In all this strategizing remember that what works for g dale might not work for everyone. G can use lower handicap and catch/ stay with the gaggle. A less stellar pilot will lose the gaggle. A better strategy for a new pilot: get a bit better handicap than the rest and make sure they don't leave you.. Alone. Low. In the blue.

Same goes for starts. A newer pilot should
Start early. Let the big guns run over you and try to stick with them.

Club gliders from the 70s and 80s benefit a lot from clean up and good instruments

John cichrame