Bruce, Herb & Chip, For the Seniors we did training/rides right up to the end of the pilots meeting. During the march to the grid the airport is effectively closed to operations. Once the competitors are launched, we go back to training operations and local pilots can fly. Student training stops around the expected arrival time of the competitors.
For the Sailplane Grand Prix we did not completely block the runway during movement to the grid and training was less disrupted. We flew before and after the arrival of the gaggle and we didn't have any issues.
Giving priority to the contest participants did not cause any problems for our local pilots, instructors or customers. Everyone enjoyed the extra excitement and the competitors were more than hospitable when asked questions by our guests.
As a company, we enjoyed hosting both events. Of course if the SGP was a 60+ ship event we would not have been able to do it so close to the Seniors. All of our volunteers were pretty tired after the Seniors but looked forward to a different style event. The ability to watch the race in near time was a big plus. Everyone enjoyed the SGP and we would be honored to host the event again if asked. The work put into this event by Sean and Tiffany made our job so much easier! They are a hard working, duel threat offense, that is making our sport better.

Best Regards,
Rich Owen
ZO