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Task 2 (Open)

How the field flew this task, and which behaviours separated it.

View task
ELLIOTELLIOTHALFWYTOOMACUDGELLIOTCORRYCORRY
The optimised route — radii, leg distances and start times are on the task page.

Analysis computed

Pilots
46
Airtime
103h (12:50–18:14 AEDT)
Thermals
28772 shared by 2+ pilots
Working band
845–2040 m
Airtime split
  • searching38%
  • climbing37%
  • gliding25%

2 pilots are in the scores but not in this analysis. Which, and why

What the weather did

From the weather model

Independent of the tracklogs: modelled conditions for the task area.

Fetching the day’s weather — it will appear here in a moment.

From the pilots' tracks

What the field actually flew — wind, climb strength and leg timing measured from every pilot's tracklog.

The day’s wind, hour by hour and leg by leg. What the air did, read from the field itself. We estimate the wind from the circling of every pilot. The first method is the drift of the circle centre, and the second method, used when the first is not available, is the modulation of the ground speed. We then combine the estimates two ways. The table by hour of day shows how the wind increased and changed direction through the day. The table by speed-section leg shows the wind on each part of the course. This metric describes the day, so it has no value for each pilot.

How strong the day’s climbs were, hour by hour. When the day started, reached its peak, and ended. We group the thermal climbs of all pilots by the hour in which each climb started, labelled in the time zone of the competition. The median and the 90th-percentile average climb rate for each hour show how the lift developed. This metric describes the day, so it has no value for each pilot.

Share of the flight spent in air that wasn’t sinking. How much of the flight was in air worth being in. The value is the share of the airborne time of a pilot, on the shared grid, with a 30 s-smoothed vario at or above −0.5 m/s. The time they flew, the line they steered and the way the flight ended all feed this value. It is therefore a reading of the day as much as of the pilot. There is no expected direction, and the sign of the correlation is the finding. The timing table compares the window of the day’s best climbs against the time when the field launched.

All charts share that one time axis. Arrows fly WITH the wind — direction figures are degrees the wind blows from.

A vertical scan compares the measured and the modelled at the same moment. Arrow length and opacity track speed and sample count.

On the per-leg chart the pale bar is when the field flew that leg, and the solid band inside it is the circling its wind was measured from — a leg the field glided is measured in a sliver of the time it was flown.

Exact numbers are in the day family’s tables under “The metrics in detail”.

The day's thermals

The 40 most-shared of 151 multi-pilot thermals, reconstructed by pooling every pilot's track through the same climb. Everything shown is measured from the tracks — no fitted lift model. Select a thermal to see it in detail.

Thermal at 13:26 AEDT — 14 pilots, 29 climbs

  • Wind 12.2 km/h from 279° (W), measured from 61 circle estimates in the pilots' own tracks.
  • Model wind cross-check loading…
  • Leans 29° from vertical toward 144° (SE), within 45° of downwind.
  • Strongest on the SE side of the core at +1.7 m/s against +1.4 m/s on the NW side.
  • Multiple cores in 3 of 9 bands between 900 and 1600 m — separate feeders (⬧ in the rose) before they merged.
Watch this thermal in the 3D replay (opens in a new tab)
Pilots in this thermal (climb rates)
PilotMinMedianMax
Neale Halsall-1.3 m/s+2.3 m/s+6.0 m/s
Peter Burkitt-4.5 m/s+1.5 m/s+3.8 m/s
Mark Jeffree-2.5 m/s+1.5 m/s+4.0 m/s
Jon Durand-1.5 m/s+1.3 m/s+3.8 m/s
Mitch Butler-0.7 m/s+1.0 m/s+2.0 m/s
Rohan Taylor-2.3 m/s+1.0 m/s+3.3 m/s
Todd Wisewould-1.0 m/s+1.0 m/s+3.5 m/s
Michael Free-1.0 m/s+1.0 m/s+2.0 m/s
Peter Tolhurst-1.0 m/s+0.8 m/s+2.8 m/s
Andrew Sutton-0.5 m/s+0.8 m/s+2.8 m/s
Richard Martin-0.5 m/s+0.8 m/s+1.5 m/s
Adrian Connor-1.0 m/s+0.8 m/s+2.0 m/s
James Atkinson-2.5 m/s+0.8 m/s+2.0 m/s
Rory Duncan-0.5 m/s+0.7 m/s+2.0 m/s

Each pilot's slowest, typical and best climb over their own vario samples in this thermal — a negative minimum means they touched sink inside it.

Band table (exact numbers)
BandCore offset E/N (m)Working radiusExtentMean climbBest climbSamplesPilotsCores
1700–1800 m14 / -39969 m143 m+1.7 m/s+4.3 m/s2511
1600–1700 m82 / -414102 m137 m+2.2 m/s+4.8 m/s4411
1500–1600 m175 / -292105 m151 m+1.8 m/s+4.3 m/s9622
1400–1500 m176 / -25598 m149 m+2.0 m/s+6.0 m/s7722
1300–1400 m186 / -13546 m63 m+1.1 m/s+3.0 m/s1711
1200–1300 m160 / 5384 m166 m+1.1 m/s+2.8 m/s6611
1100–1200 m48 / 6894 m174 m+1.1 m/s+3.8 m/s9021
1000–1100 m-101 / 60111 m210 m+1.3 m/s+3.0 m/s11821
900–1000 m-53 / -33246 m393 m+0.9 m/s+3.8 m/s616123
StartPilotsHeight bandMean climbStrongest side
6600–1500 m+1.4 m/sSE
10700–1900 m+1.3 m/sNW
9700–1800 m+1.8 m/sW
14900–1800 m+1.2 m/sSE
7900–1800 m+1.5 m/sN
81100–1900 m+2.0 m/sN
81400–1800 m+1.4 m/sW
71400–2000 m+2.2 m/sE
9700–1600 m+1.4 m/sE
11800–2000 m+1.7 m/sSW
91000–1600 m+1.5 m/sN
61000–2200 m+1.9 m/sE
5700–1100 m+1.0 m/sNW
8700–1500 m+1.6 m/sW
81100–1700 m+1.2 m/sSE
9700–1400 m+1.0 m/sW
61400–1700 m+1.3 m/sNE
13900–1800 m+1.3 m/sW
81200–2100 m+1.3 m/sN
61400–1800 m+1.5 m/sNE
61400–2000 m+1.1 m/sNW
5800–1900 m+1.2 m/sE
61000–1800 m+1.4 m/sNW
6800–1700 m+1.4 m/sNW
141000–2200 m+1.6 m/sN
6700–1300 m+1.2 m/sN
7800–1400 m+1.1 m/sSE
7900–1800 m+1.3 m/sN
61000–2100 m+1.6 m/sSE
5700–1000 m+0.8 m/sSW
8600–2300 m+1.9 m/sSW
11800–2200 m+1.7 m/sS
51100–1700 m+1.8 m/sE
7900–1500 m+1.4 m/sW
51100–2300 m+1.1 m/sW
5900–2200 m+2.0 m/sS
51700–2200 m+1.4 m/sW
5800–2000 m+1.2 m/sE
51300–2300 m+1.0 m/sS
5800–2300 m+1.2 m/sNW

The dashed arrow is the weather model’s wind — a model run, not an observation.

Each thermal pools every pilot’s fixes through the same climb into 100 m altitude bands. A band’s core is the lift-weighted centre of its fixes, so the rose and the sector readings are already normalised for the thermal’s lean and drift.

Wedge length is relative climb by side of the core; the dashed ring is the measured working radius and the dotted ring the widest the field ranged. The solid arrow is the wind measured from the pilots’ circles.

Which behaviours went with better ranks

Each row is one behaviour, compared against the published ranks. Select a row to plot it against rank.

Share of race time spent hunting for the next climb

Each dot is a pilot. ρ = 0.79 (clear pattern, n = 46). Less is expected to be better here, and it was: top ranks gather to the left. The curve is a trend fitted through the dots: left to right it runs from about rank 8 to about rank 43.
  • Speed-section phase shares, field p25/median/p75: climb 19/32/39% · glide 24/30/34% · search 27/37/52%
BehaviourStrengthWhat it meansPilots measured
Share of race time spent hunting for the next climb
clear pattern
Glide speed between climbs
clear pattern
Final glide committed to when leaving the last climb
clear pattern
Share of lift turned in that was kept as a climb
clear pattern
Gliding wide of the optimal course line
clear pattern
How much of the thermal the pilot climbed before leaving it
clear pattern
How long after the gate opened the pilot started
clear pattern
Distance covered between climbs
some pattern
Climbing faster than the pilots sharing the thermal
some pattern
How low the pilot gets between climbs
some pattern
Time to core thermals
some pattern
Arriving at ESS with height to spare
could be chance
Glide L/D against the field median
some pattern
Low saves dug out from the bottom of the band
some pattern
Share of the height gain made outside thermals
some pattern
Time spent flying with a gaggle
some pattern
Climb rate at thermal exit
could be chance
Climbs joined on another pilot's marker
could be chance
Share of the flight spent in air that wasn’t sinking
could be chance
Gliding faster when the next climb is stronger
could be chance
How round and consistent the circles were
could be chance
How often leaving the gaggle paid off
could be chance

Outcome checks

These measure the result, not a behaviour, so they always follow the ranks.

OutcomeStrengthWhat it meansPilots measured
Race time behind the leader at ESS
clear pattern
Race time lost against the fastest pilots, leg by leg
could be chance

The whole field at a glance

1. Rohan Taylor
2. Steven Crosby
3. Steve Docherty
4. Vic Hare
5. Rory Duncan
6. Jay Kubeil
7. Bruce Wynne
8. Jon Durand
9. Richard Martin
10. Dustan Hansen
11. Mitch Butler
12. Troy Horton
13. John Harriott
14. James Atkinson
15. Stuart Cathcart
16. Enda Carrigan
17. Mark Jeffree
18. Neale Halsall
19. Andrew Taylor
20. Trent Brown
21. Ward Gunn
22. Todd Wisewould
23. Olav Opsanger
24. Michael Free
25. Adrian Connor
26. Neil Hooke
27. Peter Adriaans
28. Hughbert Alexander
29. Tushar Pokle
30. Hossain Tefaili
31. Gary Herman
32. Rennick Kerr
33. Peter Garrone
34. Andrew Sutton
35. Peter Burkitt
36. Peter Tolhurst
37. Brett Davis
38. Mario Chapa
39. Andrew Berenyi
40. Randall Clotworthy
41. Damian Hamilton
42. Marty Hearne
43. Neill Hollingsworth
44. Wayne Johnston
45. Jason Lannstrom
46. James McGinty
The pilots in rank order against every behaviour. A darker cell is a better percentile in this field, and an empty cell is a behaviour that does not apply.

Pilot style clusters

The groups are flying style, and not score. The spread of ranks in each group shows where that style paid and where it did not.

Group A — Fast gliders

5 pilots · ranks 1–23 · median 4 · middle half 2–12

  • High — Glide speed between climbs group median P95 in this field (64.9 kilometres per hour) · usually a strength
  • Low — Gliding wide of the optimal course line group median P6 in this field (24 percent) · usually a strength
  • Low — Final glide committed to when leaving the last climb group median P12 in this field (1.83 ratio)
  • Low — Time to core thermals group median P20 in this field (33 seconds) · usually a strength
  • 1. Rohan Taylor (most typical of this group)
  • 2. Steven Crosby
  • 4. Vic Hare
  • 12. Troy Horton
  • 23. Olav Opsanger

Group B — Thermal milkers

9 pilots · ranks 3–19 · median 9 · middle half 7–11

  • Low — Climb rate at thermal exit group median P18 in this field (1.0 metres per second)
  • Low — Share of race time spent hunting for the next climb group median P20 in this field (26 percent) · usually a strength
  • High — Glide speed between climbs group median P79 in this field (60.9 kilometres per hour) · usually a strength
  • High — Low saves dug out from the bottom of the band group median P78 in this field (1.0 count)
  • 3. Steve Docherty (most typical of this group)
  • 5. Rory Duncan
  • 7. Bruce Wynne
  • 8. Jon Durand
  • 9. Richard Martin
  • 10. Dustan Hansen
  • 11. Mitch Butler
  • 15. Stuart Cathcart
  • 19. Andrew Taylor

Group C — Safe finishers

6 pilots · ranks 6–29 · median 17.5 · middle half 13.3–21.8

  • High — Arriving at ESS with height to spare group median P93 in this field (648 metres) · usually costly
  • Low — Time to core thermals group median P11 in this field (29 seconds) · usually a strength
  • High — How low the pilot gets between climbs group median P85 in this field (56 percent)
  • High — How much of the thermal the pilot climbed before leaving it group median P83 in this field (74 percent)
  • 6. Jay Kubeil
  • 13. John Harriott
  • 14. James Atkinson
  • 21. Ward Gunn (most typical of this group)
  • 22. Todd Wisewould
  • 29. Tushar Pokle

Group D — Lift keepers

9 pilots · ranks 16–36 · median 26 · middle half 18–30

  • High — Share of the flight spent in air that wasn’t sinking group median P89 in this field (64 percent)
  • Low — Glide L/D against the field median group median P15 in this field (0.82 ratio) · usually costly
  • Low — Distance covered between climbs group median P16 in this field (1.0 kilometres) · usually costly
  • High — Gliding wide of the optimal course line group median P82 in this field (80 percent) · usually costly
  • 16. Enda Carrigan
  • 17. Mark Jeffree
  • 18. Neale Halsall
  • 25. Adrian Connor (most typical of this group)
  • 26. Neil Hooke
  • 27. Peter Adriaans
  • 30. Hossain Tefaili
  • 34. Andrew Sutton
  • 36. Peter Tolhurst

Group E — Speed-to-fly pilots

6 pilots · ranks 20–37 · median 31.5 · middle half 25.8–34.3

  • High — Gliding faster when the next climb is stronger group median P91 in this field (5.8 kilometres per hour) · usually a strength
  • Low — Share of lift turned in that was kept as a climb group median P14 in this field (53 percent)
  • High — Climb rate at thermal exit group median P83 in this field (1.5 metres per second)
  • High — Climbing faster than the pilots sharing the thermal group median P82 in this field (74 percent) · usually a strength
  • 20. Trent Brown
  • 24. Michael Free
  • 31. Gary Herman
  • 32. Rennick Kerr
  • 35. Peter Burkitt
  • 37. Brett Davis (most typical of this group)

Group F — Self-finders

3 pilots · ranks 28–38 · median 33 · middle half 30.5–35.5

  • Low — Climbs joined on another pilot's marker group median P1 in this field (0 percent)
  • Low — Climb rate at thermal exit group median P2 in this field (0.3 metres per second)
  • Low — Share of the height gain made outside thermals group median P8 in this field (3 percent)
  • High — Time to core thermals group median P90 in this field (61 seconds) · usually costly
  • 28. Hughbert Alexander
  • 33. Peter Garrone (most typical of this group)
  • 38. Mario Chapa

Not clustered: 39. Andrew Berenyi — only 6 of 22 metrics available (needs ≥ 60%); 40. Randall Clotworthy — only 8 of 22 metrics available (needs ≥ 60%); 41. Damian Hamilton — only 9 of 22 metrics available (needs ≥ 60%); 42. Marty Hearne — only 13 of 22 metrics available (needs ≥ 60%); 43. Neill Hollingsworth — only 7 of 22 metrics available (needs ≥ 60%); 44. Wayne Johnston — only 9 of 22 metrics available (needs ≥ 60%); 45. Jason Lannstrom — only 12 of 22 metrics available (needs ≥ 60%); 46. James McGinty — only 6 of 22 metrics available (needs ≥ 60%).

38 pilots on 22 behavioural metrics formed 6 groups.

GlideComp groups the pilots by flying style, and not by score. It transforms the rank of every behavioural metric to a percentile inside the field. It then compares two pilots by the mean percentile gap over the metrics that both pilots have, and never fills in a missing value. Ward-linkage agglomeration forms the groups, and the best mean silhouette selects the number of groups. Each group carries the spread of the GAP ranks of its members, which shows where a style paid and where it did not.

k was searched from 2 to 6. The mean silhouette is 0.13 — a value near 0 means soft group boundaries, and a value near 1 means tight, well-separated groups.

The metrics in detail

best: could be chance (0.11)

best: clear pattern (0.62)

best: clear pattern (0.79)

One lane per behaviour, one dot per pilot, placed by percentile within the pilots that behaviour could be measured on — so a dot's position says where a pilot sat, never how spread the field was. Hover a pilot to light them up in every lane at once.
#PilotGlideSpdGlideL/DSpeedToFlyWide%Dolphin%
1Rohan Taylor67.8 (19 glides, 62 min gliding)0.92 (5 legs compared)-0.5 (18 glide→climb pairs)20 (5 legs completed)15 (842 of 5729 m gained outside thermals)
2Steven Crosby65.3 (19 glides, 67 min gliding)1.06 (5 legs compared)5.3 (18 glide→climb pairs)24 (5 legs completed)10 (540 of 5673 m gained outside thermals)
3Steve Docherty61.0 (24 glides, 77 min gliding)1.05 (5 legs compared)-2.9 (23 glide→climb pairs)32 (5 legs completed)11 (649 of 5875 m gained outside thermals)
4Vic Hare64.9 (18 glides, 69 min gliding)0.99 (5 legs compared)4.7 (17 glide→climb pairs)27 (5 legs completed)9 (531 of 5911 m gained outside thermals)
5Rory Duncan60.7 (25 glides, 79 min gliding)1.24 (5 legs compared)-2.6 (24 glide→climb pairs)27 (5 legs completed)14 (686 of 5073 m gained outside thermals)
6Jay Kubeil55.0 (32 glides, 96 min gliding)1.40 (5 legs compared)1.8 (31 glide→climb pairs)27 (5 legs completed)24 (1244 of 5256 m gained outside thermals)
7Bruce Wynne63.6 (15 glides, 74 min gliding)1.02 (5 legs compared)-6.0 (14 glide→climb pairs)30 (5 legs completed)3 (200 of 7479 m gained outside thermals)
8Jon Durand58.4 (24 glides, 78 min gliding)1.04 (5 legs compared)7.2 (23 glide→climb pairs)30 (5 legs completed)10 (612 of 6105 m gained outside thermals)
9Richard Martin61.0 (23 glides, 84 min gliding)1.12 (5 legs compared)-2.4 (22 glide→climb pairs)34 (5 legs completed)11 (565 of 5344 m gained outside thermals)
10Dustan Hansen60.9 (25 glides, 87 min gliding)1.01 (5 legs compared)-0.7 (24 glide→climb pairs)37 (5 legs completed)16 (1038 of 6324 m gained outside thermals)
11Mitch Butler61.5 (22 glides, 81 min gliding)0.97 (5 legs compared)-2.2 (21 glide→climb pairs)28 (5 legs completed)12 (735 of 6120 m gained outside thermals)
12Troy Horton52.4 (30 glides, 96 min gliding)0.83 (5 legs compared)-4.3 (29 glide→climb pairs)30 (5 legs completed)14 (1084 of 7700 m gained outside thermals)
13John Harriott51.1 (30 glides, 119 min gliding)1.16 (5 legs compared)0.2 (29 glide→climb pairs)31 (5 legs completed)19 (1212 of 6552 m gained outside thermals)
14James Atkinson55.3 (32 glides, 112 min gliding)1.13 (5 legs compared)0.5 (31 glide→climb pairs)40 (5 legs completed)26 (1574 of 5952 m gained outside thermals)
15Stuart Cathcart53.0 (18 glides, 88 min gliding)1.04 (5 legs compared)3.1 (17 glide→climb pairs)39 (5 legs completed)6 (399 of 6965 m gained outside thermals)
16Enda Carrigan57.4 (36 glides, 122 min gliding)1.00 (3 legs compared)0.9 (35 glide→climb pairs)85 (3 legs completed)21 (1434 of 6875 m gained outside thermals)
17Mark Jeffree44.8 (49 glides, 172 min gliding)0.77 (3 legs compared)0.4 (48 glide→climb pairs)62 (3 legs completed)20 (1813 of 8930 m gained outside thermals)
18Neale Halsall62.2 (26 glides, 71 min gliding)0.93 (3 legs compared)0.9 (25 glide→climb pairs)39 (3 legs completed)17 (890 of 5189 m gained outside thermals)
19Andrew Taylor47.8 (14 glides, 79 min gliding)1.00 (3 legs compared)1.0 (13 glide→climb pairs)28 (3 legs completed)3 (159 of 5541 m gained outside thermals)
20Trent Brown58.6 (13 glides, 54 min gliding)1.16 (2 legs compared)7.5 (12 glide→climb pairs)28 (2 legs completed)18 (608 of 3447 m gained outside thermals)
21Ward Gunn56.3 (27 glides, 81 min gliding)1.09 (2 legs compared)0.5 (26 glide→climb pairs)54 (2 legs completed)19 (879 of 4583 m gained outside thermals)
22Todd Wisewould58.8 (12 glides, 70 min gliding)1.07 (2 legs compared)4.4 (11 glide→climb pairs)31 (2 legs completed)19 (597 of 3162 m gained outside thermals)
23Olav Opsanger60.4 (11 glides, 39 min gliding)0.80 (2 legs compared)-5.6 (10 glide→climb pairs)23 (2 legs completed)29 (1252 of 4352 m gained outside thermals)
24Michael Free49.4 (18 glides, 71 min gliding)1.12 (2 legs compared)5.8 (17 glide→climb pairs)33 (2 legs completed)21 (827 of 3959 m gained outside thermals)
25Adrian Connor49.3 (20 glides, 72 min gliding)0.78 (2 legs compared)0.0 (19 glide→climb pairs)86 (2 legs completed)23 (1490 of 6501 m gained outside thermals)
26Neil Hooke54.1 (11 glides, 43 min gliding)0.77 (2 legs compared)1.5 (10 glide→climb pairs)42 (2 legs completed)14 (454 of 3199 m gained outside thermals)
27Peter Adriaans53.6 (13 glides, 67 min gliding)0.85 (1 leg compared)-4.6 (12 glide→climb pairs)74 (1 leg completed)11 (470 of 4404 m gained outside thermals)
28Hughbert Alexander50.1 (5 glides, 42 min gliding)1.01 (1 leg compared)-3.8 (4 glide→climb pairs)33 (1 leg completed)4 (91 of 2564 m gained outside thermals)
29Tushar Pokle43.3 (19 glides, 77 min gliding)0.93 (1 leg compared)2.0 (18 glide→climb pairs)113 (1 leg completed)14 (572 of 4148 m gained outside thermals)
30Hossain Tefaili56.3 (8 glides, 40 min gliding)1.24 (1 leg compared)0.9 (7 glide→climb pairs)98 (1 leg completed)27 (425 of 1569 m gained outside thermals)
31Gary Herman44.3 (2 glides, 25 min gliding)0.92 (1 leg compared)—26 (1 leg completed)6 (37 of 590 m gained outside thermals)
32Rennick Kerr37.8 (2 glides, 26 min gliding)1.01 (1 leg compared)—34 (1 leg completed)30 (165 of 553 m gained outside thermals)
33Peter Garrone46.0 (10 glides, 39 min gliding)0.83 (1 leg compared)-1.6 (9 glide→climb pairs)163 (1 leg completed)3 (96 of 3097 m gained outside thermals)
34Andrew Sutton50.6 (8 glides, 22 min gliding)0.75 (1 leg compared)-2.2 (7 glide→climb pairs)109 (1 leg completed)15 (194 of 1281 m gained outside thermals)
35Peter Burkitt48.9 (8 glides, 24 min gliding)1.03 (1 leg compared)-0.2 (7 glide→climb pairs)84 (1 leg completed)34 (306 of 896 m gained outside thermals)
36Peter Tolhurst46.0 (8 glides, 17 min gliding)—7.4 (7 glide→climb pairs)—37 (244 of 653 m gained outside thermals)
37Brett Davis40.7 (2 glides, 13 min gliding)———27 (81 of 296 m gained outside thermals)
38Mario Chapa38.5 (4 glides, 18 min gliding)———3 (17 of 523 m gained outside thermals)
39Andrew Berenyi—————
40Randall Clotworthy—————
41Damian Hamilton—————
42Marty Hearne47.6 (2 glides, 8 min gliding)————
43Neill Hollingsworth————100 (423 of 423 m gained outside thermals)
44Wayne Johnston—————
45Jason Lannstrom46.8 (1 glides, 8 min gliding)————
46James McGinty—————

Glide speed between climbs

Measured in kilometres per hour · higher is better

How fast the pilot moves down the course when they are on a glide. The value is the duration-weighted mean ground speed over every glide after the start, which is the glide distance divided by the glide time. A higher value means more ground covered in each minute between climbs.

Field glide speed: median 53.9 km/h · p90 62.3 km/h (40 pilots)

best: clear pattern (0.79)

One lane per behaviour, one dot per pilot, placed by percentile within the pilots that behaviour could be measured on — so a dot's position says where a pilot sat, never how spread the field was. Hover a pilot to light them up in every lane at once.
#PilotFloor%LowSaveskm/climbSearch%
1Rohan Taylor44 (12 descents, lowest -31% of band)0.01.8 (mean shared-climb pctile 61%)27
2Steven Crosby59 (11 descents, lowest 12% of band)0.02.4 (mean shared-climb pctile 56%)26
3Steve Docherty37 (17 descents, lowest 17% of band)0.01.8 (mean shared-climb pctile 48%)26
4Vic Hare55 (11 descents, lowest 4% of band)1.0 (deepest save from 12% of band)2.3 (mean shared-climb pctile 53%)23
5Rory Duncan42 (13 descents, lowest -12% of band)0.01.8 (mean shared-climb pctile 51%)26
6Jay Kubeil50 (16 descents, lowest -36% of band)0.01.3 (mean shared-climb pctile 53%)25
7Bruce Wynne40 (11 descents, lowest -13% of band)2.0 (deepest save from 6% of band)3.7 (mean shared-climb pctile 53%)12
8Jon Durand30 (12 descents, lowest -21% of band)1.0 (deepest save from -5% of band)1.7 (mean shared-climb pctile 54%)23
9Richard Martin43 (11 descents, lowest -4% of band)1.0 (deepest save from -1% of band)2.1 (mean shared-climb pctile 49%)35
10Dustan Hansen38 (11 descents, lowest -12% of band)0.01.5 (mean shared-climb pctile 50%)27
11Mitch Butler31 (12 descents, lowest -16% of band)2.0 (deepest save from -10% of band)1.8 (mean shared-climb pctile 46%)32
12Troy Horton44 (12 descents, lowest -24% of band)2.0 (deepest save from -10% of band)1.3 (mean shared-climb pctile 58%)32
13John Harriott53 (12 descents, lowest 16% of band)0.01.3 (mean shared-climb pctile 44%)36
14James Atkinson40 (12 descents, lowest -10% of band)1.0 (deepest save from -2% of band)1.1 (mean shared-climb pctile 55%)38
15Stuart Cathcart62 (12 descents, lowest -11% of band)0.02.1 (mean shared-climb pctile 46%)23
16Enda Carrigan13 (13 descents, lowest -18% of band)2.0 (deepest save from 1% of band)1.0 (mean shared-climb pctile 47%)41
17Mark Jeffree16 (15 descents, lowest -29% of band)2.0 (deepest save from 9% of band)0.8 (mean shared-climb pctile 50%)51
18Neale Halsall33 (10 descents, lowest -1% of band)0.01.3 (mean shared-climb pctile 55%)38
19Andrew Taylor50 (9 descents, lowest -19% of band)1.0 (deepest save from -9% of band)3.1 (mean shared-climb pctile 46%)16
20Trent Brown22 (9 descents, lowest -20% of band)0.01.7 (mean shared-climb pctile 67%)38
21Ward Gunn60 (11 descents, lowest 23% of band)0.00.9 (mean shared-climb pctile 41%)34
22Todd Wisewould58 (6 descents, lowest -27% of band)0.01.6 (mean shared-climb pctile 47%)46
23Olav Opsanger43 (17 descents, lowest -34% of band)0.01.7 (mean shared-climb pctile 60%)32
24Michael Free22 (7 descents, lowest 5% of band)0.01.3 (mean shared-climb pctile 51%)24
25Adrian Connor14 (9 descents, lowest -7% of band)1.0 (deepest save from 7% of band)0.8 (mean shared-climb pctile 55%)32
26Neil Hooke19 (5 descents, lowest -17% of band)1.0 (deepest save from -12% of band)1.5 (mean shared-climb pctile 41%)31
27Peter Adriaans36 (8 descents, lowest -27% of band)1.0 (deepest save from -26% of band)1.1 (mean shared-climb pctile 50%)36
28Hughbert Alexander14 (2 descents, lowest -12% of band)1.0 (deepest save from -3% of band)3.1 (mean shared-climb pctile 55%)25
29Tushar Pokle85 (9 descents, lowest 19% of band)0.00.7 (mean shared-climb pctile 49%)42
30Hossain Tefaili45 (3 descents, lowest 3% of band)0.0—57
31Gary Herman—0.0—43
32Rennick Kerr—0.0—38
33Peter Garrone31 (5 descents, lowest -17% of band)2.0 (deepest save from -27% of band)—33
34Andrew Sutton—0.0—40
35Peter Burkitt-17 (2 descents, lowest -21% of band)0.0—55
36Peter Tolhurst10 (2 descents, lowest -2% of band)0.0—52
37Brett Davis—0.0—62
38Mario Chapa2 (2 descents, lowest 0% of band)0.0—45
39Andrew Berenyi—0.0—100
40Randall Clotworthy—0.0—100
41Damian Hamilton—0.0—100
42Marty Hearne—0.0—92
43Neill Hollingsworth—0.0—100
44Wayne Johnston—0.0—100
45Jason Lannstrom—0.0—66
46James McGinty—0.0—100

Share of race time spent hunting for the next climb

Measured in percent · lower is better

Time that goes into neither a climb nor progress down the course. This is the time spent to find lift, to stay up, and to decide what to do next. The value is the share of the speed-section time, from the start to ESS or to the landing, in which the pilot neither climbed in a thermal nor glided with real net speed. A lower value means less time lost between climbs.

Speed-section phase shares, field p25/median/p75: climb 19/32/39% · glide 24/30/34% · search 27/37/52%

best: some pattern (0.32)

best: clear pattern (0.64)

One lane per behaviour, one dot per pilot, placed by percentile within the pilots that behaviour could be measured on — so a dot's position says where a pilot sat, never how spread the field was. Hover a pilot to light them up in every lane at once.
#PilotStartDlyTimeLostBehindSpare mFinalGl
1Rohan Taylor191660.0651.24 (left last climb 1.9 km out at 1810 m)
2Steven Crosby351469.4892.11 (left last climb 3.7 km out at 2045 m)
3Steve Docherty12248119.1475.23 (left last climb 5.5 km out at 1343 m)
4Vic Hare9043911.6-656.47 (left last climb 6.8 km out at 1339 m)
5Rory Duncan14916613.23362.17 (left last climb 3.5 km out at 1883 m)
6Jay Kubeil7538514.66482.74 (left last climb 3.1 km out at 1403 m)
7Bruce Wynne11276932.33805.45 (left last climb 5.8 km out at 1364 m)
8Jon Durand6385433.682.80 (left last climb 3.5 km out at 1536 m)
9Richard Martin53110732.73073.93 (left last climb 4.2 km out at 1369 m)
10Dustan Hansen137108033.45501.57 (left last climb 3.3 km out at 2374 m)
11Mitch Butler152134739.9-826.46 (left last climb 5.6 km out at 1153 m)
12Troy Horton109229458.43041.55 (left last climb 2.8 km out at 2074 m)
13John Harriott177286764.87931.21 (left last climb 1.2 km out at 1291 m)
14James Atkinson63267757.72254.04 (left last climb 4.2 km out at 1339 m)
15Stuart Cathcart111329872.95632.00 (left last climb 4.2 km out at 2386 m)
16Enda Carrigan5944541——6.48 (left last climb 4.4 km out at 967 m)
17Mark Jeffree3246194——13.69 (left last climb 3.6 km out at 551 m)
18Neale Halsall541067——7.01 (left last climb 6.5 km out at 1217 m)
19Andrew Taylor1522275———
20Trent Brown15241——5.12 (left last climb 2.4 km out at 751 m)
21Ward Gunn644888——2.49 (left last climb 4.0 km out at 1885 m)
22Todd Wisewould52980——6.09 (left last climb 1.5 km out at 542 m)
23Olav Opsanger730———
24Michael Free4971150———
25Adrian Connor5892780———
26Neil Hooke691085——5.51 (left last climb 7.0 km out at 1555 m)
27Peter Adriaans99947———
28Hughbert Alexander84413——6.99 (left last climb 6.1 km out at 1158 m)
29Tushar Pokle7121967——4.77 (left last climb 5.1 km out at 1362 m)
30Hossain Tefaili3601072——8.67 (left last climb 6.8 km out at 1080 m)
31Gary Herman804121———
32Rennick Kerr9359———
33Peter Garrone6292577——13.76 (left last climb 6.7 km out at 776 m)
34Andrew Sutton531992——5.03 (left last climb 6.3 km out at 1549 m)
35Peter Burkitt44752———
36Peter Tolhurst509———11.23 (left last climb 6.5 km out at 869 m)
37Brett Davis395———13.37 (left last climb 6.7 km out at 791 m)
38Mario Chapa-192————
39Andrew Berenyi871————
40Randall Clotworthy1707————
41Damian Hamilton1647————
42Marty Hearne1600———22.31 (left last climb 6.6 km out at 589 m)
43Neill Hollingsworth239————
44Wayne Johnston629————
45Jason Lannstrom1393———13.36 (left last climb 5.0 km out at 664 m)
46James McGinty268————

How long after the gate opened the pilot started

Measured in seconds · lower is better

Every second between the opening of the gate and the crossing of the start line is a second lost for nothing. The value is the seconds from the start gate taken to the scored SSS crossing. On an elapsed-time task, the pilot’s own crossing is the reference, so the delay is 0 by definition. The start table adds the crossing altitude, and the distance behind the leading pilot who had already started.

Start execution

PilotDelayAlt mBand %Behind km
Rohan Taylor0:191889878.9
Steven Crosby0:351554596.6
Steve Docherty2:021425490.8
Vic Hare1:301591626.5
Rory Duncan2:291738757.2
Jay Kubeil1:151905898.0
Bruce Wynne1:521537586.5
Jon Durand1:031496546.2
Richard Martin0:531837838.6
Dustan Hansen2:171942928.5
Mitch Butler2:321687708.6
Troy Horton1:491526576.4
John Harriott2:571600637.3
James Atkinson1:031826828.4
Stuart Cathcart1:511945928.5
Enda Carrigan9:541951938.4
Mark Jeffree5:241425498.3
Neale Halsall0:541457516.6
Andrew Taylor2:321634669.1
Trent Brown2:321540586.9
Ward Gunn10:441978959.7
Todd Wisewould0:521946928.4
Olav Opsanger1:131441500.8
Michael Free8:171826828.6
Adrian Connor9:491798808.4
Neil Hooke1:091531576.6
Peter Adriaans1:391558606.5
Hughbert Alexander1:241581626.6
Tushar Pokle11:5215606010.5
Hossain Tefaili6:001503559.7
Gary Herman13:242029998.8
Rennick Kerr0:091789799.9
Peter Garrone10:29593-2112.1
Andrew Sutton8:511838839.2
Peter Burkitt0:441515566.7
Peter Tolhurst8:291912899.3
Brett Davis6:3514445010.0
Mario Chapa-3:121351420.0
Andrew Berenyi14:31409-3612.4
Randall Clotworthy28:27651-1612.1
Damian Hamilton27:27416-3613.3
Marty Hearne26:40615-1913.7
Neill Hollingsworth3:59304-4510.3
Wayne Johnston10:29601-208.0
Jason Lannstrom23:131064189.0
James McGinty4:28466-3212.9

Delay = gate taken → SSS crossing. Behind km = extra distance to the next turnpoint vs the furthest-along already-started pilot at the moment of this start (time grid).

Race time lost against the fastest pilots, leg by leg

Measured in seconds · lower is better

For each completed speed-section leg, we compare the leg time of the pilot with the mean of the top 10 pilots by rank who completed that leg. Only the losses count, and we add them together. The sum of the leg times is the race time, and the rank defines the reference, so this metric follows the result by construction. Read the waterfall table, which shows every leg against the task winner, for the diagnosis. Do not read the correlation as a finding.

+8:11SSS→HALFWY-1:18HALFWY→TOOMA+5:53TOOMA→CUDG-3:49CUDG→ELLIOT+0:13ELLIOT→ESS
Steven Crosby, over 5 compared legs: +9:10 overall. — marks a leg the pilot or the winner did not complete; the table below has every pilot.

Leg waterfall — leg time vs the task winner

PilotSSS→HALFWYHALFWY→TOOMATOOMA→CUDGCUDG→ELLIOTELLIOT→ESSTotal
Rohan Taylor+0:00+0:00+0:00+0:00+0:00+0:00
Steven Crosby+8:11-1:18+5:53-3:49+0:13+9:10
Steve Docherty+5:12+9:10+0:35+2:07+0:19+17:22
Vic Hare+9:03-3:06+6:28-7:11+5:09+10:23
Rory Duncan+0:39+7:20+10:12-7:29+0:19+11:01
Jay Kubeil+4:02-0:09+14:25-6:32+1:52+13:38
Bruce Wynne+8:18+11:45+13:14-3:45+1:11+30:43
Jon Durand+7:33+13:37+8:40+2:05+0:58+32:54
Richard Martin+13:23+9:25+16:11-7:46+0:56+32:09
Dustan Hansen+1:11+13:31+11:48+4:41+0:17+31:28
Mitch Butler+15:43+17:06+10:09-5:48+0:31+37:41
Troy Horton+17:34+10:03+9:02+19:20+0:55+56:54
John Harriott+18:24+1:34+33:37+4:38+3:59+62:12
James Atkinson+7:55+37:34+19:30-9:17+1:17+56:59
Stuart Cathcart+37:39+28:21+6:31-2:59+1:54+71:24
Enda Carrigan+8:16+73:43+14:12——+96:12
Mark Jeffree+66:35+34:15+22:55——+123:45
Neale Halsall+9:43+19:51-0:08——+29:26
Andrew Taylor+23:52+8:33+26:01——+58:26
Trent Brown+6:27-4:36———+1:50
Ward Gunn+10:00+16:35———+26:35
Todd Wisewould+7:39+20:27———+28:06
Olav Opsanger+3:38-7:23———-3:45
Michael Free+24:55-11:03———+13:52
Adrian Connor+23:48+34:19———+58:07
Neil Hooke+14:22+15:30———+29:52
Peter Adriaans+21:32————+21:32
Hughbert Alexander+12:39————+12:39
Tushar Pokle+38:32————+38:32
Hossain Tefaili+23:37————+23:37
Gary Herman+7:46————+7:46
Rennick Kerr+11:44————+11:44
Peter Garrone+48:42————+48:42
Andrew Sutton+22:17————+22:17
Peter Burkitt+18:17————+18:17

Each cell is the leg time of this pilot minus the leg time of the winner. A + value is slower than the winner, and a − value is faster. A — means that the pilot or the winner did not complete the leg.

The scalar metric instead adds the losses against the mean of the top 10 pilots who completed each leg. A leg flown faster than that reference contributes 0.

Race time behind the leader at ESS

Measured in minutes · lower is better

At each speed-section turnpoint, we compare the elapsed race time of the pilot, which is the reaching time minus their own start, with the fastest pilot to that turnpoint. The value is the minutes behind at ESS. It follows the final rank almost exactly, because this metric is the sanity check of the evaluation.

A line that stops early is a pilot who landed. The top 5 are coloured; the table below has every pilot.

Horserace — minutes behind the leader at each turnpoint

PilotELLIOTHALFWYTOOMACUDGELLIOTCORRYCORRY
Rohan Taylor3.50.02.80.00.00.00.0
Steven Crosby3.88.510.013.09.29.49.4
Steve Docherty5.26.918.916.718.819.119.1
Vic Hare4.710.210.013.66.411.611.6
Rory Duncan5.72.813.020.412.913.213.2
Jay Kubeil4.55.07.719.212.714.614.6
Bruce Wynne5.19.924.434.831.132.332.3
Jon Durand4.38.324.830.632.733.633.6
Richard Martin4.113.926.239.531.832.732.7
Dustan Hansen5.53.219.528.533.233.433.4
Mitch Butler5.717.937.945.239.439.939.9
Troy Horton5.019.132.038.257.558.458.4
John Harriott6.221.125.556.260.864.864.8
James Atkinson4.38.749.165.756.557.757.7
Stuart Cathcart5.039.270.474.071.072.972.9
Enda Carrigan13.117.994.4105.8———
Mark Jeffree8.671.7108.8128.8———
Neale Halsall4.110.333.030.0———
Andrew Taylor5.726.137.560.7———
Trent Brown5.78.76.9————
Ward Gunn13.920.439.9————
Todd Wisewould4.18.231.5————
Olav Opsanger4.44.50.0————
Michael Free11.532.924.7————
Adrian Connor13.033.370.5————
Neil Hooke4.415.233.6————
Peter Adriaans4.922.9—————
Hughbert Alexander4.613.7—————
Tushar Pokle15.150.1—————
Hossain Tefaili9.229.3—————
Gary Herman16.620.9—————
Rennick Kerr3.411.6—————
Peter Garrone13.758.9—————
Andrew Sutton12.030.8—————
Peter Burkitt3.918.7—————
Peter Tolhurst11.7——————
Brett Davis9.8——————
Mario Chapa0.0——————
Andrew Berenyi17.7——————
Randall Clotworthy31.7——————
Damian Hamilton30.7——————
Marty Hearne29.9——————
Neill Hollingsworth7.2——————
Wayne Johnston13.7——————
Jason Lannstrom26.4——————
James McGinty7.7——————

The elapsed race time, from the pilot’s own start, minus the fastest elapsed time to that turnpoint. A — means that the pilot did not reach the turnpoint.

Arriving at ESS with height to spare

Measured in metres · lower is better

Height still available at ESS that the pilot no longer needed. That altitude was available for more speed, and the pilot did not use it. The value is the altitude at ESS minus the altitude needed to glide to goal at the standard glide ratio of the sport, which is 5.0 for HG and 4.0 for PG (S7F §13.4.6). A large positive margin means the pilot arrived too high. A margin near zero means they flew the final glide with little height to spare.

ESS altitude margin over final glide: top-10 median 198 m (n=10) vs rest median 304 m (n=5).

Footnotes

2 pilots in the scores but not in this analysis

  • Bruce Atkinson — scored from a manual flight report — no tracklog to analyse
  • Cedric Joyce — scored from a manual flight report — no tracklog to analyse

The correlations are measured against the published ranks, and those ranks include these pilots. Their behaviour cannot be measured without a tracklog.

How the field is compared

Everything that compares pilots to each other uses one shared clock. That includes gaggles, shared thermals, and the position of each pilot at the same moment. GlideComp resamples every track onto a common 10-second grid. Two pilots are therefore always compared at the same instant, whatever rate their instruments logged at.

Metric glossary

How GlideComp measures every metric on this page. On screen, the ⓘ beside a metric opens the same description in place. On paper, this section is the reference for all of them.

Day profile & wind

The day’s wind, hour by hour and leg by leg(“Wind” in tables)
Measured in kilometres per hour · no expected direction

What the air did, read from the field itself. We estimate the wind from the circling of every pilot. The first method is the drift of the circle centre, and the second method, used when the first is not available, is the modulation of the ground speed. We then combine the estimates two ways. The table by hour of day shows how the wind increased and changed direction through the day. The table by speed-section leg shows the wind on each part of the course. This metric describes the day, so it has no value for each pilot.

How strong the day’s climbs were, hour by hour(“Climb/hr” in tables)
Measured in metres per second · no expected direction

When the day started, reached its peak, and ended. We group the thermal climbs of all pilots by the hour in which each climb started, labelled in the time zone of the competition. The median and the 90th-percentile average climb rate for each hour show how the lift developed. This metric describes the day, so it has no value for each pilot.

Share of the flight spent in air that wasn’t sinking(“NonSink%” in tables)
Measured in percent · no expected direction

How much of the flight was in air worth being in. The value is the share of the airborne time of a pilot, on the shared grid, with a 30 s-smoothed vario at or above −0.5 m/s. The time they flew, the line they steered and the way the flight ended all feed this value. It is therefore a reading of the day as much as of the pilot. There is no expected direction, and the sign of the correlation is the finding. The timing table compares the window of the day’s best climbs against the time when the field launched.

Climbing

Climbing faster than the pilots sharing the thermal(“Out-climb” in tables)
Measured in percent · higher is better

When this pilot and other pilots were in the SAME thermal, who climbed faster? In every thermal that two pilots or more used, we rank each use by its average climb rate. The percentile of a use is the share of uses that were strictly slower. The value is the duration-weighted mean percentile over the shared climbs of the pilot. 50% is exactly average. 80% means they climbed faster than four in five of the pilots they shared lift with. The shared thermal is what separates centring skill from thermal selection: a pilot who only found better air gets no higher value here.

Time to core thermals(“Core s” in tables)
Measured in seconds · lower is better

How long the pilot takes to get into the best lift after they arrive in a thermal. For each thermal of 60 s or more, we measure the seconds from the entry until the 30 s rolling climb rate first reaches 90% of its peak in that thermal. The value is the median across the thermals of the pilot. Every second here is a second spent climbing slower than the thermal can carry them.

Climb rate at thermal exit(“LeaveRate” in tables)
Measured in metres per second · no expected direction

The median climb rate that the pilot left thermals at. For each thermal of 90 s or more, we take the climb rate over its final 30 s. A high value means they leave lift that still works. A low value means they stay in a climb until nothing is left. This is an absolute rate, so read it against the day: compare it with the median climb in "How strong the day’s climbs were". A pilot who leaves at 1.5 m/s leaves a good climb on a 1 m/s day, and takes the worst lift available on a 4 m/s day. There is no expected direction. The sign of the correlation says which behaviour paid on this task.

Share of lift turned in that was kept as a climb(“Kept%” in tables)
Measured in percent · no expected direction

How selective the pilot is about the lift they stop for. Each period of circling of 30 s or more after the start counts as lift that the pilot sampled. If the period overlaps a detected thermal, the pilot kept that lift. If it does not, they turned a few circles and left it. The value is the percentage kept. A low value means they are selective. A high value means they keep almost every climb they turn in. There is no expected direction: selection wins on a strong day and wastes time on a weak one.

How much of the thermal the pilot climbed before leaving it(“TopOut%” in tables)
Measured in percent · no expected direction

Does the pilot climb to the top of every thermal, or leave with lift still above them? We take the altitude where they left each thermal after the start, as a percentage of the day’s working band. 0% is the floor of the field and 100% is its ceiling. The value is the median. There is no expected direction: a climb to the top buys height in reserve, and an early departure buys time.

How round and consistent the circles were(“Round” in tables)
Measured in ratio · lower is better

Whether the pilot flies clean, repeatable circles, or moves around the thermal. We fit each detected circle by least squares. The RMS fit error divided by the fitted radius measures how round the turn was. The value is the median over all of the circles of the pilot. A lower value means smoother and more consistent turns.

Gliding

Glide speed between climbs(“GlideSpd” in tables)
Measured in kilometres per hour · higher is better

How fast the pilot moves down the course when they are on a glide. The value is the duration-weighted mean ground speed over every glide after the start, which is the glide distance divided by the glide time. A higher value means more ground covered in each minute between climbs.

Glide L/D against the field median(“GlideL/D” in tables)
Measured in ratio · higher is better

Whether the pilot found better air on glide than the other pilots on the same leg. For each completed speed-section leg, we take the pilot's glide-phase L/D. That is the path distance divided by the net altitude lost during the glides, and we skip a leg that loses less than 100 m. We divide it by the median L/D of the field on that same leg, and then average over the legs. 1.10 means the pilot glided 10% further for each metre lost than the usual pilot on those legs.

Gliding faster when the next climb is stronger(“SpeedToFly” in tables)
Measured in kilometres per hour · higher is better

Speed to fly: the pilot flies faster when a good climb is in front of them, and slower when it is not. We pair each glide after the start with the climb rate of the next thermal that starts within 5 minutes. The value is the mean glide speed before climbs stronger than the median, minus the mean glide speed before weaker climbs. +8 km/h means the pilot flew 8 km/h faster into the good climbs. This is a PROXY, and not true speed to fly, because there is no glider polar data.

Gliding wide of the optimal course line(“Wide%” in tables)
Measured in percent · lower is better

How much further the pilot flew on glide than the optimised course line needed. 0% is a flight exactly along the line, and 12% is a glide 12% further than necessary. On each completed speed-section leg, we compare the pilot's route with the optimised distance of the leg, weighted by that optimised distance. Only the glides are measured at their full path length. Circling and searching contribute their entry-to-exit displacement instead. A climb or a search for lift therefore never reads as a wide line, because a pilot chooses a line only on glide. 0% is a real value that a pilot can reach: a pilot who flies the line of the optimiser scores exactly zero.

Share of the height gain made outside thermals(“Dolphin%” in tables)
Measured in percent · no expected direction

Dolphin flying: how much of the height that the pilot gained came outside of circling. The value is the share of the altitude gain after the start, smoothed over 10 s, that the pilot made outside a detected thermal. There is no expected direction. The sign of the correlation shows whether dolphin flying paid on this day.

Decision-making

How low the pilot gets between climbs(“Floor%” in tables)
Measured in percent · no expected direction

How low the pilot goes before the next climb. A high value is a race with height in reserve, and a low value is a flight that goes down near the ground. We take each pair of climbs that the pilot made after the start, and we find the lowest point between them. We keep only the gaps that go down 100 m or more, because a top-up between two climbs is not a descent. We do not count a sled run or the glide to goal, because the pilot made no climb after them. The value is the median of those low points, as a percentage of the day's working band. 0% is where the lowest tenth of the field's climbs started, and 100% is where the highest tenth stopped. Thus a negative value shows that the pilot went lower than almost all of the field. The pilot must have two or more of these descents. There is no expected direction. The sign of the correlation says whether height in reserve pays.

Low saves dug out from the bottom of the band(“LowSaves” in tables)
Measured in count · no expected direction

How many times the pilot got low and climbed out again. We count the climbs after the start that the pilot entered below 15% of the working band, and that then gained 300 m or more. Those are true low saves. Zero is a real value, and not a missing one: it means the pilot never got that low. There is no expected direction. The sign of the correlation says whether a climb-out or a flight that stays high pays.

Distance covered between climbs(“km/climb” in tables)
Measured in kilometres · higher is better

How far the pilot gets down the course before they must stop and circle again. This is the direct reading of how often they stop. The value is the scored flown distance divided by the number of thermals taken after the start, so 3 km means three kilometres of course for each climb. The pilot must fly 20 km or more. The note of each pilot adds their mean climb percentile inside shared thermals, so you can read the number of stops together with the climb strength. Long legs between weak climbs is a different day from long legs between strong ones.

Share of race time spent hunting for the next climb(“Search%” in tables)
Measured in percent · lower is better

Time that goes into neither a climb nor progress down the course. This is the time spent to find lift, to stay up, and to decide what to do next. The value is the share of the speed-section time, from the start to ESS or to the landing, in which the pilot neither climbed in a thermal nor glided with real net speed. A lower value means less time lost between climbs.

Gaggle

Time spent flying with a gaggle(“InGaggle%” in tables)
Measured in percent · no expected direction

Whether the pilot raced with other pilots or alone. The value is the share of their flying time after the start inside a detected gaggle, that is, clustered with one other racing pilot or more on the shared time grid. There is no expected direction. A gaggle increases the power to search for lift, but it also holds a pilot to its own speed. The sign of the correlation says which of the two occurred here.

Climbs joined on another pilot's marker(“Marked%” in tables)
Measured in percent · no expected direction

How much of the lift of the pilot another pilot found first. The value is the share of their climbs after the start where another pilot was already established in the same thermal when they arrived. Established means 30 s or more into the climb, and still climbing. A high value means they mostly climb on the markers of other pilots. A low value means they find their own air. There is no expected direction. A marker is free information, but it puts a pilot where the last climb was, and not where the next one is.

How often leaving the gaggle paid off(“LeaveWin%” in tables)
Measured in percent · no expected direction

When a pilot leaves a gaggle that continues to fly, did the departure pay off? We compare the arrival of the pilot who left at the next turnpoint against the median arrival of the pilots who stayed. A win rate of more than 50% means their departures beat the gaggle. A pilot counts as a pilot who stayed only if they were still in the gaggle after the split, and reached that turnpoint after it.

Race craft

How long after the gate opened the pilot started(“StartDly” in tables)
Measured in seconds · lower is better

Every second between the opening of the gate and the crossing of the start line is a second lost for nothing. The value is the seconds from the start gate taken to the scored SSS crossing. On an elapsed-time task, the pilot’s own crossing is the reference, so the delay is 0 by definition. The start table adds the crossing altitude, and the distance behind the leading pilot who had already started.

Race time lost against the fastest pilots, leg by leg(“TimeLost” in tables)
Measured in seconds · lower is better

For each completed speed-section leg, we compare the leg time of the pilot with the mean of the top 10 pilots by rank who completed that leg. Only the losses count, and we add them together. The sum of the leg times is the race time, and the rank defines the reference, so this metric follows the result by construction. Read the waterfall table, which shows every leg against the task winner, for the diagnosis. Do not read the correlation as a finding.

Race time behind the leader at ESS(“Behind” in tables)
Measured in minutes · lower is better

At each speed-section turnpoint, we compare the elapsed race time of the pilot, which is the reaching time minus their own start, with the fastest pilot to that turnpoint. The value is the minutes behind at ESS. It follows the final rank almost exactly, because this metric is the sanity check of the evaluation.

Arriving at ESS with height to spare(“Spare m” in tables)
Measured in metres · lower is better

Height still available at ESS that the pilot no longer needed. That altitude was available for more speed, and the pilot did not use it. The value is the altitude at ESS minus the altitude needed to glide to goal at the standard glide ratio of the sport, which is 5.0 for HG and 4.0 for PG (S7F §13.4.6). A large positive margin means the pilot arrived too high. A margin near zero means they flew the final glide with little height to spare.

Final glide committed to when leaving the last climb(“FinalGl” in tables)
Measured in ratio · no expected direction

How optimistic the pilot was about their final glide. A pilot wins or loses a task by the height at which they leave the last climb. At the last climb of the pilot before ESS, or before the landing, we divide the distance to goal by their height above goal. That is the glide ratio they committed to. 8 means they left and needed 8:1 to make goal. The value counts only when that climb ended within 1.5 times the length of the last course leg longer than 1 km from goal — when ESS and goal share a waypoint, the zero-length hop between them is not that leg. There is no expected direction: a marginal glide wins if it connects, and loses if it does not.