The Emergency Plan Tony refers to is the "what to do if the tow fails"
plan. There are many versions of this which I've reduced to, "Tow
failure below 200 ft lower the nose and land ahead, above 200 lower
the nose and land ahead or behind". This is a simple verbal reminder
that a tow failure CAN happen along with the simple most basic issues
of critical speed and altitude. Many pilots I fly with (here in the
US) still say "above 200 feet land back at the airport" because this
is what we practice and demonstrate. However, if the towplane wasn't
hitting on all cylinders for a mile and a half when the rope goes
slack there may not be any way to get back to the airport! All the
200 feet mark really means is that: below 200 there isn't sufficient
altitude or time for turns and above 200 you may have time and
altitude for brief decisive maneuvering.

"Tow failure below 200 ft lower the nose and land ahead, above 200
lower the nose and land ahead or behind", is simple, brief and to the
point. If you are at 300 when the tow fails you CAN turn around but
you aren't pre-programmed to do so. You may have sufficient runway
remaining ahead or have a nice pasture off to the side.

I insist that the CBSIFTCB-WET is done OUT LOUD every time and the
rope is not accepted until at least CBSIFTCB is completed in order
without interuptions. Out loud, informs instructors, impresses
passengers, and allows ground crew to participate in crew resource
management. Just because we fly (mostly) single seat aircraft doesn't
mean we can't benefit from CRM. A single seat glider taking off with
a wing runner has at least 3 people working together. The pilot is in
command of the airplane but each member can perceive, process,
communicate, and affect the flight. The last checklist item T for
traffic is a perfect opportunity to signal the ground crew to look
around before you initiate the take-off. It takes only a couple of
seconds and they can see a lot that you can't from the cockpit. Using
CRM on the glider field is an easy and cheap way to enhance safety and
participation not only on the flight line but during preflight,
assembly, fueling, ground movements... Why not use all your
resources?

Matt Michael