very accessible from Tabor: There's a train station within walking distance of the airfield (indeed, we often have to wait several minutes when crossing tracks on our way to or from there). The ride (about an hour) is both cheaper and quicker than driving. I imagine it's fully practical to live in Tabor and commute to a job in Prague.

The recent difficult conditions have had their inevitable effect on flight safety at WGC2025. A new part of this story is the imposition of a 100-point penalty on Tom Arscott (glider DW) of Great Britain, who was standing first in the 15-Meter class. We understand this was for an incident in a Thursday pre-start gaggle, judged to be unsafe flying. A short video of this – a 2-D construction from flight logs – was shown at Friday's pilot meeting. I think this penalty would not have been given without good evidence of a dangerous maneuver. But I'm confident the pilot's view is in part along the lines of "What about all the other aggressive gaggle flying we've all been witnessing? Why me and not all the others?"

At the 2017 World Gliding Championship in Benalla Australia (a contest much troubled by weak, blue soaring conditions), a feature of each morning pilot briefing was a display of all glider IDs and the number of close encounters each had experienced the previous day, as determined by analysis software that examined all flight logs (encounters between teammates – who routinely & deliberately fly close to each other – were not counted). This was thought by pilots there to be effective: the knowledge that your careless or aggressive flying today would be on public display tomorrow is a meaningful deterrent. I've not seen this used since; I think it should be a regular feature at soaring competitions.

I was able to do a walk this afternoon, during which I came across a small "Cars & Coffee" style event. The most common marque was Skoda, a Czech auto manufacturer. This company has been in business since 1850, though didn't start making cars until about 1925. It's now part of the Volkswagen group (which, among others, also owns Audi, most of Porsche and part of Bugatti). Many sporty-looking versions, including numerous convertibles were on display, looking like they date back 40+ years.

Also prominent were Jawa motorcycles, also made in this country – some looking ancient. And there was a military-style truck made by Tatra, yet another Czech vehicle manufacturer.

-John Good

Friday the 13th at WGC2025 was a day much like 12th: often weak thermal lift to moderate altitudes in a cloudless sky. Today featured Area tasks, perhaps with the hope that these would reduce the tendency of gliders to concentrate, as Racing Tasks with their small turnpoints tend to do. But the short minimum times attached to each task – ranging from 2:30 down to 2 hours – gave pilots little option beyond touching each turn area, then promptly proceeding to the next.

We continue to be a bit puzzled at tasks short enough to be done in less than 3 hours (generally regarded as a minimum, weather permitting). Among other effects, it pretty well guarantees a long period of "start gate roulette" in which pilots mill around near their start line in one of a few (typically crowded) gaggles, waiting for others to start so as to have "marker" gliders out on course – very important on days when climbs are not marked by clouds. This is apparent when noticing how long after task-opening time the class winners started: in Club class, an hour and 22 minutes; in 15-Meter class, an hour and 48 minutes.

US Team pilots played the game about as others did. All started late enough to have some gliders ahead, and all got slowed at the end, as the day started to die a bit earlier than forecasts projected. Mike Sorenson needed one more good climb than could be found for a really good score; as it was, he finished 11th.

Tony Condon came up a trifle short, just outside the 5kn radius finish cylinder. He actually landed at an airport – though not on its runway. It turns out Tabor has two: the huge grass one hosting the contest, and another with a 6500' paved runway located about 7 km northwest. This airport has quite obviously been decommissioned: the runway is covered with piles of wood and dirt, making it completely unusable. Fortunately, an adjacent field is in fine condition, allowing Tony a trouble-free landing and a fast retrieve.

I should explain an issue I referred to in a previous report: laundry. Our hotel offers laundry service, but the charge amounts to $2.33 – per piece. We felt this a bit outside our budget, so naturally sought a laundromat – a thing apparently not to be found in a Czech city of 34,000. A curious alternative is available: Nearby (pilots fly over it below 100 ft when finishing to the east) is a Tesco super-store. On an exterior wall are three industrial-quality machines: One is a washing machine (listed capacity: 8 kg of clothes) that charges ~ $7 per load, which includes detergent (automatically inserted at the correct time). The second is a larger washing machine: ~$12 for 16 kg. The third is a large tumble dryer – figure on about $5 for sufficient dry time. These machines are popular – don't count on them being available when you show up with a bag or so of dirty clothes. When they become available, pay by credit card and off they go, doing their job well in a total of about 45 minutes. You can pass the time shopping in Tesco, or elsewhere, just as you choose (they appear to be available 24/7).

There's also the issue of ice cream. Tabor has no shortage of places selling this, but they strongly favor the soft-serve variety, which the purists on our team regard as inferior. The shop that serves 12 flavors of the homemade variety has thus far escaped detection. But our hotel offers an alternative: a sundae consisting of a small scoop of run-of-the-mill strawberry ice cream, another of chocolate, raspberry sauce, and whipped cream. Even the purists are willing to admit that this is acceptable.

-John Good

A weak, blue day in Tabor. Given all the rain we've endured and the resulting wet ground , it seemed unlikely we'd not see at least some cumulus clouds. In fact, a few were visible to the east before the morning pilot meeting (10:00). But by launch time (11:45) all that remained were a few wisps, and by the time tasks opened, the sky was entirely cloud-free. Tasks were again short, probably in response to forecasts that called for lift to weaken after 16:00.

On such days, the unfortunate reality is large gaggles: The only way to reliably find lift is to be part of a group of gliders that can sweep the sky along the route from one turnpoint to the next: when one finds a climb, the others all join it. The "lone wolf" pilot may succeed for a while, but will eventually miss a couple of (invisible) nearby climbs and either spend a lot of time low attempting to survive, or land. And the way scoring works here strongly discourages flying alone: if the lone wolf finishes while the gaggle comes up short his score will be only slightly better, whereas if he falls short and the gaggle finishes, he'll lose hundreds of points.

But flying in big gaggles is stressful, disagreeable and often unsafe. A dozen or more gliders trying to climb in a thermal that can comfortably handle six is not a pleasant experience. And the gaggling begins well before anyone sets out on task. The ideal time to start is at the end of a stream of your competitors: you aim to catch them, fly in the inevitable gaggle around the course, finish with them and post a better speed due to your later start. This strategy is increasingly popular now that all gliders are tracked electronically all the time: later gliders can view a display of the gliders ahead, knowing where they are and – importantly – where they found good climbs.

Based on the forecast for a day that weakened early, all US Team pilots started reasonably early. In Club class, the gaggle caught them by the second leg. Our 15-Meter pilots were able to overhaul a number of good pilots who'd started earlier, forming a gaggle of roughly a half-dozen pilots – about right for relatively low-stress flying on a blue day. Jared Granzow fell behind the gaggle at one point, then managed to catch up with an excellent climb (best of the day) from low altitude. Mike Sorenson worked his way to the top of the gaggle, then broke away from it near the final turnpoint. His move worked, allowing him to finish well ahead of the others. Jared was just 5 minutes behind. These good tactics didn't yield the scores they might have, as the huge gaggle that started 30 minutes later did not encounter the forecast weakening conditions and managed to close up about half of the time difference. But it's what pilots should do to succeed at a World Gliding Competition.

-John Good

Finally, some glider-friendly weather at WGC2025. Morning forecasts didn't agree in all details, but the general indication was for a good – and largely trouble-free – thermal day, with cumulus markers. All three classes were given Racing tasks (in three different directions). These seemed rather on the short side (around 250 km) for a day on which lift was confidently expected to last past 17:00.

The result was 100% completions – not a single outlanding. Tasks did prove too short: nearly everyone was back home by 16:00, and in no class did the top score reach 700 points. (Scores are devalued below 1000 points when the winners' time on course is less than 3 hours.) But it was a welcome change from yesterday's endless parade of trailers leaving the airfield.

It was not a fast day for US Team pilots, with the exception of Mike Sorenson. He managed 12th in 15-Meter class: after a good start, he caught up to a number of earlier starters and flew in their company around the remainder of the task.

The score lists* show a surprising number of warnings and several penalties applied to pilots for their landings. The scheme at Tabor is to land on the long & wide runway in a straight line, then roll to the far – today, the west – end without turning to either side (so as not to cut in front of a glider landing behind you, which you certainly wouldn't see). This sounds simple – but the runway is fairly long & somewhat uphill to the west, and the finish procedure (it happens 5km from the airport and ~ 700' above runway elevation) doesn't guarantee any excess arrival energy, especially when landing into wind. This was the first day that lots of landings happened in a short time; obviously, the scheme needs some practice.

The city of Tabor – at least the southern part of it, where the airfield is located – uses an interesting scheme for vehicle traffic. On busy & important roads, left turns are prohibited – and for the most part, impractical (road junctions & business entrances are arranged like exit ramps). To accomplish a left, you proceed past the point where you'd like to turn and then to the next traffic circle (it won't be far – they are plentiful). At the roundabout, you accomplish what amounts to a U turn, then proceed back to your chosen turning place, which is now a right turn. This seems a trifle awkward until you get used to it, but does a good job of keeping traffic flowing.

* Find them at www.soaringspot.com/en_gb/39th-fai-world-gliding-championships-tabor-2025/

-John Good