I got the following response to a similar post on another forum from Aus team members Allan Barnes.
G.Dales statement is most interesting



There's a dichotomy between selecting the winner of the Nationals (rightly an individual honour) and selecting the best team pilots for the Worlds. With the current formulaic selection process, we only have the Nationals to select from. So we are selecting on ability to fly well independently, where for the Worlds, what we need to select on is ability to stick with busy gaggles and resist the impulse to do your own thing. I love team flying at international comps - there is no better fun than flying with a partner and having two sets of eyes and two brains to improve decision making. Jim and I have worked really well here at Ostrow. There is no question that it improves outcomes if done properly. But for that you need discipline and commitment, and practice.

Adam has been playing the gaggle game at this comp and doing a fantastic job of it. If you religiously stay with a gaggle of top pilots and have a glider that can keep up with them, then you are almost guaranteed a good result, even without a team partner. The rest of the gaggle becomes your de-facto team. It is hard for us as Australian pilots, brought up with the idea that leaching is despicable, to embrace this approach. But there is no shame at it at the Worlds. If you are not doing it, you are at the very bottom of the points table, almost every day.

As G Dale said to me this competition: We're not here to show that we're better pilots than the rest. We're here to get more points than the rest. And like it or not, that's not the same thing.

Whether you agree with it or not, that's the reality of flying at a Worlds.

I'm not suggesting that we start selecting team pilots on a subjective basis or by committee vote. Every Nationals pilot needs to know that if they perform well enough they will be on the team. But I do think that there's scope for selecting the first pilot in each class by results, and the second pilot in the class based on who would work best with that first pilot.

As for pair flying in a Nationals, it remains against the rules and that's fine. The true problem is enforcement and proof of pre-arranged intent. A pilot may legitimately decide that their best tactic is to hook up with a top pilot pre-start and shadow them around the whole task, every day. Perfect training for the Worlds, in fact. If the pilot does that off their own bat then it's not team flying. But if the two pilots discuss and agree beforehand then it is. How do you distinguish the two cases from track logs alone? You can't.

I've heard the opinion that if a rule is not enforceable then it shouldn't be in the rulebook. I disagree. The rules describe how we want the competition to be conducted. We don't want cloud flying, we can't enforce it, but it's still in the rules. If someone cloud flies, and they end up winning the day, then they will know it's a hollow victory, and many of their competitors will at least suspect as much. If this forms a pattern of behaviour then their reputation and respect will rapidly diminish.

So back to Worlds selection. My proposal would be this: Keep the Nationals as an individual event. Select the top pilot based on results. And select their partner based on who would be most likely to add value to the team effort. The pilot selected on results would make a case for who should be their partner, and this would normally be accepted by the Sports Committee unless they considered it inappropriate. This system still guarantees a place to any pilot who makes the grade, but gives flexibility to ensure that we don't send a team who has never had a chance to practice together, or are fundamentally incompatible.

It's a thrill and a privilege to fly for Australia at a Worlds, and it's something I think every comp pilot should aspire to. Right now it's 4:30am and raining, but I'm still pleased to be here!