On Jan 18, 10:34*am, Scott Alexander
wrote:
I figured this forum would be a great spot to ask some of the advanced
contest pilots about their personel strategies & tactics they use to
win. *I've watched a fine week of soaring, masters of the wave, read
Winning on the Wind, cross country soaring by reichman, New Soaring
Pilot and a couple other books. *All had some great advice in it.

I've also watched alot of contests on SeeYou soaring software by
downloading the flights off the ssa server. *I saw a few instances
where a well respected pilot started, had a group follow him, then
turned back went through the start gate again and let the group that
was following him lead him to a couple thermals before he blew past
them and he won the day.

Anyone want to chime in on some good contest strategies or tactics?

The best advice I can give is to stop worrying about what the other
guys are going to do and make decisions for yourself.
Watch how the weather is developing and go when you think it's right
while allowing enought time to get around the course with a stumble or
2. If the "fast guys" catch you shortly after the start, you probably
hit it about right.
A beginner can't play start gate roulette like the experienced guys
and likel;y will put too much attention into that instead of more
important stuff like reading the weather outlook and the sky ahead.
Good Luck
UH