St Arnaud Paragliding League and XC Camp

Hi Recent Competition and/or XC Pilots...
For those of you who may be interested, here is a reminder (or first notice if you have missed it in Airborn magazine), of the concurrent St Arnaud Paragliding League and paragliding "XC Camp” events being run during the period Saturday11th February to Sunday19th February. The league is a Regional Competition, part of the NZ competition calendar, while the XC Camp is a freer format event with the aim of creating opportunities to fly cross-country in the company of others.
Please contact me if you have an interest in attending and require further information on accommodation etc.
The primary place where I will be publishing updated information on this event will be the Competitions forum of the NZHGPA web site.
 
Cheers
Tim Percival
Tasman Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club







St Arnaud Paragliding League and XC Camp  
Saturday 11th February to Sunday 19th February 2017
(Incorporating a Tasman Regional Competition)


(This expands slightly on what has been published in the November Airborn magazine).



The St Arnaud Paragliding League will be a NZHGPA Regional Competition, giving the opportunity to gain National Ladder (pilot ranking system) points. It is also in the process of being sanctioned as a FAI Category 2 competition, giving the opportunity to gain international WPRS points. Come along just for the XC Camp if you’d prefer to just fly XC without a set task and designated flying time. The events’ HQ will be a rented holiday cottage in St Arnaud. 

Here is a location photo:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7396/8725077583_c37519513e_b.jpg 
Paragliding League Specifics
Regional Comp. Dates:  Feb 11 – 13, 2017 (Sat-Mon), with reserve dates in case of bad weather of Feb 17 - 19, 2017 (Fri-Sun).  Any bad weather postponement to the reserve dates will be advised during the week before on the forum of the NZHGPA website.
Contact: Tim Percival percival@actrix.co.nz 03 548 7397 or 022 646 3864
Task Format:  Standard competition tasks.  First Briefing: To be advised on the forum of the NZHGPA website closer to the day.
Sites:  Inwoods Lookout, Mt Murchison, Mt Robert (walking access, depending on attendees), others to be advised.
Cost:  $5 suggested donation per day, maximum $15.
Required for Safety:  PG2 + 20 hours, reserve, back protection, GPS, UHF Radio, maps.

XC Camp Specifics
Come along just for the XC Camp if you’d prefer to just fly XC without a set task and designated flying time.
Dates: To be run concurrently over the days Saturday, February 11 to Sunday, February 19, 2017.
Day format:  Fly XC and see how far you can get. There should be opportunities for comp pilots to over-fly goal on the comp days. Come for the whole 9 days or just the good days.  Lodge your flights in person or by telephone to the HQ each evening if you wish to enter the friendly XC competition (your best four XC flights count). Verification by GPS track log or by traditional means (i.e. take off and landing witnesses) if, say, you forgot to turn your track logging on.
Sites:  Same as above.
Cost:  $5 - $10 suggested donation for the week.
Required for Safety:  PG2 + 20 hours, reserve, back protection, GPS, UHF Radio, maps.

General Information for Both Events
Accommodation
St. Arnaud is an excellent place for a long weekend with a variety of accommodation available including good tenting in the DoC campground, backpackers, and cheap holiday houses and baches for easy rental if you are a little organised. It has a shop and an all important bar. The events’ HQ this year is a bach/holiday house. The beds of the HQ bach have already been allocated, but contact Tim if you would like to coordinate with other pilots for renting a different holiday house in the village.
Sites
The sites we will be using are high sites (up to 1450m ASL), so they make for some very scenic and exhilarating flying around the St. Arnaud area, which is the northern-most end of the Southern Alps. (The site records for Inwoods Lookout, Mt Murchison and Mt Robert are 116km, 95km and 91km respectively).
Traditionally February is a good time for flying these sites, with fairly settled weather.
Transport
Mt. Murchison requires 4WD vehicles so if you have one, it would be good to bring it. Vehicles used on forestry access roads must be equipped with fire extinguishers (be sure to contact Tim beforehand if you will need to get one for your vehicle).
For more information contact: Tim Percival, 47A Brook Street, Nelson, ph. 03 548 7397 or 022 646 3864, percival@actrix.co.nz