Flying High: Zbraslavice Gliding Diary, Part 2

Women's World Gliding Championships see share of frustrating weather and triumphant finishes.

Sam Weigel

Friday, December 19, 2025 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

The day’s racing task for Club Class was a 367-kilometer ‘bow-tie’ course deep into central Bohemia. [Credit: Sam Weigel]

Key Takeaways:

After early competition struggles due to poor weather, Sylvia Grandstaff formed an international team to navigate the FAI Women’s World Gliding Championships in a team-oriented European competitive environment.
The competition highlighted the critical importance of speed over merely finishing, the tactical "start games," and the complex dynamics of "gaggle" flying where gliders co-operate to find lift.
Sylvia's team learned through experience that while gaggle flying could offer advantages, strategic independent decisions, like breaking from the crowd with an early start, were crucial for success, culminating in a second-place finish on the final day.
The author's first experience crewing provided significant insights into cross-country soaring and competitive glider racing, inspiring a renewed personal interest in gliding.

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When i left off last month, my wife Dawn and I were crewing for our good friend Sylvia Grandstaff as she competed in the 13th FAI Women’s World Gliding Championships (WWGC) in Zbraslavice, Czech Republic.

Unfortunately, the first 10 days of competition had only yielded three flying days, thanks to a low-pressure system that had parked itself over the Baltic Sea and lashed central Europe with relentless bands of low clouds and rain. Furthermore, all three tasks had featured thoroughly marginal soaring conditions, and Sylvia had “landed out” each time, with commensurately poor scores.