04-3 BOS - ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR CLUB CLASS

BOS Club Class Championship - Additional Information

While the Club Class competition has aimed to provide a stepping stone into the Open Class, it has not achieved this as well as had been anticipated in recent years.  The Club Class competition for 2023 will be more flexible to allow a change of site or task if that is likely to result in better flying experiences for Club Class entrants. 

Club Class - Glider Handicap system 

While the Club Class is designed for Flexwings, a handicap system will be used to allow pilots flying Topless or Rigids to enter.  The details of the handicap will be confirmed later.
 

Club Class - Tasks

Increased flexibility for Club Class has been built in, aiming to allow better flying experiences for entrants.  Decisions about whether or not to set an XC Task and/or use the same site as Class 1 and Class 5, will be made by the Meet Director in consultation with the Safety Committee and Club Class entrants. 
Alternatives could include:

  • Moving to an easier site if bottom landings are problematic (for example at Camlo)
  • Downwind XC task from a different site
  • Grid Tasks in front of the same or an alternative hill (More information to follow)  
  • Ridge race (same or alternative hill)
  • Top or bottom landing accuracy
  • Others as suggested by pilots with local knowledge
  • Joining the BOS Challenge group for non-scoring flying challenges
     

Club Class - Scoring

  • Scoring will need to allow for a more flexible range of tasks.  While the same scoring system, as used in the BOS Championship described above will be used for XC Tasks, a task specific scoring system will be agreed on the day if an alternative task is to be used. On some days the decision may be made that the scoring for an alternative task would not be included in the Series Scores.
    ‘normalised’ to 500 points for Club Class Series scores. This means tasks will be scaled UP or DOWN.
     
  • To allow a fair result at the end of the Series for Club Class, each scored task which is to count will be
     
  • Where an alternative task is to run on the same site as the BOS Championship task, the window for Club Pilots may be closed for a period of time to give priority to Class 1 and Class 5 entrants.
     

Club Class - GBAR Points

Points gained in GBAR will not count for the Club Class Series scores.

Moving up a class from Club Class

The previous requirement to ‘move up’ a class after winning the Club Class Series has been withdrawn for 2023, as the Panel feel this should be pilot choice based on readiness rather than a single win.  Pilots who have previously ‘moved up’ but would prefer to remain in/return to Club Class will have the option to do so.

  • It has been agreed however that a Club Class pilot may not win the Club Class Series Trophy two years in succession. 
     
  • If a Club Class entrant feels ready to move up a class mid-series, they may do so at no additional cost.  Series points from the Club Class will not count towards the new Class points.

Review of Club Class

We will review the future of Club Class in September 2023, alongside a wider consultation about the BOS. 

Newcomers Guide to Competition - TO FOLLOW

For newcomers to competition a separate guide about what to expect will be available soon.