Ten Reasons to Add a Junior Program to Your Glider Club

Ten Reasons to Add a Junior Program to Your Glider Club

We at Harris Hill are always going on about our club's junior program. It is because we all take great pride in it. Many other clubs are doing a great job at this too, but not enough.

I get the sense that a lot of clubs view subsiding youth gliding as unnecessary expense. On the contrary it pays dividens in many ways. If you need help convincing your board of directors, here are 10 reasons to have a youth group.

1. Adds youthful energy to your club - It is just more interesting to have multigenerational club.
2. Seeing the kids grow is very rewarding - Kids show up and don't even know how to shake hands properly. Before you know it they are off to the military or college full of pride and ready to take on the world. What a joy to be part of it.
3. Adds purpose to your club - Being on the board of directors is a pain. Meetings, disagreements, grief from members. Volunteering at the club takes on a deeper meaning and members give more of themselves when it is benefiting the young people
4. Fun to pass on what you know - The collective knowledge of a glider club is pretty amazing. One guy's an A&P, one guy's an IT genius. We have one member whose job is inventor. How cool is that? Great to see young people gather knowledge and skills.
5. May qualify your club for tax exempt status - If your club is truly helping young people you could qualify for 501(c)3 status.
6. Glider club becomes part of the community - Once your club is not just about your flying, you'll be surprized at the number of ways local governements and groups are willing to help your organization.
7. Helps with membership recruiting - It works in multiple ways. Adults in the club have their children join or parent and child join together. We've also had several cases when the parents joined after seeing how much fun the kids were having. Soaring is a great family activity.
8. Helps with membership retention - Especially in the case of families. A family atmosphere, with some facilities for families, allows for Mom or Dad to stay in the club as the family grows.
9. Cheap labor - Let's face it the young members do a lot of work for the club. It would be much more expensive to pay someone even minimum wage to do that work.
10. Junior members return to be senior members - Several young members have returned to the area after college and initial job experiences. Our club helped to bring them back.

I have a lot more tips about starting a youth club, what works, what doesn't, if anyone is interested.

XC

Is it strange to reply to your own post? Anyway here is the rest of the details that might help get a junior program going.

Critical mass - We have found that you must have a critical mass of 3 or more juniors on the field on a given flying day. That means a club should have a junior program of at least 8-12 young people. I would estimate that 40-50% of those that start will solo and this would vary with instructor availability. Encourage kids to sign up with a friend.

Ownership - There must be a way for the young people to own the experience. Give-aways don't work. At Harris Hill junior members work 4 hours for each pre-solo flight. Think of 4 hours at the field instead of 4 hours of continuous work (however, some days it is non-stop.) If you think of $5/hour for their time, they have nearly as much as a senior member invested in a flight. The more you link the work with the flying, the more they own the experience. Post-solo the juniors pay more for each flight and only have to work two hours per flight.

Pricing - Here are the 2014 prices for a 20 minute 2-33 instructional hop at Harris Hill. Includes 2000' tow, hook up, glider rental, and instructor time (volunteered). These prices are made possible only by selling rides to the public (ASK-21 @ $96) and that ride business becomes a priority at times - which can be a pain.

Senior member $30.40
Junior post-solo $16.20
Junior pre-solo $5.00

You club's costs will be different but here is a good ratio. Post solo juniors pay half of what seniors pay and work 2 hours for each flight. Pre-solo pay a quarter of the full cost and work 4 hours per flight.

Does anyone else have anything to share about their club's junior program? I know UH is doing a great job at Valley Soaring.

XC

On Sunday, October 5, 2014 9:33:04 AM UTC-4, XC wrote:
Ten Reasons to Add a Junior Program to Your Glider Club



We at Harris Hill are always going on about our club's junior program. It is because we all take great pride in it. Many other clubs are doing a great job at this too, but not enough.



I get the sense that a lot of clubs view subsiding youth gliding as unnecessary expense. On the contrary it pays dividens in many ways. If you need help convincing your board of directors, here are 10 reasons to have a youth group.



1. Adds youthful energy to your club - It is just more interesting to have multigenerational club.

2. Seeing the kids grow is very rewarding - Kids show up and don't even know how to shake hands properly. Before you know it they are off to the military or college full of pride and ready to take on the world. What a joy to be part of it.

3. Adds purpose to your club - Being on the board of directors is a pain. Meetings, disagreements, grief from members. Volunteering at the club takes on a deeper meaning and members give more of themselves when it is benefiting the young people

4. Fun to pass on what you know - The collective knowledge of a glider club is pretty amazing. One guy's an A&P, one guy's an IT genius. We have one member whose job is inventor. How cool is that? Great to see young people gather knowledge and skills.

5. May qualify your club for tax exempt status - If your club is truly helping young people you could qualify for 501(c)3 status.

6. Glider club becomes part of the community - Once your club is not just about your flying, you'll be surprized at the number of ways local governements and groups are willing to help your organization.

7. Helps with membership recruiting - It works in multiple ways. Adults in the club have their children join or parent and child join together. We've also had several cases when the parents joined after seeing how much fun the kids were having. Soaring is a great family activity.

8. Helps with membership retention - Especially in the case of families. A family atmosphere, with some facilities for families, allows for Mom or Dad to stay in the club as the family grows.

9. Cheap labor - Let's face it the young members do a lot of work for the club. It would be much more expensive to pay someone even minimum wage to do that work.

10. Junior members return to be senior members - Several young members have returned to the area after college and initial job experiences. Our club helped to bring them back.



I have a lot more tips about starting a youth club, what works, what doesn't, if anyone is interested.



XC

Critical mass - We have found that you must have a critical mass of 3 or more juniors on the field. That means a club should have a junior program of at least 8-12 young people. I would estimate that 40-50% of those that start will solo and this would vary with instructor availability. Encourage kids to sign up with a friend.

Ownership - There must be a way for the young people to own the experience. Give-aways don't work. At Harris Hill junior members work 4 hours for each pre-solo flight. Think of 4 hours at the field instead of 4 hours of continuous work (however, some days it is non-stop.) If you think of $5/hour for their time, they have nearly as much as a senior member invested in a flight. The more you link the work with the flying, the more they own the experience. Post-solo the juniors pay more for each flight and only have to work two hours per flight.

Pricing - Here are the 2014 prices for a 20 minute 2-33 instructional hop at Harris Hill. Includes 2000' tow, hook up, glider rental, and instructor time (volunteered). These prices are made possible only by selling rides to the public (ASK-21 @ $96) and that ride business becomes a priority at times - which can be a pain.

Senior member $30.40
Junior post-solo $16.20
Junior pre-solo $5.00

You club's costs will be different but here is a good ratio. Post solo juniors pay half of what seniors pay and work 2 hours for each flight. Pre-solo pay a quarter of the full cost and work 4 hours per flight.

Does anyone else have anything to share about their club's junior program? I know UH is doing a great job at Valley Soaring.

XC

On Monday, October 6, 2014 8:29:13 AM UTC-4, wrote:
Is it strange to reply to your own post? Anyway here is the rest of the details that might help get a junior program going.



Critical mass - We have found that you must have a critical mass of 3 or more juniors on the field on a given flying day. That means a club should have a junior program of at least 8-12 young people. I would estimate that 40-50% of those that start will solo and this would vary with instructor availability. Encourage kids to sign up with a friend.



Ownership - There must be a way for the young people to own the experience. Give-aways don't work. At Harris Hill junior members work 4 hours for each pre-solo flight. Think of 4 hours at the field instead of 4 hours of continuous work (however, some days it is non-stop.) If you think of $5/hour for their time, they have nearly as much as a senior member invested in a flight. The more you link the work with the flying, the more they own the experience. Post-solo the juniors pay more for each flight and only have to work two hours per flight.



Pricing - Here are the 2014 prices for a 20 minute 2-33 instructional hop at Harris Hill. Includes 2000' tow, hook up, glider rental, and instructor time (volunteered). These prices are made possible only by selling rides to the public (ASK-21 @ $96) and that ride business becomes a priority at times - which can be a pain.



Senior member $30.40

Junior post-solo $16.20

Junior pre-solo $5.00



You club's costs will be different but here is a good ratio. Post solo juniors pay half of what seniors pay and work 2 hours for each flight. Pre-solo pay a quarter of the full cost and work 4 hours per flight.



Does anyone else have anything to share about their club's junior program? I know UH is doing a great job at Valley Soaring.



XC

Critical mass is important because nobody wants to be the only kid(or adult, or lady/girl) in the group.
The young people are tasked with bringing the new ones up to speed on how things work and how to do stuff.
Parents are amazed that the kid that won't get off the couch jumps up to tow gliders out and launch them or get them off the field.
Our juniors are responsible for all activities related to their 2 gliders (1-26 and Std Libelle), except for inspections and paying the bills.
Our costing structure is set up so Jr cost to fly is equal to the variable costs of the flight( gas, oil,etc.) Use of the 1-26 and Libelle are at no cost beyond tows.
UH

On Sunday, October 5, 2014 7:33:04 AM UTC-6, XC wrote:
Ten Reasons to Add a Junior Program to Your Glider Club



We at Harris Hill are always going on about our club's junior program. It is because we all take great pride in it. Many other clubs are doing a great job at this too, but not enough.



I get the sense that a lot of clubs view subsiding youth gliding as unnecessary expense. On the contrary it pays dividens in many ways. If you need help convincing your board of directors, here are 10 reasons to have a youth group.



1. Adds youthful energy to your club - It is just more interesting to have multigenerational club.

2. Seeing the kids grow is very rewarding - Kids show up and don't even know how to shake hands properly. Before you know it they are off to the military or college full of pride and ready to take on the world. What a joy to be part of it.

3. Adds purpose to your club - Being on the board of directors is a pain. Meetings, disagreements, grief from members. Volunteering at the club takes on a deeper meaning and members give more of themselves when it is benefiting the young people

4. Fun to pass on what you know - The collective knowledge of a glider club is pretty amazing. One guy's an A&P, one guy's an IT genius. We have one member whose job is inventor. How cool is that? Great to see young people gather knowledge and skills.

5. May qualify your club for tax exempt status - If your club is truly helping young people you could qualify for 501(c)3 status.

6. Glider club becomes part of the community - Once your club is not just about your flying, you'll be surprized at the number of ways local governements and groups are willing to help your organization.

7. Helps with membership recruiting - It works in multiple ways. Adults in the club have their children join or parent and child join together. We've also had several cases when the parents joined after seeing how much fun the kids were having. Soaring is a great family activity.

8. Helps with membership retention - Especially in the case of families. A family atmosphere, with some facilities for families, allows for Mom or Dad to stay in the club as the family grows.

9. Cheap labor - Let's face it the young members do a lot of work for the club. It would be much more expensive to pay someone even minimum wage to do that work.

10. Junior members return to be senior members - Several young members have returned to the area after college and initial job experiences. Our club helped to bring them back.



I have a lot more tips about starting a youth club, what works, what doesn't, if anyone is interested.



XC

I would like to add some information to this discussion. The first pull are the top 15 chapters by total youth. Formatting may be sketchy. The second pull is the top 15 chapters by percentage of Youth/Total Membership. There are several factors which provide advantages; effort, commitment, tax status, tradition, population, and so on. There are about four clubs/chapters that don't provide accurate information, they don't appear on these lists. Current flying chapter count is 135. There are a few clubs that aren't chapters or are business members of the SSA, thus no information on their membership breakdown. Average chapter size is about 45.

Name Total Youth Youth/Member Percentage
Harris Hill Soaring Corp. 149 36 24.2%
Caesar Creek Soaring Club 200 30 15.0%
Valley Soaring Club, Inc. 96 18 18.8%
Tidewater Soaring Society 96 14 14.6%
Soaring Club of Houston 176 13 7.4%
Texas Soaring Association 171 13 7.6%
Greater Houston Soaring Assoc 91 12 13.2%
Piedmont Soaring Society 61 12 19.7%
Greater Boston Soaring Club 101 10 9.9%
St Louis Soaring Association 80 10 12.5%
Finger Lakes Soaring Club Inc. 44 9 20.5%
Franconia Soaring Association 47 9 19.1%
Sky Soaring, Inc. 101 9 8.9%
Adirondack Soaring Association 68 8 11.8%
Colorado Soaring Association 57 8 14.0%

Name Total Youth Youth/Member Percentage
Harris Hill Soaring Corp. 149 36 24.2%
High Flights Soaring Club 28 6 21.4%
Finger Lakes Soaring Club Inc. 44 9 20.5%
Piedmont Soaring Society 61 12 19.7%
Franconia Soaring Association 47 9 19.1%
Valley Soaring Club, Inc. 96 18 18.8%
Atlantic Soaring Club 35 6 17.1%
Illini Glider Club Inc 24 4 16.7%
Brokenstraw Soaring Club, Inc. 26 4 15.4%
East Carolina Soaring Club Inc. 13 2 15.4%
Caesar Creek Soaring Club 200 30 15.0%
Tidewater Soaring Society 96 14 14.6%
NW Soaring Club of Frankfort 35 5 14.3%
Springwood Soaring Association 14 2 14.3%
Colorado Soaring Association 57 8 14.0%

These are end of season snapshots. Hard to draw any conclusions. Some chapters appear on both pulls, perhaps that says something. HHSC appearing at the top of both pulls adds some validity to the discussion. However, HHSC is also a rather special business case involving opportunities that are unique and perhaps rather rare. However, there are ways of creating similar opportunities and appear on one or other of these lists.

Frank Whiteley
Chair, SSA Clubs and Chapters Committee
970-330-2050 7am-10pm MT

On Sunday, October 5, 2014 9:33:04 AM UTC-4, XC wrote:
Ten Reasons to Add a Junior Program to Your Glider Club



We at Harris Hill are always going on about our club's junior program. It is because we all take great pride in it. Many other clubs are doing a great job at this too, but not enough.



I get the sense that a lot of clubs view subsiding youth gliding as unnecessary expense. On the contrary it pays dividens in many ways. If you need help convincing your board of directors, here are 10 reasons to have a youth group.



1. Adds youthful energy to your club - It is just more interesting to have multigenerational club.

2. Seeing the kids grow is very rewarding - Kids show up and don't even know how to shake hands properly. Before you know it they are off to the military or college full of pride and ready to take on the world. What a joy to be part of it.

3. Adds purpose to your club - Being on the board of directors is a pain. Meetings, disagreements, grief from members. Volunteering at the club takes on a deeper meaning and members give more of themselves when it is benefiting the young people

4. Fun to pass on what you know - The collective knowledge of a glider club is pretty amazing. One guy's an A&P, one guy's an IT genius. We have one member whose job is inventor. How cool is that? Great to see young people gather knowledge and skills.

5. May qualify your club for tax exempt status - If your club is truly helping young people you could qualify for 501(c)3 status.

6. Glider club becomes part of the community - Once your club is not just about your flying, you'll be surprized at the number of ways local governements and groups are willing to help your organization.

7. Helps with membership recruiting - It works in multiple ways. Adults in the club have their children join or parent and child join together. We've also had several cases when the parents joined after seeing how much fun the kids were having. Soaring is a great family activity.

8. Helps with membership retention - Especially in the case of families. A family atmosphere, with some facilities for families, allows for Mom or Dad to stay in the club as the family grows.

9. Cheap labor - Let's face it the young members do a lot of work for the club. It would be much more expensive to pay someone even minimum wage to do that work.

10. Junior members return to be senior members - Several young members have returned to the area after college and initial job experiences. Our club helped to bring them back.



I have a lot more tips about starting a youth club, what works, what doesn't, if anyone is interested.



XC

Frank,
Thanks for the data. Those are better numbers than I would have guessed.

Although HHSC has 36 registered we have a much smaller group that does the lion's share of the work and the flying. Others do just their one 4 hour shift per month and very occasionally fly. So the numbers also reflect a clubs tolerance for carrying those extras.

We are currently pretty casual about tracking the hourly credit discussed above. If we would make the effort to tighten that up we could focus just on those pilots who are really into it and make the whole thing more efficient. I takes the kids some time to figure out if it is for them, though. Generally we have more interest than instructor capacity. We rarely if every turn a kid away. Rather, it is self limiting.

XC

On Monday, October 6, 2014 11:49:30 PM UTC-4, Frank Whiteley wrote:
On Sunday, October 5, 2014 7:33:04 AM UTC-6, XC wrote:

Ten Reasons to Add a Junior Program to Your Glider Club







We at Harris Hill are always going on about our club's junior program. It is because we all take great pride in it. Many other clubs are doing a great job at this too, but not enough.







I get the sense that a lot of clubs view subsiding youth gliding as unnecessary expense. On the contrary it pays dividens in many ways. If you need help convincing your board of directors, here are 10 reasons to have a youth group.







1. Adds youthful energy to your club - It is just more interesting to have multigenerational club.



2. Seeing the kids grow is very rewarding - Kids show up and don't even know how to shake hands properly. Before you know it they are off to the military or college full of pride and ready to take on the world. What a joy to be part of it.



3. Adds purpose to your club - Being on the board of directors is a pain. Meetings, disagreements, grief from members. Volunteering at the club takes on a deeper meaning and members give more of themselves when it is benefiting the young people



4. Fun to pass on what you know - The collective knowledge of a glider club is pretty amazing. One guy's an A&P, one guy's an IT genius. We have one member whose job is inventor. How cool is that? Great to see young people gather knowledge and skills.



5. May qualify your club for tax exempt status - If your club is truly helping young people you could qualify for 501(c)3 status.



6. Glider club becomes part of the community - Once your club is not just about your flying, you'll be surprized at the number of ways local governements and groups are willing to help your organization.



7. Helps with membership recruiting - It works in multiple ways. Adults in the club have their children join or parent and child join together. We've also had several cases when the parents joined after seeing how much fun the kids were having. Soaring is a great family activity.



8. Helps with membership retention - Especially in the case of families.. A family atmosphere, with some facilities for families, allows for Mom or Dad to stay in the club as the family grows.



9. Cheap labor - Let's face it the young members do a lot of work for the club. It would be much more expensive to pay someone even minimum wage to do that work.



10. Junior members return to be senior members - Several young members have returned to the area after college and initial job experiences. Our club helped to bring them back.







I have a lot more tips about starting a youth club, what works, what doesn't, if anyone is interested.







XC



I would like to add some information to this discussion. The first pull are the top 15 chapters by total youth. Formatting may be sketchy. The second pull is the top 15 chapters by percentage of Youth/Total Membership. There are several factors which provide advantages; effort, commitment, tax status, tradition, population, and so on. There are about four clubs/chapters that don't provide accurate information, they don't appear on these lists. Current flying chapter count is 135. There are a few clubs that aren't chapters or are business members of the SSA, thus no information on their membership breakdown. Average chapter size is about 45.



Name Total Youth Youth/Member Percentage

Harris Hill Soaring Corp. 149 36 24.2%

Caesar Creek Soaring Club 200 30 15.0%

Valley Soaring Club, Inc. 96 18 18.8%

Tidewater Soaring Society 96 14 14.6%

Soaring Club of Houston 176 13 7.4%

Texas Soaring Association 171 13 7.6%

Greater Houston Soaring Assoc 91 12 13.2%

Piedmont Soaring Society 61 12 19.7%

Greater Boston Soaring Club 101 10 9.9%

St Louis Soaring Association 80 10 12.5%

Finger Lakes Soaring Club Inc. 44 9 20.5%

Franconia Soaring Association 47 9 19.1%

Sky Soaring, Inc. 101 9 8.9%

Adirondack Soaring Association 68 8 11.8%

Colorado Soaring Association 57 8 14.0%



Name Total Youth Youth/Member Percentage

Harris Hill Soaring Corp. 149 36 24.2%

High Flights Soaring Club 28 6 21.4%

Finger Lakes Soaring Club Inc. 44 9 20.5%

Piedmont Soaring Society 61 12 19.7%

Franconia Soaring Association 47 9 19.1%

Valley Soaring Club, Inc. 96 18 18.8%

Atlantic Soaring Club 35 6 17.1%

Illini Glider Club Inc 24 4 16.7%

Brokenstraw Soaring Club, Inc. 26 4 15.4%

East Carolina Soaring Club Inc. 13 2 15.4%

Caesar Creek Soaring Club 200 30 15.0%

Tidewater Soaring Society 96 14 14.6%

NW Soaring Club of Frankfort 35 5 14.3%

Springwood Soaring Association 14 2 14.3%

Colorado Soaring Association 57 8 14.0%



These are end of season snapshots. Hard to draw any conclusions. Some chapters appear on both pulls, perhaps that says something. HHSC appearing at the top of both pulls adds some validity to the discussion. However, HHSC is also a rather special business case involving opportunities that are unique and perhaps rather rare. However, there are ways of creating similar opportunities and appear on one or other of these lists.



Frank Whiteley

Chair, SSA Clubs and Chapters Committee

970-330-2050 7am-10pm MT

I'm not sure how "youth" is defined, but for the past few years we've
been actively recruiting at the local university in conjunction with
the aeronautics fraternity. I can't lay hands on a current roster at
the moment, but a scan of the duty roster shows at least 7 of 27
active members (26%) are high school or college students.

It's been a welcome change at our club to get a youth contingent going.
I quietly lobbied for one for a bunch of years after I joined this club,
having moved down from HHSC, but didn't have much luck getting one going.
Then, a few years ago we had a new instructor join the club who was a
student at NCSU (note: the club was originally founded as an NCSU student
organization in the 70's but lost its student component after that).
He brought a couple of friends in that wanted to learn to fly, whic
made for a good start. Then we started doing annual outreaches to
the campus, taking several gliders over for a day and signing up people
for intro rides.

Since then we've been happily up to our eyeballs in college kids.
Having them around has made it easier to hang onto younger kids too --
we've got 3 high school students in the club too. Instructor capacity
is our bugaboo as well though. At the moment the college guy likes
to come out several times a month, so we're really going to miss him
after he graduates!

Matt

On Sunday, October 5, 2014 9:33:04 AM UTC-4, XC wrote:
Ten Reasons to Add a Junior Program to Your Glider Club



We at Harris Hill are always going on about our club's junior program. It is because we all take great pride in it. Many other clubs are doing a great job at this too, but not enough.



I get the sense that a lot of clubs view subsiding youth gliding as unnecessary expense. On the contrary it pays dividens in many ways. If you need help convincing your board of directors, here are 10 reasons to have a youth group.



1. Adds youthful energy to your club - It is just more interesting to have multigenerational club.

2. Seeing the kids grow is very rewarding - Kids show up and don't even know how to shake hands properly. Before you know it they are off to the military or college full of pride and ready to take on the world. What a joy to be part of it.

3. Adds purpose to your club - Being on the board of directors is a pain. Meetings, disagreements, grief from members. Volunteering at the club takes on a deeper meaning and members give more of themselves when it is benefiting the young people

4. Fun to pass on what you know - The collective knowledge of a glider club is pretty amazing. One guy's an A&P, one guy's an IT genius. We have one member whose job is inventor. How cool is that? Great to see young people gather knowledge and skills.

5. May qualify your club for tax exempt status - If your club is truly helping young people you could qualify for 501(c)3 status.

6. Glider club becomes part of the community - Once your club is not just about your flying, you'll be surprized at the number of ways local governements and groups are willing to help your organization.

7. Helps with membership recruiting - It works in multiple ways. Adults in the club have their children join or parent and child join together. We've also had several cases when the parents joined after seeing how much fun the kids were having. Soaring is a great family activity.

8. Helps with membership retention - Especially in the case of families. A family atmosphere, with some facilities for families, allows for Mom or Dad to stay in the club as the family grows.

9. Cheap labor - Let's face it the young members do a lot of work for the club. It would be much more expensive to pay someone even minimum wage to do that work.

10. Junior members return to be senior members - Several young members have returned to the area after college and initial job experiences. Our club helped to bring them back.



I have a lot more tips about starting a youth club, what works, what doesn't, if anyone is interested.



XC

How sad, - as I write this, 10 posts and only 310 views. There doesn't seem to be much interest in who will buy our gliders from us in the future, let alone preserve our beloved sport.

At my club www.yorksoaring.com, we have had a robust youth program for almost 15 years. We have an 'affiliated' registered charity (like a 501.c.3), which as of last spring has an endowment of around a quarter million dollars to fund the Youth Bursary (more or less British for scholarship) program.

I agree especially with a couple of the tenants expressed, and one significant difference.
- Our program focuses on already licenced pilots, graduates for the most part of the Air Cadet League of Canada, and fewer from our own and other gliding clubs. So we don't have the dropout rate and the wasted money. If someone has had the tenacity to succeed through a licence program.
- We too believe in the Critical Mass need. We have up to 20 bursaries available.
- Some of our instructors are graduates of the bursary program, and more f them were Air Cadets (think C.A.P.). They understand the training background of these kids, who are 16 - 22.

here, from our Instructors bulletin board are the objectives:

Objectives for Bursary Students

When we award a Bursary to a youth pilot, there are objectives behind the money other than to merely facilitate more 12 minute flights in a 2-33. In fact transition to the 1-34, and then mentoring to utilize the financial assistance and the more advanced aircraft to optimize the advanced skills and judgement that are core to a good soaring pilot. To this end, please:

Give the Bursary recipient a Bronze Badge PTR card, and explain the requirements briefly
Ensure the Bursary recipient registers for the Member's Forum
Direct their attention to the Piloting Files folder in the Archive section
Ask them to read and be prepared to discuss Dick Johnson on Thermalling and Speed Bank and Yaw
Discuss using the white board and amplify as needed
Give them a mentoring flight in a glass twin (note flights in GIKI and NUO will not result in a charge to their account for glider rental; they are owned by Youth Flight Canada for that purpose).
Have them go and practice what they have just learned in the 1-34
And please, - when you see it, discourage the self-taught 'skill' of coming in short of a proper aiming point, closing the spoilers, and floating the glider in ground effect to 'grease it on', which will have to be unlearned to master precision landings required by the Bronze Badge and good off field technique.

Acquaint them with the list in the office of those willing to mentor, and encourage individual sessions with a qualified Instructor on the theory topics.

They are permitted only two flights with friends or family in the 2-33 with bursary rates, - after that, the friend or relative must pay the tow.

In addition, we have on-field accommodation, and members car pool for those without wheels. The club culture is pretty much condescension-free, and youth are treated as peers.

To fly, they 'pay' $5.00 for each flight, and the balance at regular club rates is drawn down from their accounts, funded by the charity. Additionally, they are obliged to give an hour of volunteer service, over and above the normal club member, e.g. waxing the glass ships of the club and the two 103's owned by the charity. So they are invested. And they are well regarded by regular members because of their contributions to the club.

Some have returned for a 2nd or even 3rd season, and become proficient cross country pilots and instructors. One of them, Chris R, won the Ontario Provincial Championship in the club's LS-4, and instructs regularly.

Although our intake is reduced, our retention is higher, and that now includes the youth.

I too am willing to chat further about such programs with anyone interested..

On Sunday, October 5, 2014 9:33:04 AM UTC-4, XC wrote:
Ten Reasons to Add a Junior Program to Your Glider Club



We at Harris Hill are always going on about our club's junior program. It is because we all take great pride in it. Many other clubs are doing a great job at this too, but not enough.



I get the sense that a lot of clubs view subsiding youth gliding as unnecessary expense. On the contrary it pays dividens in many ways. If you need help convincing your board of directors, here are 10 reasons to have a youth group.



1. Adds youthful energy to your club - It is just more interesting to have multigenerational club.

2. Seeing the kids grow is very rewarding - Kids show up and don't even know how to shake hands properly. Before you know it they are off to the military or college full of pride and ready to take on the world. What a joy to be part of it.

3. Adds purpose to your club - Being on the board of directors is a pain. Meetings, disagreements, grief from members. Volunteering at the club takes on a deeper meaning and members give more of themselves when it is benefiting the young people

4. Fun to pass on what you know - The collective knowledge of a glider club is pretty amazing. One guy's an A&P, one guy's an IT genius. We have one member whose job is inventor. How cool is that? Great to see young people gather knowledge and skills.

5. May qualify your club for tax exempt status - If your club is truly helping young people you could qualify for 501(c)3 status.

6. Glider club becomes part of the community - Once your club is not just about your flying, you'll be surprized at the number of ways local governements and groups are willing to help your organization.

7. Helps with membership recruiting - It works in multiple ways. Adults in the club have their children join or parent and child join together. We've also had several cases when the parents joined after seeing how much fun the kids were having. Soaring is a great family activity.

8. Helps with membership retention - Especially in the case of families. A family atmosphere, with some facilities for families, allows for Mom or Dad to stay in the club as the family grows.

9. Cheap labor - Let's face it the young members do a lot of work for the club. It would be much more expensive to pay someone even minimum wage to do that work.

10. Junior members return to be senior members - Several young members have returned to the area after college and initial job experiences. Our club helped to bring them back.



I have a lot more tips about starting a youth club, what works, what doesn't, if anyone is interested.



XC

I should have made clear: we have been active with youth for over 40 years, offering youth training camps for ab initios. The program I described is a follow up to offer additional training to our own and other pilots from the Air Cadets, and for the majority, this will be their first exposure to a gliding club.

Our ab initio training intake has declined from the average of 25/year to perhaps 10 over the last 15 years. Our bursary program has increased the presence of youth on the field.

What's sad is each of the 300+ viewers can read my egregious typos and run-ons in my original post...

Many great points in there, Charlie Papa. Most striking is the idea that minting new solo students does not necessarily achieve the desired goal of carrying on the sport.

8 of us soloed one summer in the early 80's at Harris Hill. (Thank you Howard Trampeneau, Cliff Wilcox, and Ed Jensen!) I am the only one still flying gliders. It is really a shame, too. What a great, dynamic group of guys and girls.

They fell away at 2 general stages.

1. End of high school / Leaving for college
2. Married and starting a family

Here is what I think should be done to keep a young person in Soaring through the college years:
1. Before leaving for college they should have at least a Silver Badge. Better yet dual cross country flight experience or check out in a high performance sailplane. This is the most important indicator of junior member retention.
2. Offer collegiate membership rates to members who are leaving for college and students who are attending college nearby.
3. Make sure they continue to get emails and newsletters throughout college years.
4. Have some club events during Holiday breaks. At HHSC we have the Snowbird Contest. It is a little guys contest with spot landing and exact duration tasks. It takes place the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving with a banquet Saturday night. We give out some club awards and wrap up the season. It is great to see returning college students attend. (70+ years of Snowbird fun at HHSC. Always looking for more clubs to come.)
As for marriage and the new family years, ask yourself:
1. Does your club have a quiet and comfortable place for a new spouse to read a book?
2. Does your club welcome new people and children? Not just old guys heads down and swearing while they fuss with their electronic boxes.
3. Are there social events?
4. Is there a swing set and slide?

XC