http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30081

On the heels of Jamie Shelden’s great review of the Tennessee Tree
Toppers Team Challenge 2012 (http://naughtylawyertravels.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/tennessee-tree-toppers-team-challenge.html),
we’d like to make a few announcements regarding the upcoming 2013 Team
Challenge!

Team Challenge Format:

Teams of five pilots consisting of various skill and cross-country experience
levels ranging from A (pro, very experienced) to C (H3 pilot new to cross
flying) work together to earn points by flying tasks in the beautiful Sequatchie
Valley. What makes this competition unique is that it focuses on safety and
learning first, competition second! The A pilots are tasked with teaching the B
and C pilots on their team how to safely make cross-country flights. The team is
scored as a whole with shorter tasks given to the less experienced members of
the team. The more experienced pilots have the chance to earn bonus points for
helping their B and C pilots along the course.

New Dates:

The Tennessee Tree Toppers Team Challenge 2013 is being moved to September 1st
through September 7th. The last few Team Challenges haven’t had the best
weather, so our hope is that moving the event forward a month will give us
better soaring conditions, less rain, and more time in the air! This also
includes the Labor Day holiday weekend, which may make it easier for some folks
who need to take time off of work to attend. And guess what else? If you
attended the 2012 Team Challenge, check to see if your year-long Tennessee Tree
Toppers membership covers the TC 2013! If it does, you’ll only have to cover the
entry fee to participate. The Team Challenge entry fee is $160. A Tennessee Tree
Toppers membership, if you need it, is $100.

2013 Rules and Scoring Changes:

For 2013, the scoring rules are being updated by experienced Team Challenge “A”
pilot Eric Carden and the Tennessee Tree Toppers Competition Chairman, Ollie
Gregory. The new rules will be more clearly written and posted online for all to
see well in advance of the next competition. Some minor changes are being made
to eliminate sandbagging, encourage pre-meet team building, improve fairness,
and reduce subjectivity. Additionally, Eric Carden has created an electronic
scoring system that will reduce scoring errors, speed up the scoring process,
and reduce paperwork!

Improved Whitwell Launch:

A great site just got better! The Tree Toppers, led by undauntable Dustin
Blewett, worked tirelessly last summer to improve the Whitwell launch site by
changing it from a sheer-cliff launch to a steep-slope launch. The “New
Whitwell” launch is a large, carefully shaped grass mound that encourages
strong, fast launch runs. While this site is now less intimidating to those
without a lot of cliff launch experience, pilots launching from Whitwell still
need excellent mountain launching skills! Please note that Whitwell remains an
H3 site due to the glide requirement to make the primary landing zone.

The improved Whitwell launch (as well as the world famous Radial Ramp at Henson
Gap!) Can be seen in Dean Funk’s fabulous video, “Welcome to Magicland,” in
which he launches and soars both sites (one is NW, the other SE) on the same
day. Check it out: http://vimeo.com/52526556.

Southern Para Pilots Team Challenge:

Our friends at SPP (http://www.southernparapilots.org)
have reviewed the Team Challenge format and are planning a TC style
cross-country event of their own. If we’re lucky, they will be able to hold
their event while we are holding ours, and we’ll find ourselves sharing the air
with these fine pilots! The SPP have their own launch sites in the Sequatchie,
and there is plenty of room for everyone!

Weather:

The Team Challenge is becoming famous for “Weather-Proofing” the competition. We
do this by providing numerous seminars, clinics, and activities on the days that
aren’t flyable, so no matter what Mother Nature throws at us, the participants
walk away with new skills, knowledge, and memories. For 2013, we hope to have
all of the great teachers and leaders of 2012 back for more seminars,
discussions, and classes, including Dennis Pagen, Mike Barber, Jim Rooney, Mitch
Shipley, and more! Ollie Gregory will be there, as always, along with a host of
other local talent to round out the roster. You can expect seminars on things
like weather, thermaling, competition/race soaring, landing, launching, towing,
soaring simulators, radios, varios, equipment… and on and on and on!

Food:

Food will be catered and available to all participants for a nominal fee, just
as it was in 2012. Exact prices are to be determined. We are open to suggestions
for food! If you have any ideas, please PM them to me and I'll forward them to
the Tree Toppers.

Seminar Suggestions / Volunteers:

If you have any suggestions for seminars or, even better, would like to
volunteer to lead a seminar, just PM it to me and I'll forward it to the right
party.

More to come! Watch The Oz Report and keep any eye on the Tennessee Tree Toppers
web site (http://www.tennesseetreetoppers.org)
for updates. See you in September!