HGFA Skysailor Magazine

10 SKY SAILOR January | February 2019 A nd mostly, it feels so good to know we are not alone in such situations. We are laughing with her, not at her. We are laughing at ourselves where we can identify with the story. It’s in this moment that I realise I have a hundred of these stories myself which, normally, I just file away to then get on with things. I haven’t realised till now how helpful sharing these stories with those who could really benefit can be. That getting to this point in my own flying required hundreds of awkward moments, problems to be solved, issues to be navigated that many women don’t get past. From how to go about peeing at a completely flat towing site without so much as a blade of grass, let alone a shrub in sight to crouch behind, to how to deal with being dragged across a launch as the entirely male audience watches and then rushes to help you whilst you try to muster up as much dignity and confidence as you can scrounge to feel like you’ll nail it on the next attempt. I stop and realise that I haven’t felt this thing for a long time. It’s such a unique feeling. I think the last time I felt this, I was with my high school girlfriends for a long-overdue reunion. It’s an energy that emerges with a group of women who feel comfortable enough with each other to let the wall down and have a good giggle at ourselves and the crazy situations life throws at us – an environment that rarely ever emerges in the world of paragliding, simply because to have an all female group together is so uncommon. There’s just not enough of us. Creating this atmosphere is the foundation of these events. Paragliding is such a head-game that if we want to move forward in this sport, we first need to work on ourselves. It’s about creating an environment where we feel like we can be honest enough to say things like, “I just don’t seem to be able to work out how to do that,” without fearing the response back will be, “Maybe this is just not the sport for you.” It’s an environment where you will hear not only how the PG5-rated pilot learned how to achieve a skill, but also how the PG4 recently perfected that skill and how the PG3 is slowly The laughter dies down again, Molly has just finished another self-deprecating flying story that had us all in stitches. It’s the kind of story that, when told in the presence of other women, evokes such a reaction because we can all identify with her dis- comfort, and we can take inspiration from how she handled it. by Kirsten Seeto Photo: Molly McEwin The Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow