We had a lie in to sleep off our hangovers from the night before and got up at 10am to find the campsite deserted. Most people had got an early start and we didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to many of our camping neighbours and new friends. We packed up and got a lift to Sisteron with Mark G. who’d had even less sleep than us.

The Ozone Open was brilliant. It was a shame the weather wasn’t normal this year and that we only got three tasks, however, I learned loads about competition flying, and flying in general. The talks were excellent, but what was even nicer was the camaraderie amoungst the competitors. Everyone was helping each other out, discussing tactics and generally being nice to each other.

There was one accident during the comp and Yanis from Latvia had to be rescued from a tree. Whilst he was being taken to hospital, someone came and stole all his equipment, which was a really scummy thing to do. The person who won the free Ozone glider at the final night raffle donated his prize to the Latvian pilot, so he would at least have a wing. This kind of generosity and kindness was evident throughout the week.

I’m not really bothered about my placing in the competition. My aim had been to learn a lot and also to score for my team each day. I achieved the first by paying attention and the second by there only being three of us in the team. Having Gillian and Dennis there was a huge asset and their knowledge and advice on mountain flying and competition flying was invaluable.

Being there with Ruth was a hoot! We had such a good laugh. We’re definitely going again next year and have our eye on one of the luxury mobile homes already.

Thanks to Beyond Extreme for our team sponsorship. We were certainly the most visible team at the event.

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