All in date SAMAA members with at least a Thermal Solo (or suitable written application for at least Thermal Solo received by the MGA prior to the event) may participate in the qualification rounds.
The latest F3J rules can be downloaded from the CIAM website. Qualifiers & Team trials will be flown strictly to applicable FAI / CIAM rules, unless local conditions dictate otherwise. All venues & dates will be advised closer to the time.
MGA Qualification Process for National RC Glider Teams
The following rules are applicable for the selection of all National RC Gliding teams:
- All selections must be completed sufficiently prior to the applicable World Championship, to permit adequate teams practices
- Selection events should ideally be scheduled for two days duration, were the second day is available for additional rounds to be completed. In the event that no rounds can be flown on both scheduled days, then the entire selection event must be postponed to a later date
In the event that the selections are interrupted (due to weather, etc), then the outstanding portion of the selections must be postponed to a later date that is agreeable to the pilots who where present at that selection event – the CD to confirm this within a reasonable period after the postponement - The CD is responsible for determining if an event should be delayed/postponed
- The discipline of the World Championship to be attended will define the FAI/CIAM rules to be applied during the selection events
- All the competitions will be flown according to the applicable current FAI/CIAM Rules & applicable local rules must be agreed by all pilots prior to the event
- Qualification rounds may be flown in teams, but the Team Trials must be flown using the “man-on-man” format defined within the applicable FAI/CIAM rules
- The National Team composition/structure is based on the applicable FAI/CIAM Rules
- Only indate SAMAA members are eligible for National teams selection
- The eligibility and allocation of National Colours are subject to SASCOC conditions & requirements
- Members of a National RC Glider Teams are required to comply with the stipulations defined within the SAMAA MOP
In the event that more than 3 pilots are able to qualify for the team, the selection process for participation as a member of the National RC Glider team to represent the Republic of South Africa at an FAI World championships are:
- There will be 3 selection events held preceding the World Championships
- The first two events are scheduled as Qualifiers events and the last competition will be a Team Trial event
- Using each pilot’s best score from either of the two qualifying rounds, the top ten ranked pilots will be eligible for participation in the Team Trials event
- Final Team selection is based on the combined results of the Team Trials and the best results from either of the two Qualification events (i.e. the lowest qualifier score will be deemed a “throw-away”)
- The top 3 pilots qualify as members of the National Team, 4th place will be 1st reserve (non-travelling), 5th place will be 2nd reserve (non-traveling), etc.
- It is recommended that one of the two Qualifying events coincide with the Gliding Nationals and the other as a stand alone event
- It is recommended that the Team Trials are held at a neutral venue
In the event that not more than 3 pilots are available to qualify, then in terms of development, the MGA may still consider approving a team of pilots who at a National Championship level in the appropriate discipline have each achieved a minimum of 80% of the previous National Championships winner’s score.
Additional team members who are not pilots & who may be eligible for National Colours are selected by the qualified pilots. The MGA will agree this selection only when the additional team member(s) are motivated:
- qualified to participate in the applicable Team Trials, or
- have actively participated as pilots in local & national competitions of the appropriate discipline to a level considered acceptable by the MGA, or
- have adequately demonstrated their proposed team role in local & national competitions of the appropriate discipline to a level considered acceptable by the MGA during the selection period.
The team may still motivate selection of individuals outside of these criteria, but the awarding of National Colours to these individuals will not be usual, and the SAMAA Team Grant may be withheld pro-rata for these selections.
