2023 Preview and Fall Board Meeting

I trust that everyone reading this is getting excited about the close of 2022 and looking forward to a WHOLE NEW YEAR of aerobatic fun!

IAC Fall Board Meeting

At this year’s IAC Fall Board meeting, the IAC board took a few actions that will be of interest to our members. New program forms, called “L” and “R” forms have been approved for use in IAC contests. These have been used for a while in CIVA contests but will be new to most of you. Essentially, these forms combine the scoresheet with the sequence diagram which saves paper. This step allows us to run contests more easily with two-person judge teams (judge and assistant) rather than the three (judge, assistant, and recorder) that we are used to. These L&R forms do not have as much space for judge comments, but they still work well because the assistant can write the comments directly on the diagram instead.

The IAC Board also took the step to make boundary judges optional at our contests. Last year 18 of our 33 contests operated without boundary judges for one reason or another so this rule change will be welcome by many. Meanwhile, Contest Directors who want to staff boundaries still can. I’ve heard from members who are nervous about this change but try to keep in mind that we are already operating without boundary judges at most of our contests. It will be ok.

The IAC Board carefully considered the use of video in protests at the IAC Nationals and decided that in future years protests can only be made using official contest video. This eliminates the use of cockpit video or third-party video sources to resolve protests at the Nationals.

CIVA Plenary

The CIVA plenary also occurred where it was decided that Mike Heuer should be Jury Chair of the 2023 WAAC. This is a prestigious role for Mike that is a perfect fit for his knowledgeable, patient, and careful decision-making abilities. Meanwhile, I’ve been appointed to chair the Aresti Catalogue Committee to replace the late and sorely missed John Gaillard and Mike Gallaway continues as US Delegate and serves as a member of the CIVA Judging Committee. I’m pleased that we have several Americans in prominent roles in international matters.

Budget

Some of you may recall we had planned for a membership dues increase in the spring but for various technical reasons the new membership pricing didn’t take effect until October. For this reason, the IAC is way behind our revenue expectations for the year. That shows up in the financial report filed by our treasurer, Jordan Ashley, but we expect this to be a temporary hiccup. Membership levels are so far unaffected by the rate increase and holding steady at just over 4,000 members.

2023 USA Advanced Team

A bit of personal news: I’ve accepted the honor of serving as coach of Team USA this year. I’m delighted to be working again with Alice Johnson, who has agreed to serve as Team Manager.

We have a great, talented bunch of pilots who have already built a lot of skill and I am really excited to get to know them better. I’ve already sent them a few sequences and I’ve gotten a few of their cockpit videos so I know they are practicing!

Please mark October 24-November 4, 2023 on your calendars so you can come to Jean, Nevada and cheer Team USA on! I’m told the surrounding area offers many distractions which can keep you entertained between flights.

Gliders

Our 2023 contest season kicks off February 16 to 18 with the Estrella Classic Glider competition in sunny Maricopa, Arizona. Once again the Advanced and Unlimited Glider champions will be selected at this event, as will the USA’s Advanced and Unlimited Glider teams. I’ll be there flying my Swift S-1 in Unlimited and I hope you will be too!

I spent some time working with Mallory Lynch, Jason Stephens, and Shad Coulson on our Team Management policies and our Code of Conduct for the USA Teams. These Glider pilots really care about the sport, and they made great suggestions. Sometimes the IAC gets very focused on Power competition and forgets to write things so they will apply equally well to Gliders, such as the line in our policy document about how pilots must be responsible for fueling their own aircraft! I really appreciate it when people take time to make suggestions constructively. This meeting resulted in better policies for everyone.

In other Glider happenings, we have a new Primary Glider category brand spanking new for 2023! Previously, Glider pilots who weren’t ready for Sportsman had no Primary category of their own, though they were allowed to compete in the Power Primary category. This didn’t always work out that great because there are some training gliders that cannot spin, and spins are featured regularly in the Power sequences. I hope that by adding this new category we will encourage more Glider pilots to take that first brave step into the world of aerobatic competition.

Thank You!

If you reached out to me with suggestions, comments, complaints, or even harsh criticism in 2022 thank you so much for being willing to share your thoughts with me. Everything I hear from you makes me a better IAC President. Keep it coming! Please reach out to discuss this article or anything else at president@iac.org!