This article by Dean Lawson was first published in the Wimmera Mail-Times on 8th of Fabruary 2004.
PILOTS from across Australia will compete for state championship honors when they take to the Wimmera sky above Horsham from tomorrow.
Organisers of Horsham's only annual international sports competition, Horsham Week, have included Victorian championships as part of the enduring summer event.
Horsham Week director Noel Vagg said his committee expected a fleet of 35 gliders at Horsham Aerodrome for the eight-day competition.
He said pilots would compete for championship honors in sports, standard, racing and open classes.
"This is the largest gliding competition in Victoria and although most of the pilots competing are from Victoria, we will also have entries from SA and overseas," Mr Vagg said.
"We're now looking forward to the hot weather for which the Wimmera is renowned."
Horsham Week, which has been on the Wimmera sporting calendar since 1967, is the oldest gliding competition in Australia and one of the oldest in the world.
The competition reached its zenith in the mid 1970s when it attracted more than 70 aircraft to Horsham and still remains one of Victoria's major gliding events despite a worldwide decline in the sport.
It has always attracted international and Australian representative pilots.
Competition involves enthusiasts using flying and navigational skills to complete tasks in flights ranging from 100 to 600 kilometres and taking them up to 250 kilometres from Horsham.
Wimmera Soaring Club ran the event until two years ago but dwindling club members forced it to hand the reins over to Beaufort club.
Organisers are closely watching the weather forecast and are confident of ideal gliding conditions during the next few days.