HGFA Skysailor Magazine

2 SKY SAILOR September | October 2018 Sharing the skies with our New Zealand flying community The HGFA Committee of Management (COM) recently hosted the NZHGPA President, Kyla MacDonald and the NZHGPA CEO, Evan Lamberton at one of our regular fortnightly COM meetings. It was enlightening to have them participate and discuss issues of common interest to both our organisations. And it got us considering how we could do more to build on the sporting ties that exist between our two countries. There’s always been a strong and passionate rivalry between Australia and New Zealand across all sports. The two nations could be playing each other in marbles and people would want to know the score. It’s a rivalry that could be showcased and leveraged to help us grow interest in our flying activities in both countries. To mark the occasion of Kyla’s and Evan’s COM attendance, and as an initiative to grow our sport and promote its thrills to a wider audience, both associations have committed to the establishment of a working party tasked with developing a stand-alone, multi-discipline, biennial competition between both nations. This will be a significant undertaking which will require thorough planning, independent funding and quality marketing, but one which has great potential for creating interest and growth for our sport. Properly developed, it’s also the sort of event which could be run in different regions in both countries. This in turn will have tourism appeal for regional authorities. We see great potential in this initiative for both associations. HGFA Strategic Plan The COM has been constructing a Strategic Plan designed to modernise and guide the development of our sport. The wide ranging plan is broadly focussed on growth that leads to a sustainable future. The next steps in the development involve fine- tuning detail in the plan prior to seeking member comment and input. As always, fly safe. by Paul Green, HGFA President President’s Update Photo: John Harris, 2017 Photo: Courtesy Godfrey Wenness, 2017