British Gliding Association

Infobox Sport governing body
assocname= British Gliding Association
logo=
sport= Gliding
abbrev = BGA
founded = 1929
aff =
affdate =
region =
regionyear =
location = Leicester
president =
chairman = Patrick Naegeli
chiefexec = Peter Stratten
secretary =
coach =
womenscoach =
replaced =
prevfounded =
url = www.gliding.co.uk
country
The British Gliding Association (BGA) is the governing body for gliding in the United Kingdom. Gliding in the United Kingdom operates through 85 gliding clubs (both civilian and service) which have 2,641 gliders and 8,242 full flying members, though a further 26,000 people have gliding air-experience flights each year.

History

A gliding event first occurred in the UK on a hill at Itford in East Sussex in 1922. The meeting was largely a publicity stunt by the "Daily Mail" newspaper which had offered a prize of one thousand pounds for the longest flight. However little gliding happened in the UK for several years after until reports of long flights in thunderstorms in Germany appeared in "The Aeroplane" magazine. Douglas Culver suggested a lunch meeting at the Comedy Restaurant in London on 4 December 1929 for anybody who was interested. Fifty-six people attended and a committee was formed. Shortly after the BGA was founded to start the sport of gliding in the UKcite book |last= Welch |first= Ann |title= The Story of Gliding 2nd edition |publisher= John Murray |year= 1980 |id = ISBN 0-7195-3659-6 ] . Clubs were soon established throughout the country, many of which disappeared just as quickly, though some still remain today. Initially the BGA had individual members and funded some clubs, but it soon changed to being an association of the clubs with no individual members. Today the clubs pay an annual subscription to the BGA on behalf of their members. The patron of the BGA is Prince Philip who was introduced to the sport by a former chairman, Peter Scott.

Role

When the BGA was formed, it assumed responsibility for British gliding and the British government has not seen the need to change a system of self-regulation, because it has been effective and economical. As a result the BGA still has the authority that it assumed to manage most aspects of gliding in the UK though the European Aviation Safety Agency is gradually causing greater regulation. Consequently British glider pilots do not yet need a licence awarded by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). This is currently being re-negotiated to comply with European requirements. Instructors and pupil pilots are trained to BGA standards; annual inspections of gliders are done by engineers authorised by the BGA, whose qualifications are accepted by the CAA; and minor accidents are investigated by the BGA alone. Gliders imported before September 2003 are still registered for the moment only with the BGA, but after September 2008 all gliders will have a full CAA registration and airworthiness checks to EASA standards.

An elected Executive Committee of twelve is responsible for running the BGA. There are nine sub-committees covering the BGA's functions:
* Airspace,
* Competitions and Awards, (including the British Team)
* Communications and Marketing,
* Development (of the sport and clubs),
* Instructors,
* Safety,
* Strategic Planning,
* Finance, Staff and Administration,
* Technical (airworthiness and other engineering issues).

Monitoring proposed European legislation and evaluating proposals by the CAA to fit transponders on all gliders are currently almost full-time activities for some BGA volunteers. The BGA also publishes a bi-monthly magazine, "Sailplane & Gliding".

The seven Scottish gliding clubs whilst remaining under the aegis of the BGA have also formed the Scottish Gliding Association to liaise with the local and national authorities in Scotland.

taff

The BGA employs a Chief Executive (Peter Stratten) who is based at the Leicester headquarters with five administrative staff. The Association also employs two National Coaches, a Development Officer, a Chief Technical Officer, the editor of the magazine, and a part-time officer who awards the gliding badges of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale and some badges specific to the UK, such as the UK 750km Diploma.

UK gliding clubs

* Aquila Gliding Club
* Bath, Wilts and North Dorset Gliding Club
* Booker Gliding Club
* Bowland Forest Gliding Club
* Bristol & Gloucestershire Gliding Club
* Buckminster Gliding Club
* Cambridge Gliding Centre
* Cambridge University Gliding Club
* Cotswold Gliding Club
* Deeside Gliding Club
* Denbigh Gliding Club
* Derby & Lancs Gliding Club
* Devon & Somerset Gliding Club
* East Sussex Gliding Club
* Imperial College Gliding Club
* Lasham Gliding Society
* London Gliding Club
* Loughborough Students Union Gliding Club
* Midland Gliding Club
* Norfolk Gliding Club
* Nottingham University Gliding Club
* Oxford University Gliding Club
* Scottish Gliding Union
* Shalbourne Soaring Society
* Shenington Gliding Club
* [http://www.sgc1.org Southdown Gliding Club]
* Trent Valley Gliding Club
* University of Surrey Gliding Club
* Windrushers Gliding Club
* Yorkshire Gliding Club

References

External links

* [http://www.gliding.co.uk/index.htm British Gliding Association web-site]
* [http://start.fai.org/gliding-federations.asp Links to all national gliding federations]
* [http://www.glidingteam.co.uk/ British Gliding Team]
* [http://www.gliding.co.uk/findaclub/ukmap.htm Find a gliding club]