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Task 1 (Open)

How the field flew this task, and which behaviours separated it.

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ELLIOTELLIOTKANGCKMTMITATINTALTOWONGCORRYCORRY
The optimised route. Pilots fly it in the direction of the arrows. The radii, the leg distances and the start times are on the task page.

Analysis computed

Pilots
54
Airtime
101h (12:38–17:01 AEDT)
Thermals
27383 shared by 2+ pilots
Working band
927–2543 m
Airtime split
  • 40%climbing
  • 25%gliding
  • 35%searching

1 pilot is in the standings but not in this analysis. Which, and why

What the weather did

From the weather model

Independent of the tracklogs: modelled conditions for the task area.

Fetching the day’s weather — it will appear here in a moment.

From the pilots' tracks

What the field actually flew — wind, climb strength and leg timing measured from every pilot's tracklog.

The day’s wind, hour by hour and leg by leg. What the air did, read from the field itself. We estimate the wind from the circling of every pilot. The first method is the drift of the circle centre, and the second method, used when the first is not available, is the modulation of the ground speed. We then average the vectors two ways. The table by hour of day shows how the wind increased and changed direction through the day. The table by speed-section leg shows the wind on each part of the course. This metric describes the day, so it has no value for each pilot.

How strong the day’s climbs were, hour by hour. When the day started, reached its peak, and ended. We group the thermal climbs of all pilots by the hour in which each climb started, labelled in the time zone of the competition. The median and the 90th-percentile average climb rate for each hour show how the lift developed. This metric describes the day, so it has no value for each pilot.

Share of the flight spent in air that wasn’t sinking. How much of the flight was in air worth being in. The value is the share of the airborne time of a pilot, on the shared grid, with a 30 s-smoothed vario at or above −0.5 m/s. The time they flew, the line they steered and the way the flight ended all feed this value. It is therefore a reading of the day as much as of the pilot. There is no expected direction, and the sign of the correlation is the finding. The timing table compares the window of the day’s best climbs against the time when the field launched.

All charts — measured and modelled alike — share one time axis (AEDT), so a vertical scan compares the two at the same moment. Arrows fly WITH the wind — direction figures are degrees the wind blows from; arrow length and opacity track speed and sample count. On the per-leg chart the pale bar is when the field flew that leg and the solid band inside it is the circling its wind was measured from — a leg the field glided is measured in a sliver of the time it was flown. Exact numbers are in the day family’s tables under “The metrics in detail”.

Which behaviours went with better results

Every row is one behaviour, measured for each pilot and then compared against the published placings (Spearman's rank correlation, ρ). Rank 1 is best, so a behaviour where more is better shows a negative ρ. A bigger bar means the behaviour tracked the placings more closely on this task, and pilots measured is how much of the analysed field the behaviour applied to — a reading drawn from half the field is thinner than one drawn from all of it. Select a row to see that behaviour plotted against rank — the chart stays in view while you work down the table.

Glide speed between climbs

Each dot is a pilot: across is what was measured, up is a better rank. ρ = -0.81 (clear pattern, n = 53). More is expected to be better here, and it was: top ranks gather to the right. The curve is a trend fitted through the dots: left to right it runs from about rank 50 to about rank 2. 1 pilot has no value and is not plotted.
  • Field glide speed: median 54.5 km/h · p90 67.3 km/h (53 pilots)
BehaviourStrengthWhat it meansPilots measured
Glide speed between climbs
clear pattern
Share of race time spent hunting for the next climb
clear pattern
Share of lift turned in that was kept as a climb
clear pattern
Distance covered between climbs
some pattern
Arriving at ESS with height to spare
some pattern
How much of the thermal the pilot climbed before leaving it
some pattern
Glide L/D against the field median
some pattern
How often leaving the gaggle paid off
could be chance
Time spent flying with a gaggle
some pattern
Gliding wide of the optimal course line
some pattern
How low the pilot gets between climbs
some pattern
How long after the gate opened the pilot started
some pattern
Time to core thermals
faint pattern
Share of the height gain made outside thermals
could be chance
Climb rate at thermal exit
could be chance
Climbs joined on another pilot's marker
could be chance
How round and consistent the circles were
could be chance
Share of the flight spent in air that wasn’t sinking
could be chance
Low saves dug out from the bottom of the band
could be chance
Gliding faster when the next climb is stronger
could be chance
Climbing faster than the pilots sharing the thermal
could be chance

clear pattern is |ρ| ≥ 0.5, some pattern ≥ 0.3 and faint pattern below — each only once the coefficient is bigger than chance alone produces at that many pilots (its noise floor). could be chance (in the statistics: within noise) means shuffling the placings produces a coefficient that size more than 5% of the time, so it cannot be told apart from luck however big it looks. too few pilots is fewer than 8 pilots with a value — not enough to tell either way.

Rank 21 behaviours against one day's results and a few will look strong on luck alone — the ones worth believing are those that repeat across tasks in the competition-level analysis.

Outcome checks

These are not behaviours. They measure the result itself, for example the time behind the leader and the race time lost, so they always follow the places. They are here as a check on the analysis. A weak pattern in this table means that something is wrong in the numbers, and not in the flying of any pilot. Their per-pilot tables stay in the Race craft section below.

OutcomeStrengthWhat it meansPilots measured
Race time behind the leader at ESS
clear pattern
Race time lost against the fastest pilots, leg by leg
could be chance

The whole field at a glance

1. Gordon Rigg
2. Jochen Zeischka
3. Jon Durand
4. Olav Opsanger
5. Tony Cross
6. Scott Barrett
7. Mitch Butler
8. Rory Duncan
9. Nils Vesk
10. Vic Hare
11. Neale Halsall
12. Steve Blenkinsop
13. Guy Hubbard
14. Rohan Holtkamp
15. Trent Brown
16. Rich Reinauer
17. Ward Gunn
18. Dustan Hansen
19. Grant Tatham
20. Troy Horton
21. Pawel Cedro
22. Adrian Connor
23. Paul Bissett-Amess
24. David Drabble
25. Enda Carrigan
26. Mark Jeffree
27. Marty Hearne
28. Todd Wisewould
29. Stuart Cathcart
30. Cedric Joyce
31. Steven Crosby
32. Ken Millard
33. Tushar Pokle
34. Diego Mendonca
35. Neill Hollingsworth
36. Bruce Atkinson
37. Steve Docherty
38. Andrew Sutton
39. Peter Garrone
40. Neil Hooke
41. Jason Lannstrom
42. Peter Adriaans
43. Ian Miller
44. Andrew Taylor
45. Ben Torrance
46. James Atkinson
47. Gavin Nicholls
48. Michael Free
49. John Harriott
50. Bobby Gillham
51. Gary Herman
52. Brett Davis
53. Wayne Johnston
54. James McGinty
The pilots in rank order against every behaviour. A darker cell is a better percentile in this field, and an empty cell is a behaviour that does not apply. The columns start with the behaviours whose better end went with better places, continue through the behaviours that separated nobody, and end with the behaviours that ran the other way. A field that one behaviour separated therefore shades dark in the top-left corner, and a field where each pilot won differently does not. The band above rates how much pattern each group of columns holds: a clear, some or faint pattern, noise (could be chance), or too few pilots to tell. The family sections below carry the exact values. † This behaviour has no good or bad direction. The shade is the position in the field, and not the quality.

Pilot style clusters

The groups are flying style, and not score. The spread of ranks in each group shows where that style paid and where it did not. Each group carries the name of its strongest signature. A ★ marks the pilot most typical of their group.

Group A — Fast gliders

22 pilots · ranks 1–37 · median 13.5 · middle half 6.3–22.5

  • High — Glide speed between climbs group median P77 in this field (62.0 kilometres per hour) · usually a strength
  • Low — Low saves dug out from the bottom of the band group median P25 in this field (0.0 count)
  • High — Glide L/D against the field median group median P72 in this field (1.11 ratio) · usually a strength
  • Low — Share of race time spent hunting for the next climb group median P31 in this field (24 percent) · usually a strength
  • 1. Gordon Rigg
  • 2. Jochen Zeischka
  • 3. Jon Durand
  • 4. Olav Opsanger (most typical of this group)
  • 5. Tony Cross
  • 6. Scott Barrett
  • 7. Mitch Butler
  • 8. Rory Duncan
  • 10. Vic Hare
  • 11. Neale Halsall
  • 13. Guy Hubbard
  • 14. Rohan Holtkamp
  • 16. Rich Reinauer
  • 17. Ward Gunn
  • 18. Dustan Hansen
  • 21. Pawel Cedro
  • 23. Paul Bissett-Amess
  • 24. David Drabble
  • 25. Enda Carrigan
  • 31. Steven Crosby
  • 36. Bruce Atkinson
  • 37. Steve Docherty

Group B — Thermal milkers

8 pilots · ranks 9–50 · median 29.5 · middle half 17.3–42.3

  • Low — Climb rate at thermal exit group median P8 in this field (0.6 metres per second)
  • Low — Share of the height gain made outside thermals group median P10 in this field (4 percent)
  • Low — Climbing faster than the pilots sharing the thermal group median P12 in this field (59 percent) · usually costly
  • High — Time to core thermals group median P86 in this field (71 seconds) · usually costly
  • 9. Nils Vesk
  • 12. Steve Blenkinsop
  • 19. Grant Tatham
  • 29. Stuart Cathcart
  • 30. Cedric Joyce
  • 41. Jason Lannstrom
  • 46. James Atkinson
  • 50. Bobby Gillham (most typical of this group)

Group C — Glide bleeders

22 pilots · ranks 15–53 · median 38.5 · middle half 29–44.8

  • Low — Glide L/D against the field median group median P21 in this field (0.91 ratio) · usually costly
  • High — Share of race time spent hunting for the next climb group median P78 in this field (43 percent) · usually costly
  • Low — Distance covered between climbs group median P25 in this field (1.3 kilometres) · usually costly
  • Low — Share of lift turned in that was kept as a climb group median P28 in this field (56 percent)
  • 15. Trent Brown
  • 20. Troy Horton
  • 22. Adrian Connor
  • 26. Mark Jeffree
  • 27. Marty Hearne (most typical of this group)
  • 28. Todd Wisewould
  • 32. Ken Millard
  • 33. Tushar Pokle
  • 34. Diego Mendonca
  • 35. Neill Hollingsworth
  • 38. Andrew Sutton
  • 39. Peter Garrone
  • 40. Neil Hooke
  • 42. Peter Adriaans
  • 43. Ian Miller
  • 44. Andrew Taylor
  • 45. Ben Torrance
  • 47. Gavin Nicholls
  • 48. Michael Free
  • 49. John Harriott
  • 51. Gary Herman
  • 53. Wayne Johnston

Not clustered: 52. Brett Davis — only 12 of 21 metrics available (needs ≥ 60%); 54. James McGinty — only 11 of 21 metrics available (needs ≥ 60%).

GlideComp groups the pilots by flying style, and not by score. It transforms the rank of every behavioural metric to a percentile inside the field. It then compares two pilots by the mean percentile gap over the metrics that both pilots have, and never fills in a missing value. Ward-linkage agglomeration forms the groups, and the best mean silhouette selects the number of groups. Each group carries the spread of the GAP ranks of its members, which shows where a style paid and where it did not. On this task, 52 pilots on 21 behavioural metrics formed 3 groups, with k searched from 2 to 6. The mean silhouette is 0.12. A value near 0 means soft group boundaries, and a value near 1 means tight, well-separated groups.

The metrics in detail

best: could be chance (0.07)

best: clear pattern (0.56)

#PilotOut-climbCore sLeaveRateKept%TopOut%Round
1Gordon Rigg80 (15 shared climbs)60 (9 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.4 (7 climbs ≥ 90 s)63 (5/8 circling bouts led to climbs)89 (mean on-course altitude 64% of band)0.13 (82 circles, 72% left)
2Jochen Zeischka77 (28 shared climbs)37 (11 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.5 (7 climbs ≥ 90 s)88 (7/8 circling bouts led to climbs)64 (mean on-course altitude 48% of band)0.14 (91 circles, 36% left)
3Jon Durand80 (18 shared climbs)48 (10 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.5 (9 climbs ≥ 90 s)88 (7/8 circling bouts led to climbs)80 (mean on-course altitude 50% of band)0.15 (156 circles, 95% left)
4Olav Opsanger77 (18 shared climbs)58 (8 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.7 (7 climbs ≥ 90 s)73 (8/11 circling bouts led to climbs)57 (mean on-course altitude 50% of band)0.20 (124 circles, 30% left)
5Tony Cross76 (32 shared climbs)36 (16 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.5 (13 climbs ≥ 90 s)60 (6/10 circling bouts led to climbs)43 (mean on-course altitude 50% of band)0.15 (147 circles, 83% left)
6Scott Barrett73 (37 shared climbs)33 (12 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.3 (6 climbs ≥ 90 s)70 (7/10 circling bouts led to climbs)46 (mean on-course altitude 44% of band)0.13 (107 circles, 68% left)
7Mitch Butler64 (44 shared climbs)40 (16 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.6 (11 climbs ≥ 90 s)67 (10/15 circling bouts led to climbs)41 (mean on-course altitude 48% of band)0.21 (164 circles, 94% left)
8Rory Duncan70 (44 shared climbs)39 (16 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.6 (12 climbs ≥ 90 s)100 (11/11 circling bouts led to climbs)38 (mean on-course altitude 46% of band)0.15 (160 circles, 79% left)
9Nils Vesk52 (16 shared climbs)115 (16 climbs ≥ 60 s)-0.4 (16 climbs ≥ 90 s)47 (7/15 circling bouts led to climbs)78 (mean on-course altitude 51% of band)0.35 (15 circles, 53% left)
10Vic Hare74 (31 shared climbs)31 (14 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.7 (8 climbs ≥ 90 s)58 (7/12 circling bouts led to climbs)74 (mean on-course altitude 53% of band)0.17 (148 circles, 51% left)
11Neale Halsall67 (39 shared climbs)26 (18 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.3 (14 climbs ≥ 90 s)90 (9/10 circling bouts led to climbs)58 (mean on-course altitude 46% of band)0.12 (170 circles, 41% left)
12Steve Blenkinsop63 (25 shared climbs)74 (13 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.1 (12 climbs ≥ 90 s)90 (9/10 circling bouts led to climbs)88 (mean on-course altitude 68% of band)0.19 (203 circles, 48% left)
13Guy Hubbard66 (47 shared climbs)32 (17 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.5 (14 climbs ≥ 90 s)87 (13/15 circling bouts led to climbs)75 (mean on-course altitude 57% of band)0.18 (182 circles, 63% left)
14Rohan Holtkamp68 (28 shared climbs)45 (10 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.4 (7 climbs ≥ 90 s)78 (7/9 circling bouts led to climbs)47 (mean on-course altitude 54% of band)0.21 (95 circles, 46% left)
15Trent Brown70 (54 shared climbs)39 (18 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.6 (10 climbs ≥ 90 s)80 (12/15 circling bouts led to climbs)41 (mean on-course altitude 42% of band)0.16 (156 circles, 99% left)
16Rich Reinauer69 (21 shared climbs)35 (18 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.5 (6 climbs ≥ 90 s)67 (6/9 circling bouts led to climbs)81 (mean on-course altitude 56% of band)0.19 (100 circles, 93% left)
17Ward Gunn66 (51 shared climbs)35 (23 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.5 (11 climbs ≥ 90 s)77 (10/13 circling bouts led to climbs)63 (mean on-course altitude 60% of band)0.19 (147 circles, 41% left)
18Dustan Hansen58 (19 shared climbs)33 (14 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.4 (9 climbs ≥ 90 s)64 (7/11 circling bouts led to climbs)69 (mean on-course altitude 52% of band)0.11 (141 circles, 75% left)
19Grant Tatham69 (51 shared climbs)39 (17 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.3 (13 climbs ≥ 90 s)78 (14/18 circling bouts led to climbs)71 (mean on-course altitude 50% of band)0.18 (179 circles, 58% left)
20Troy Horton71 (38 shared climbs)32 (19 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.2 (11 climbs ≥ 90 s)55 (11/20 circling bouts led to climbs)59 (mean on-course altitude 51% of band)0.16 (154 circles, 78% left)
21Pawel Cedro66 (46 shared climbs)32 (18 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.4 (11 climbs ≥ 90 s)84 (16/19 circling bouts led to climbs)61 (mean on-course altitude 53% of band)0.16 (193 circles, 24% left)
22Adrian Connor78 (32 shared climbs)48 (12 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.9 (10 climbs ≥ 90 s)100 (12/12 circling bouts led to climbs)70 (mean on-course altitude 54% of band)0.16 (127 circles, 48% left)
23Paul Bissett-Amess59 (43 shared climbs)34 (17 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.3 (12 climbs ≥ 90 s)82 (9/11 circling bouts led to climbs)65 (mean on-course altitude 51% of band)0.18 (239 circles, 41% left)
24David Drabble78 (34 shared climbs)34 (11 climbs ≥ 60 s)2.2 (2 climbs ≥ 90 s)77 (10/13 circling bouts led to climbs)59 (mean on-course altitude 59% of band)0.14 (126 circles, 94% left)
25Enda Carrigan64 (52 shared climbs)30 (22 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.6 (9 climbs ≥ 90 s)72 (13/18 circling bouts led to climbs)64 (mean on-course altitude 55% of band)0.19 (208 circles, 73% left)
26Mark Jeffree37 (5 shared climbs)68 (11 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.7 (8 climbs ≥ 90 s)55 (11/20 circling bouts led to climbs)73 (mean on-course altitude 51% of band)0.16 (106 circles, 88% left)
27Marty Hearne71 (33 shared climbs)34 (16 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.4 (9 climbs ≥ 90 s)73 (8/11 circling bouts led to climbs)43 (mean on-course altitude 30% of band)0.16 (143 circles, 100% left)
28Todd Wisewould60 (51 shared climbs)61 (16 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.5 (9 climbs ≥ 90 s)65 (13/20 circling bouts led to climbs)38 (mean on-course altitude 45% of band)0.16 (271 circles, 99% left)
29Stuart Cathcart58 (23 shared climbs)48 (26 climbs ≥ 60 s)0.6 (21 climbs ≥ 90 s)67 (14/21 circling bouts led to climbs)22 (mean on-course altitude 24% of band)0.20 (81 circles, 93% left)
30Cedric Joyce60 (12 shared climbs)78 (12 climbs ≥ 60 s)-0.4 (9 climbs ≥ 90 s)67 (10/15 circling bouts led to climbs)97 (mean on-course altitude 66% of band)— (5 circles, 40% left)
31Steven Crosby76 (11 shared climbs)91 (5 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.1 (5 climbs ≥ 90 s)57 (4/7 circling bouts led to climbs)20 (mean on-course altitude 35% of band)0.18 (79 circles, 59% left)
32Ken Millard75 (36 shared climbs)34 (12 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.1 (9 climbs ≥ 90 s)80 (8/10 circling bouts led to climbs)68 (mean on-course altitude 54% of band)0.18 (203 circles, 46% left)
33Tushar Pokle77 (34 shared climbs)42 (12 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.8 (6 climbs ≥ 90 s)50 (5/10 circling bouts led to climbs)85 (mean on-course altitude 63% of band)0.14 (123 circles, 90% left)
34Diego Mendonca72 (39 shared climbs)34 (21 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.3 (10 climbs ≥ 90 s)67 (12/18 circling bouts led to climbs)80 (mean on-course altitude 65% of band)0.13 (216 circles, 95% left)
35Neill Hollingsworth65 (35 shared climbs)35 (8 climbs ≥ 60 s)2.5 (5 climbs ≥ 90 s)62 (8/13 circling bouts led to climbs)42 (mean on-course altitude 35% of band)0.15 (99 circles, 79% left)
36Bruce Atkinson78 (6 shared climbs)60 (7 climbs ≥ 60 s)0.4 (6 climbs ≥ 90 s)40 (4/10 circling bouts led to climbs)99 (mean on-course altitude 32% of band)— (6 circles, 100% left)
37Steve Docherty85 (12 shared climbs)60 (6 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.6 (4 climbs ≥ 90 s)60 (3/5 circling bouts led to climbs)30 (mean on-course altitude 31% of band)0.09 (60 circles, 93% left)
38Andrew Sutton63 (19 shared climbs)12 (10 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.1 (6 climbs ≥ 90 s)80 (4/5 circling bouts led to climbs)44 (mean on-course altitude 38% of band)0.16 (98 circles, 95% left)
39Peter Garrone61 (28 shared climbs)42 (11 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.5 (4 climbs ≥ 90 s)56 (5/9 circling bouts led to climbs)31 (mean on-course altitude 26% of band)0.16 (115 circles, 77% left)
40Neil Hooke82 (8 shared climbs)41 (7 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.4 (7 climbs ≥ 90 s)57 (4/7 circling bouts led to climbs)-11 (mean on-course altitude 20% of band)0.18 (66 circles, 67% left)
41Jason Lannstrom55 (18 shared climbs)68 (11 climbs ≥ 60 s)0.7 (8 climbs ≥ 90 s)67 (4/6 circling bouts led to climbs)92 (mean on-course altitude 65% of band)0.18 (57 circles, 95% left)
42Peter Adriaans74 (15 shared climbs)80 (5 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.2 (5 climbs ≥ 90 s)71 (5/7 circling bouts led to climbs)-3 (mean on-course altitude 26% of band)0.14 (52 circles, 19% left)
43Ian Miller61 (20 shared climbs)49 (8 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.3 (7 climbs ≥ 90 s)25 (1/4 circling bouts led to climbs)5 (mean on-course altitude 7% of band)0.19 (85 circles, 98% left)
44Andrew Taylor72 (14 shared climbs)41 (7 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.1 (6 climbs ≥ 90 s)56 (5/9 circling bouts led to climbs)20 (mean on-course altitude 26% of band)0.14 (141 circles, 94% left)
45Ben Torrance68 (15 shared climbs)44 (15 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.3 (13 climbs ≥ 90 s)20 (1/5 circling bouts led to climbs)44 (mean on-course altitude 14% of band)0.17 (249 circles, 87% left)
46James Atkinson48 (13 shared climbs)50 (13 climbs ≥ 60 s)0.5 (10 climbs ≥ 90 s)14 (1/7 circling bouts led to climbs)33 (mean on-course altitude 8% of band)0.24 (16 circles, 81% left)
47Gavin Nicholls71 (8 shared climbs)34 (6 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.5 (4 climbs ≥ 90 s)50 (3/6 circling bouts led to climbs)8 (mean on-course altitude 3% of band)0.18 (78 circles, 88% left)
48Michael Free60 (29 shared climbs)26 (6 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.3 (6 climbs ≥ 90 s)50 (2/4 circling bouts led to climbs)17 (mean on-course altitude 6% of band)0.14 (115 circles, 96% left)
49John Harriott72 (10 shared climbs)71 (3 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.4 (2 climbs ≥ 90 s)20 (1/5 circling bouts led to climbs)1 (mean on-course altitude -6% of band)0.12 (56 circles, 25% left)
50Bobby Gillham64 (14 shared climbs)118 (14 climbs ≥ 60 s)0.2 (12 climbs ≥ 90 s)61 (11/18 circling bouts led to climbs)61 (mean on-course altitude 40% of band)0.26 (27 circles, 81% left)
51Gary Herman78 (23 shared climbs)58 (10 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.5 (8 climbs ≥ 90 s)77 (10/13 circling bouts led to climbs)19 (mean on-course altitude 33% of band)0.17 (117 circles, 21% left)
52Brett Davis87 (3 shared climbs)66 (2 climbs ≥ 60 s)1.6 (1 climb ≥ 90 s)33 (1/3 circling bouts led to climbs)29 (mean on-course altitude 20% of band)0.23 (40 circles, 100% left)
53Wayne Johnston85 (8 shared climbs)48 (5 climbs ≥ 60 s)2.3 (4 climbs ≥ 90 s)33 (1/3 circling bouts led to climbs)80 (mean on-course altitude 52% of band)— (8 circles, 100% left)
54James McGinty74 (11 shared climbs)101 (1 climb ≥ 60 s)2.4 (1 climb ≥ 90 s)——0.19 (15 circles, 80% left)

Share of lift turned in that was kept as a climb

Measured in percent · no expected direction

How selective the pilot is about the lift they stop for. Each period of circling of 30 s or more after the start counts as lift that the pilot sampled. If the period overlaps a detected thermal, the pilot kept that lift. If it does not, they turned a few circles and left it. The value is the percentage kept. A low value means they are selective. A high value means they keep almost every climb they turn in. There is no expected direction: selection wins on a strong day and wastes time on a weak one.

Acceptance by hour

HourMedian accepted (%)pilots
8832
8350
6338
209
01

Median per-pilot acceptance %, bucketed by the hour (competition time zone).

How round and consistent the circles were

Measured in ratio · lower is better

Whether the pilot flies clean, repeatable circles, or moves around the thermal. We fit each detected circle by least squares. The RMS fit error divided by the fitted radius measures how round the turn was. The value is the median over all of the circles of the pilot. A lower value means smoother and more consistent turns.

Turn direction across the field: 71% left (6341 circles).

best: clear pattern (0.81)

#PilotGlideSpdGlideL/DSpeedToFlyWide%Dolphin%
1Gordon Rigg72.2 (9 glides, 41 min gliding)1.48 (5 legs compared)-2.0 (8 glide→climb pairs)13 (5 legs completed)3 (81 of 2903 m gained outside thermals)
2Jochen Zeischka71.4 (14 glides, 36 min gliding)1.11 (5 legs compared)-9.2 (13 glide→climb pairs)25 (5 legs completed)11 (428 of 3884 m gained outside thermals)
3Jon Durand68.4 (11 glides, 46 min gliding)1.06 (5 legs compared)9.4 (10 glide→climb pairs)15 (5 legs completed)5 (200 of 4126 m gained outside thermals)
4Olav Opsanger65.7 (14 glides, 43 min gliding)1.19 (5 legs compared)-1.4 (13 glide→climb pairs)28 (5 legs completed)8 (312 of 4018 m gained outside thermals)
5Tony Cross61.8 (18 glides, 46 min gliding)0.93 (5 legs compared)5.5 (17 glide→climb pairs)20 (5 legs completed)11 (430 of 4093 m gained outside thermals)
6Scott Barrett67.6 (11 glides, 37 min gliding)0.99 (5 legs compared)10.7 (10 glide→climb pairs)29 (5 legs completed)15 (627 of 4170 m gained outside thermals)
7Mitch Butler60.7 (16 glides, 45 min gliding)1.15 (5 legs compared)-2.5 (15 glide→climb pairs)19 (5 legs completed)10 (380 of 3939 m gained outside thermals)
8Rory Duncan62.2 (18 glides, 53 min gliding)1.12 (5 legs compared)1.9 (17 glide→climb pairs)23 (5 legs completed)10 (496 of 4958 m gained outside thermals)
9Nils Vesk57.9 (5 glides, 41 min gliding)1.20 (5 legs compared)-3.4 (4 glide→climb pairs)13 (5 legs completed)5 (225 of 4660 m gained outside thermals)
10Vic Hare73.5 (15 glides, 47 min gliding)1.26 (5 legs compared)0.3 (14 glide→climb pairs)46 (5 legs completed)16 (803 of 5141 m gained outside thermals)
11Neale Halsall62.5 (11 glides, 45 min gliding)0.92 (5 legs compared)5.2 (10 glide→climb pairs)34 (5 legs completed)12 (610 of 5191 m gained outside thermals)
12Steve Blenkinsop64.6 (17 glides, 44 min gliding)1.17 (4 legs compared)-3.1 (16 glide→climb pairs)34 (5 legs completed)3 (136 of 4541 m gained outside thermals)
13Guy Hubbard62.8 (11 glides, 53 min gliding)1.05 (5 legs compared)-6.5 (10 glide→climb pairs)33 (5 legs completed)13 (609 of 4534 m gained outside thermals)
14Rohan Holtkamp66.3 (15 glides, 38 min gliding)1.02 (4 legs compared)3.7 (14 glide→climb pairs)12 (5 legs completed)12 (356 of 3055 m gained outside thermals)
15Trent Brown61.9 (17 glides, 46 min gliding)1.09 (5 legs compared)-3.4 (16 glide→climb pairs)24 (5 legs completed)11 (493 of 4419 m gained outside thermals)
16Rich Reinauer56.5 (15 glides, 49 min gliding)1.23 (5 legs compared)5.7 (14 glide→climb pairs)31 (5 legs completed)11 (523 of 4857 m gained outside thermals)
17Ward Gunn69.2 (20 glides, 55 min gliding)1.04 (5 legs compared)-7.8 (19 glide→climb pairs)45 (5 legs completed)14 (675 of 4777 m gained outside thermals)
18Dustan Hansen59.7 (19 glides, 62 min gliding)1.10 (5 legs compared)1.4 (18 glide→climb pairs)41 (5 legs completed)9 (508 of 5634 m gained outside thermals)
19Grant Tatham49.8 (24 glides, 70 min gliding)0.98 (5 legs compared)-2.6 (23 glide→climb pairs)34 (5 legs completed)7 (480 of 6440 m gained outside thermals)
20Troy Horton55.2 (19 glides, 59 min gliding)0.88 (5 legs compared)-0.3 (18 glide→climb pairs)41 (5 legs completed)10 (692 of 6739 m gained outside thermals)
21Pawel Cedro59.9 (20 glides, 67 min gliding)0.94 (5 legs compared)1.0 (19 glide→climb pairs)49 (5 legs completed)15 (957 of 6270 m gained outside thermals)
22Adrian Connor50.4 (19 glides, 62 min gliding)0.82 (5 legs compared)-3.3 (18 glide→climb pairs)38 (5 legs completed)10 (656 of 6437 m gained outside thermals)
23Paul Bissett-Amess58.7 (18 glides, 66 min gliding)1.08 (5 legs compared)1.4 (17 glide→climb pairs)47 (5 legs completed)9 (485 of 5697 m gained outside thermals)
24David Drabble58.9 (21 glides, 71 min gliding)1.15 (5 legs compared)2.7 (20 glide→climb pairs)64 (5 legs completed)25 (1399 of 5537 m gained outside thermals)
25Enda Carrigan58.8 (18 glides, 67 min gliding)1.09 (5 legs compared)1.6 (17 glide→climb pairs)54 (5 legs completed)14 (829 of 6096 m gained outside thermals)
26Mark Jeffree48.2 (17 glides, 75 min gliding)0.93 (4 legs compared)3.2 (16 glide→climb pairs)39 (4 legs completed)15 (610 of 4170 m gained outside thermals)
27Marty Hearne48.3 (14 glides, 60 min gliding)0.86 (3 legs compared)-0.3 (13 glide→climb pairs)46 (3 legs completed)16 (727 of 4535 m gained outside thermals)
28Todd Wisewould60.3 (25 glides, 65 min gliding)1.03 (3 legs compared)5.1 (24 glide→climb pairs)50 (3 legs completed)14 (796 of 5615 m gained outside thermals)
29Stuart Cathcart49.4 (16 glides, 62 min gliding)1.07 (2 legs compared)2.2 (15 glide→climb pairs)72 (2 legs completed)6 (340 of 5448 m gained outside thermals)
30Cedric Joyce47.8 (8 glides, 41 min gliding)0.98 (2 legs compared)7.9 (7 glide→climb pairs)33 (2 legs completed)1 (43 of 3518 m gained outside thermals)
31Steven Crosby54.9 (6 glides, 27 min gliding)1.35 (2 legs compared)-2.6 (5 glide→climb pairs)29 (2 legs completed)9 (139 of 1522 m gained outside thermals)
32Ken Millard54.7 (19 glides, 51 min gliding)0.91 (2 legs compared)1.8 (18 glide→climb pairs)50 (2 legs completed)35 (1534 of 4423 m gained outside thermals)
33Tushar Pokle46.0 (16 glides, 58 min gliding)0.79 (1 leg compared)-2.4 (15 glide→climb pairs)59 (2 legs completed)11 (423 of 3858 m gained outside thermals)
34Diego Mendonca53.4 (20 glides, 73 min gliding)0.83 (2 legs compared)4.6 (19 glide→climb pairs)163 (2 legs completed)12 (776 of 6375 m gained outside thermals)
35Neill Hollingsworth47.1 (16 glides, 47 min gliding)0.56 (1 leg compared)-1.2 (15 glide→climb pairs)188 (1 leg completed)28 (878 of 3117 m gained outside thermals)
36Bruce Atkinson43.0 (5 glides, 29 min gliding)1.37 (1 leg compared)3.0 (4 glide→climb pairs)14 (1 leg completed)5 (115 of 2440 m gained outside thermals)
37Steve Docherty52.4 (4 glides, 25 min gliding)1.24 (1 leg compared)—27 (1 leg completed)6 (108 of 1826 m gained outside thermals)
38Andrew Sutton50.2 (9 glides, 32 min gliding)1.05 (1 leg compared)1.1 (8 glide→climb pairs)31 (1 leg completed)12 (252 of 2136 m gained outside thermals)
39Peter Garrone47.4 (6 glides, 34 min gliding)0.77 (1 leg compared)-1.7 (5 glide→climb pairs)186 (1 leg completed)9 (286 of 3027 m gained outside thermals)
40Neil Hooke47.1 (7 glides, 25 min gliding)0.98 (1 leg compared)-6.1 (6 glide→climb pairs)21 (1 leg completed)20 (274 of 1365 m gained outside thermals)
41Jason Lannstrom46.2 (5 glides, 28 min gliding)0.99 (1 leg compared)9.1 (4 glide→climb pairs)88 (1 leg completed)6 (69 of 1206 m gained outside thermals)
42Peter Adriaans52.9 (10 glides, 29 min gliding)0.76 (1 leg compared)1.6 (9 glide→climb pairs)26 (1 leg completed)7 (86 of 1143 m gained outside thermals)
43Ian Miller47.1 (3 glides, 11 min gliding)1.08 (1 leg compared)—15 (1 leg completed)19 (100 of 535 m gained outside thermals)
44Andrew Taylor44.0 (12 glides, 45 min gliding)0.51 (1 leg compared)-0.0 (11 glide→climb pairs)144 (1 leg completed)14 (387 of 2672 m gained outside thermals)
45Ben Torrance47.4 (1 glides, 17 min gliding)——6 (1 leg completed)10 (34 of 347 m gained outside thermals)
46James Atkinson50.8 (2 glides, 11 min gliding)1.29 (1 leg compared)—32 (1 leg completed)2 (13 of 733 m gained outside thermals)
47Gavin Nicholls54.5 (4 glides, 15 min gliding)1.05 (1 leg compared)—49 (1 leg completed)22 (154 of 705 m gained outside thermals)
48Michael Free49.1 (2 glides, 12 min gliding)0.93 (1 leg compared)—51 (1 leg completed)—
49John Harriott50.5 (1 glides, 16 min gliding)0.92 (1 leg compared)—52 (1 leg completed)26 (173 of 676 m gained outside thermals)
50Bobby Gillham48.9 (8 glides, 45 min gliding)—-1.8 (7 glide→climb pairs)—1 (67 of 5096 m gained outside thermals)
51Gary Herman54.5 (13 glides, 41 min gliding)—-1.7 (12 glide→climb pairs)—8 (388 of 4624 m gained outside thermals)
52Brett Davis45.3 (2 glides, 11 min gliding)————
53Wayne Johnston35.8 (2 glides, 19 min gliding)———24 (81 of 344 m gained outside thermals)
54James McGinty—0.83 (1 leg compared)—22 (1 leg completed)—

Glide speed between climbs

Measured in kilometres per hour · higher is better

How fast the pilot moves down the course when they are on a glide. The value is the duration-weighted mean ground speed over every glide after the start, which is the glide distance divided by the glide time. A higher value means more ground covered in each minute between climbs.

Field glide speed: median 54.5 km/h · p90 67.3 km/h (53 pilots)

best: clear pattern (0.69)

#PilotFloor%LowSaveskm/climbSearch%
1Gordon Rigg48 (5 descents, lowest 33% of band)0.05.0 (mean shared-climb pctile 61%)18
2Jochen Zeischka32 (8 descents, lowest -26% of band)0.02.1 (mean shared-climb pctile 53%)23
3Jon Durand42 (8 descents, lowest -29% of band)1.0 (deepest save from 2% of band)3.6 (mean shared-climb pctile 57%)14
4Olav Opsanger53 (6 descents, lowest 6% of band)0.02.8 (mean shared-climb pctile 46%)29
5Tony Cross35 (12 descents, lowest -22% of band)0.02.3 (mean shared-climb pctile 53%)21
6Scott Barrett20 (8 descents, lowest 8% of band)0.01.5 (mean shared-climb pctile 58%)23
7Mitch Butler37 (9 descents, lowest 4% of band)1.0 (deepest save from 14% of band)1.9 (mean shared-climb pctile 44%)24
8Rory Duncan37 (11 descents, lowest -35% of band)0.01.7 (mean shared-climb pctile 51%)20
9Nils Vesk33 (4 descents, lowest 22% of band)1.0 (deepest save from 11% of band)5.0 (mean shared-climb pctile 37%)9
10Vic Hare71 (10 descents, lowest -15% of band)1.0 (deepest save from -9% of band)1.6 (mean shared-climb pctile 60%)32
11Neale Halsall46 (7 descents, lowest -15% of band)0.01.9 (mean shared-climb pctile 50%)15
12Steve Blenkinsop62 (10 descents, lowest -30% of band)0.01.9 (mean shared-climb pctile 40%)19
13Guy Hubbard41 (7 descents, lowest -26% of band)1.0 (deepest save from 12% of band)1.9 (mean shared-climb pctile 56%)24
14Rohan Holtkamp40 (7 descents, lowest 8% of band)1.0 (deepest save from 14% of band)2.2 (mean shared-climb pctile 52%)29
15Trent Brown33 (11 descents, lowest -30% of band)1.0 (deepest save from -7% of band)2.0 (mean shared-climb pctile 49%)30
16Rich Reinauer76 (9 descents, lowest 6% of band)0.01.6 (mean shared-climb pctile 49%)20
17Ward Gunn66 (11 descents, lowest 22% of band)0.01.4 (mean shared-climb pctile 52%)30
18Dustan Hansen63 (10 descents, lowest 9% of band)1.0 (deepest save from 11% of band)1.8 (mean shared-climb pctile 51%)24
19Grant Tatham51 (16 descents, lowest -14% of band)3.0 (deepest save from 9% of band)1.4 (mean shared-climb pctile 46%)19
20Troy Horton45 (10 descents, lowest 0% of band)1.0 (deepest save from -4% of band)1.3 (mean shared-climb pctile 53%)33
21Pawel Cedro49 (14 descents, lowest 8% of band)1.0 (deepest save from 9% of band)1.3 (mean shared-climb pctile 54%)30
22Adrian Connor46 (12 descents, lowest -31% of band)1.0 (deepest save from 13% of band)1.4 (mean shared-climb pctile 58%)21
23Paul Bissett-Amess79 (10 descents, lowest 23% of band)0.01.7 (mean shared-climb pctile 38%)24
24David Drabble53 (12 descents, lowest 8% of band)0.01.1 (mean shared-climb pctile 63%)29
25Enda Carrigan57 (12 descents, lowest -8% of band)1.0 (deepest save from 3% of band)1.3 (mean shared-climb pctile 48%)32
26Mark Jeffree49 (10 descents, lowest 4% of band)1.0 (deepest save from 8% of band)1.5 (mean shared-climb pctile 32%)42
27Marty Hearne6 (8 descents, lowest -17% of band)1.0 (deepest save from 1% of band)1.5 (mean shared-climb pctile 55%)30
28Todd Wisewould24 (10 descents, lowest -6% of band)0.00.8 (mean shared-climb pctile 44%)45
29Stuart Cathcart2 (10 descents, lowest -25% of band)4.0 (deepest save from -15% of band)1.1 (mean shared-climb pctile 47%)39
30Cedric Joyce72 (7 descents, lowest 7% of band)1.0 (deepest save from 7% of band)2.7 (mean shared-climb pctile 46%)22
31Steven Crosby7 (2 descents, lowest -4% of band)0.03.6 (mean shared-climb pctile 51%)33
32Ken Millard50 (10 descents, lowest 2% of band)0.00.9 (mean shared-climb pctile 59%)55
33Tushar Pokle74 (8 descents, lowest 19% of band)0.01.0 (mean shared-climb pctile 57%)42
34Diego Mendonca60 (12 descents, lowest 12% of band)0.00.6 (mean shared-climb pctile 54%)45
35Neill Hollingsworth29 (6 descents, lowest -6% of band)1.0 (deepest save from -1% of band)0.8 (mean shared-climb pctile 45%)50
36Bruce Atkinson-7 (3 descents, lowest -8% of band)2.0 (deepest save from -7% of band)4.3 (mean shared-climb pctile 55%)32
37Steve Docherty21 (3 descents, lowest 13% of band)1.0 (deepest save from 13% of band)2.7 (mean shared-climb pctile 54%)27
38Andrew Sutton22 (2 descents, lowest 1% of band)0.01.3 (mean shared-climb pctile 44%)37
39Peter Garrone-17 (3 descents, lowest -25% of band)2.0 (deepest save from -15% of band)1.9 (mean shared-climb pctile 38%)30
40Neil Hooke-7 (2 descents, lowest -23% of band)0.0—43
41Jason Lannstrom84 (3 descents, lowest 66% of band)0.0—33
42Peter Adriaans0 (5 descents, lowest -24% of band)0.0—43
43Ian Miller-6 (2 descents, lowest -10% of band)1.0 (deepest save from -10% of band)—39
44Andrew Taylor4 (5 descents, lowest -29% of band)1.0 (deepest save from -8% of band)—29
45Ben Torrance—0.0—57
46James Atkinson—1.0 (deepest save from -7% of band)—42
47Gavin Nicholls-5 (2 descents, lowest -7% of band)0.0—58
48Michael Free—0.0—47
49John Harriott—1.0 (deepest save from -12% of band)—78
50Bobby Gillham52 (6 descents, lowest -1% of band)3.0 (deepest save from -17% of band)—23
51Gary Herman12 (6 descents, lowest -19% of band)2.0 (deepest save from -19% of band)—35
52Brett Davis—0.0—53
53Wayne Johnston—0.0—48
54James McGinty—0.0—27

Share of race time spent hunting for the next climb

Measured in percent · lower is better

Time that goes into neither a climb nor progress down the course. This is the time spent to find lift, to stay up, and to decide what to do next. The value is the share of the speed-section time, from the start to ESS or to the landing, in which the pilot neither climbed in a thermal nor glided with real net speed. A lower value means less time lost between climbs.

Speed-section phase shares, field p25/median/p75: climb 28/36/40% · glide 29/36/39% · search 23/30/42%

best: could be chance (0.39)

best: some pattern (0.43)

Footnotes

1 pilot in the standings but not in this analysis

  • Peter Burkitt — scored from a manual flight report — no tracklog to analyse

The correlations are measured against the published ranks, and those ranks include these pilots. Their behaviour cannot be measured without a tracklog.

How the field is compared

Everything that compares pilots to each other uses one shared clock. That includes gaggles, shared thermals, and the position of each pilot at the same moment. GlideComp resamples every track onto a common 10-second grid. Two pilots are therefore always compared at the same instant, whatever rate their instruments logged at.

Metric glossary

How GlideComp measures every metric on this page. On screen, the ⓘ beside a metric opens the same description in place. On paper, this section is the reference for all of them.

Day profile & wind

The day’s wind, hour by hour and leg by leg(“Wind” in tables)
Measured in kilometres per hour · no expected direction

What the air did, read from the field itself. We estimate the wind from the circling of every pilot. The first method is the drift of the circle centre, and the second method, used when the first is not available, is the modulation of the ground speed. We then average the vectors two ways. The table by hour of day shows how the wind increased and changed direction through the day. The table by speed-section leg shows the wind on each part of the course. This metric describes the day, so it has no value for each pilot.

How strong the day’s climbs were, hour by hour(“Climb/hr” in tables)
Measured in metres per second · no expected direction

When the day started, reached its peak, and ended. We group the thermal climbs of all pilots by the hour in which each climb started, labelled in the time zone of the competition. The median and the 90th-percentile average climb rate for each hour show how the lift developed. This metric describes the day, so it has no value for each pilot.

Share of the flight spent in air that wasn’t sinking(“NonSink%” in tables)
Measured in percent · no expected direction

How much of the flight was in air worth being in. The value is the share of the airborne time of a pilot, on the shared grid, with a 30 s-smoothed vario at or above −0.5 m/s. The time they flew, the line they steered and the way the flight ended all feed this value. It is therefore a reading of the day as much as of the pilot. There is no expected direction, and the sign of the correlation is the finding. The timing table compares the window of the day’s best climbs against the time when the field launched.

Climbing

Climbing faster than the pilots sharing the thermal(“Out-climb” in tables)
Measured in percent · higher is better

When this pilot and other pilots were in the SAME thermal, who climbed faster? In every thermal that two pilots or more used, we rank each use by its average climb rate. The percentile of a use is the share of uses that were strictly slower. The value is the duration-weighted mean percentile over the shared climbs of the pilot. 50% is exactly average. 80% means they climbed faster than four in five of the pilots they shared lift with. The shared thermal is what separates centring skill from thermal selection: a pilot who only found better air gets no higher value here.

Time to core thermals(“Core s” in tables)
Measured in seconds · lower is better

How long the pilot takes to get into the best lift after they arrive in a thermal. For each thermal of 60 s or more, we measure the seconds from the entry until the 30 s rolling climb rate first reaches 90% of its peak in that thermal. The value is the median across the thermals of the pilot. Every second here is a second spent climbing slower than the thermal can carry them.

Climb rate at thermal exit(“LeaveRate” in tables)
Measured in metres per second · no expected direction

The median climb rate that the pilot left thermals at. For each thermal of 90 s or more, we take the climb rate over its final 30 s. A high value means they leave lift that still works. A low value means they stay in a climb until nothing is left. This is an absolute rate, so read it against the day: compare it with the median climb in "How strong the day’s climbs were". A pilot who leaves at 1.5 m/s leaves a good climb on a 1 m/s day, and takes the worst lift available on a 4 m/s day. There is no expected direction. The sign of the correlation says which behaviour paid on this task.

Share of lift turned in that was kept as a climb(“Kept%” in tables)
Measured in percent · no expected direction

How selective the pilot is about the lift they stop for. Each period of circling of 30 s or more after the start counts as lift that the pilot sampled. If the period overlaps a detected thermal, the pilot kept that lift. If it does not, they turned a few circles and left it. The value is the percentage kept. A low value means they are selective. A high value means they keep almost every climb they turn in. There is no expected direction: selection wins on a strong day and wastes time on a weak one.

How much of the thermal the pilot climbed before leaving it(“TopOut%” in tables)
Measured in percent · no expected direction

Does the pilot climb to the top of every thermal, or leave with lift still above them? We take the altitude where they left each thermal after the start, as a percentage of the day’s working band. 0% is the floor of the field and 100% is its ceiling. The value is the median. There is no expected direction: a climb to the top buys height in reserve, and an early departure buys time.

How round and consistent the circles were(“Round” in tables)
Measured in ratio · lower is better

Whether the pilot flies clean, repeatable circles, or moves around the thermal. We fit each detected circle by least squares. The RMS fit error divided by the fitted radius measures how round the turn was. The value is the median over all of the circles of the pilot. A lower value means smoother and more consistent turns.

Gliding

Glide speed between climbs(“GlideSpd” in tables)
Measured in kilometres per hour · higher is better

How fast the pilot moves down the course when they are on a glide. The value is the duration-weighted mean ground speed over every glide after the start, which is the glide distance divided by the glide time. A higher value means more ground covered in each minute between climbs.

Glide L/D against the field median(“GlideL/D” in tables)
Measured in ratio · higher is better

Whether the pilot found better air on glide than the other pilots on the same leg. For each completed speed-section leg, we take the pilot's glide-phase L/D. That is the path distance divided by the net altitude lost during the glides, and we skip a leg that loses less than 100 m. We divide it by the median L/D of the field on that same leg, and then average over the legs. 1.10 means the pilot glided 10% further for each metre lost than the usual pilot on those legs.

Gliding faster when the next climb is stronger(“SpeedToFly” in tables)
Measured in kilometres per hour · higher is better

Speed to fly: the pilot flies faster when a good climb is in front of them, and slower when it is not. We pair each glide after the start with the climb rate of the next thermal that starts within 5 minutes. The value is the mean glide speed before climbs stronger than the median, minus the mean glide speed before weaker climbs. +8 km/h means the pilot flew 8 km/h faster into the good climbs. This is a PROXY, and not true speed to fly, because there is no glider polar data.

Gliding wide of the optimal course line(“Wide%” in tables)
Measured in percent · lower is better

How much further the pilot flew on glide than the optimised course line needed. 0% is a flight exactly along the line, and 12% is a glide 12% further than necessary. On each completed speed-section leg, we compare the pilot's route with the optimised distance of the leg, weighted by that optimised distance. Only the glides are measured at their full path length. Circling and searching contribute their entry-to-exit displacement instead. A climb or a search for lift therefore never reads as a wide line, because a pilot chooses a line only on glide. 0% is a real value that a pilot can reach: a pilot who flies the line of the optimiser scores exactly zero.

Share of the height gain made outside thermals(“Dolphin%” in tables)
Measured in percent · no expected direction

Dolphin flying: how much of the height that the pilot gained came outside of circling. The value is the share of the altitude gain after the start, smoothed over 10 s, that the pilot made outside a detected thermal. There is no expected direction. The sign of the correlation shows whether dolphin flying paid on this day.

Decision-making

How low the pilot gets between climbs(“Floor%” in tables)
Measured in percent · no expected direction

How low the pilot goes before the next climb. A high value is a race with height in reserve, and a low value is a flight that goes down near the ground. We take each pair of climbs that the pilot made after the start, and we find the lowest point between them. We keep only the gaps that go down 100 m or more, because a top-up between two climbs is not a descent. We do not count a sled run or the glide to goal, because the pilot made no climb after them. The value is the median of those low points, as a percentage of the day's working band. 0% is where the lowest tenth of the field's climbs started, and 100% is where the highest tenth stopped. Thus a negative value shows that the pilot went lower than almost all of the field. The pilot must have two or more of these descents. There is no expected direction. The sign of the correlation says whether height in reserve pays.

Low saves dug out from the bottom of the band(“LowSaves” in tables)
Measured in count · no expected direction

How many times the pilot got low and climbed out again. We count the climbs after the start that the pilot entered below 15% of the working band, and that then gained 300 m or more. Those are true low saves. Zero is a real value, and not a missing one: it means the pilot never got that low. There is no expected direction. The sign of the correlation says whether a climb-out or a flight that stays high pays.

Distance covered between climbs(“km/climb” in tables)
Measured in kilometres · higher is better

How far the pilot gets down the course before they must stop and circle again. This is the direct reading of how often they stop. The value is the scored flown distance divided by the number of thermals taken after the start, so 3 km means three kilometres of course for each climb. The pilot must fly 20 km or more. The note of each pilot adds their mean climb percentile inside shared thermals, so you can read the number of stops together with the climb strength. Long legs between weak climbs is a different day from long legs between strong ones.

Share of race time spent hunting for the next climb(“Search%” in tables)
Measured in percent · lower is better

Time that goes into neither a climb nor progress down the course. This is the time spent to find lift, to stay up, and to decide what to do next. The value is the share of the speed-section time, from the start to ESS or to the landing, in which the pilot neither climbed in a thermal nor glided with real net speed. A lower value means less time lost between climbs.

Gaggle

Time spent flying with a gaggle(“InGaggle%” in tables)
Measured in percent · no expected direction

Whether the pilot raced with other pilots or alone. The value is the share of their flying time after the start inside a detected gaggle, that is, clustered with one other racing pilot or more on the shared time grid. There is no expected direction. A gaggle increases the power to search for lift, but it also holds a pilot to its own speed. The sign of the correlation says which of the two occurred here.

Climbs joined on another pilot's marker(“Marked%” in tables)
Measured in percent · no expected direction

How much of the lift of the pilot another pilot found first. The value is the share of their climbs after the start where another pilot was already established in the same thermal when they arrived. Established means 30 s or more into the climb, and still climbing. A high value means they mostly climb on the markers of other pilots. A low value means they find their own air. There is no expected direction. A marker is free information, but it puts a pilot where the last climb was, and not where the next one is.

How often leaving the gaggle paid off(“LeaveWin%” in tables)
Measured in percent · no expected direction

When a pilot leaves a gaggle that continues to fly, did the departure pay off? We compare the arrival of the pilot who left at the next turnpoint against the median arrival of the pilots who stayed. A win rate of more than 50% means their departures beat the gaggle. A pilot counts as a pilot who stayed only if they were still in the gaggle after the split, and reached that turnpoint after it.

Race craft

How long after the gate opened the pilot started(“StartDly” in tables)
Measured in seconds · lower is better

Every second between the opening of the gate and the crossing of the start line is a second lost for nothing. The value is the seconds from the start gate taken to the scored SSS crossing. On an elapsed-time task, the pilot’s own crossing is the reference, so the delay is 0 by definition. The start table adds the crossing altitude, and the distance behind the leading pilot who had already started.

Race time lost against the fastest pilots, leg by leg(“TimeLost” in tables)
Measured in seconds · lower is better

For each completed speed-section leg, we compare the leg time of the pilot with the mean of the top 10 pilots by rank who completed that leg. Only the losses count, and we add them together. The sum of the leg times is the race time, and the rank defines the reference, so this metric follows the result by construction. Read the waterfall table, which shows every leg against the task winner, for the diagnosis. Do not read the correlation as a finding.

Race time behind the leader at ESS(“Behind” in tables)
Measured in minutes · lower is better

At each speed-section turnpoint, we compare the elapsed race time of the pilot, which is the reaching time minus their own start, with the fastest pilot to that turnpoint. The value is the minutes behind at ESS. It follows the final rank almost exactly, because this metric is the sanity check of the evaluation.

Arriving at ESS with height to spare(“Spare m” in tables)
Measured in metres · lower is better

Height still available at ESS that the pilot no longer needed. That altitude was available for more speed, and the pilot did not use it. The value is the altitude at ESS minus the altitude needed to glide to goal at the standard glide ratio of the sport, which is 5.0 for HG and 4.0 for PG (S7F §12.3.6). A large positive margin means the pilot arrived too high. A margin near zero means they flew the final glide with little height to spare.

Final glide committed to when leaving the last climb(“FinalGl” in tables)
Measured in ratio · no expected direction

How optimistic the pilot was about their final glide. A pilot wins or loses a task by the height at which they leave the last climb. At the last climb of the pilot before ESS, or before the landing, we divide the distance to goal by their height above goal. That is the glide ratio they committed to. 8 means they left and needed 8:1 to make goal. The value counts only when that climb ended within 1.5 times the distance of the final leg from goal. There is no expected direction: a marginal glide wins if it connects, and loses if it does not.