Jury Report on 2003 Free Flight World Championships F1E Seniors and Juniors
FAI Jury
Ian Kaynes |
GBR |
CIAM FF S/C Chairman |
Ivan Horejsi |
CZE |
CIAM FF S/C member |
Marius Connu |
ROM |
Alternate Delegate |
Dates
Location
Cluj Napoca, Romania
Information
Two information bulletins were distributed before the championships with full details. No further information was issued at the championship except for a list of competitors.
Participation
36 competitors from 12 nations participated in the senior championships, including the defending world champion.
17 competitors from 6 nations competed in the junior championships
Accommodation
The majority of competitors used the official accommodation in the Hotel Napoca in Cluj Napoca, the quality of which was adequate. The meals were good, and particularly notable was that a three course lunch was served at tables and chairs on the flying site.
Flying site
The championships were flown on the Bogota Hill, a new site slightly further from Cluj than that used for previous championships. The 50km journey from the hotel to the flying site took approximately one hour. The topography was excellent with slopes available in almost all wind directions. The only defect was the long dirt track from the road to the launch site. This could have been a problem if there had been rain, but this did not happen during the championship. A World Cup event, the Turda Cup, after the championship was held on a wet day and the old flying site was used because of the better access road.
Weather
The weather for the practice days and the competition day was excellent. During the first three rounds the wind was very light and variable in direction. Launch position was changed after round one but for most of these rounds the breeze was often along or down the slope. After the lunch break a steady wind developed and the last two rounds were flown from a launch position facing directly into this wind.
Competition
The variable conditions gave a very good test of competitors’ flying abilities in a range of weather. 8 seniors and no juniors reached the flyoff. This was held near the bottom of the slope in a difficult position but the winner produced an excellent flight of over five minutes.
Timekeeping
This was undertaken by experienced Romanian modellers and no problem was reported. The conditions allowed all the flights to be seen without visibility problems.
Opening and Closing Ceremony
The opening ceremony was held outside the hotel in Cluj Napoca. The banquet and prizegiving were held in the Hotel Napoca. The presentations were marred by the fact that some competitors from Czech Republic had left for home before the ceremony. This left spaces on the podium for the second place senior, and the second and third place junior, and senior team was not complete for the team award. This is a regrettable lack of respect for the other prize winners, particularly the Junior champion who was alone on the podium for his award.
Protests
There were no protests.
Observations
Russia had submitted an entry with the request to pay on arrival. The team did not arrive and this cost the organisers for items booked in advance for the team. The CIAM should insist on the need to pay all fees in advance and ban teams which have not paid by the specified date before the championship.
Conclusions
The Romanian Modelling Federation are thanked for organising a successful and pleasant championship.