This is normally held annually, either at [[Gransden Lodge]] or OUGC's home airfield at RAF [[Bicester]]/RAF [[Weston-on-the-Green]], and is the traditional opportunity for us to show our skills against "the other place".
The rules are simple: teams of 6 attempt to soar locally for up to 50 minutes, gaining one point per minute, climbing for 2 points per 100 ft, and then to land before the 50 minutes are up as there is then a deduction of 6 points per minute. Flights which receive no points for time are not allowed to claim height gains.
Women on the Varsity team can get a half-blue if they already have perfomed are holding a 1 hour solo flightBGA Bronze certificate. Men can also get a half-blue from if they are holding a BGA Silver certificate, or if they are holding a BGA Bronze certificate and fly the Women's Blues Committee (subject to approval from MBC)highest-scoring soaring flight on any given day.
== Results ==
== Rules ==
=== Normal rules General Rules ===
# A point is awarded for each minute of flight up to 50 mins<ol><li value="1">The competition shall span three days (forming a three-day "window"), after which six points will be deducted for where each minute over. The lowest score which can day may or may not be recorded is 0 pointsvalid as "competing days". Two points are awarded for each 100 feet </li><li value="2">Before the start of the competition, both team captains shall agree on the full set of height gained after rules, including the launch provided scoring metrics and normalization method to be used, as well as the climb is maintained for 500 feet. Climbs less than 500 feet do not gain height pointsaddition/removal of clauses to/from this article.</li># <li value="3">The number of pilots in each team should shall not exceed six , and the team members must shall be decided before the start of the competition. Provisional teams should be declared at least one week in advance.</li><ol style="list-style-type:lower-alpha"><li value="a">''As agreed at the 2023 Varsity Match.'' If it is not possible for all team members to be present across the full three-day window, then - on mutual approval from both team captains - team members may be decided day-by-day, before the first flight of each day, such that both teams have the same size on each day.</li></ol><br><li value="4">At the beginning of each day of the three-day window, before the first flight, both team captains shall agree on the validity of the day as a "competing day", as well as the scoring metric to be used for the day. This agreement shall not be rescinded, barring clause 4.b, or other exceptional circumstances.</li><ol style="list-style-type:lower-alpha"><li value="a">All flights made during competing days are potentially valid scoring flights, unless they are unsafe.</li># <li value="b">Each pilot can may enter only one scoring flight for each competing day of the competition. A day should be declared void if it is not possible for at least three members of each team to flyattempt scoring flights.</li># <ol style="list-style-type:lower-roman"><li value="i">Disqualified flights, and flights scoring zero points, are still considered attempted scoring flights.</li></ol><br><li value="c">Teams must record on their own logs the takeoff and landing time for each scoring flight made by a member of their own team. Failure to do so renders a flight invalid. An observer from each team shall be present at the launch point launchpoint during all flights.</li># A [[GPS trace|barograph trace]] must be submitted for a flight to be awarded height gain points. If this <li value="d">It is typical, though not available necessary, that only time points will be awarded for the flight. It is the responsibility four best scoring flights of each team to make sure a working barograph is carried in are taken on each scoring glidercompeting day.</li># Instructors may fly in <li value="e">Unsafe flights are disqualified from scoring gliders and may verbally assist the competitor. They may Unsafe flights include, but are not physically fly the glider at any time. The only exception limited to this is to maintain normal safety, flights which enter airspace, land out, make a final turn below 300ft QFE, exceed Va (max maneuvering speed), or generally show poor airmanship.</li># All flights made during the days of the competitions are potentially valid scoring flights. At the end of </ol><br><li value="5">The scores for each competing dayshall be normalized, teams will submit so that the takeoff/landing times and trace for the best flight made by median score on each team membercompeting day is 100.</li># All flights must follow airspace rules and show good airmanship. Flights entering airspace will be disqualified.# <li value="6">At the end of the competition, the normalized points for all scoring flights will shall be totalled , and the team with the most points will shall be declared the winner.</li></ol><br>
=== Bad weather Scoring Metric for Soaring Flights ("Normal rules ") ===
<ol>
<li value="1">A point is awarded for each minute of flight up to 50 mins, after which six points will be deducted for each minute over. The lowest score which can be recorded is zero points.</li>
<li value="2">Two points are awarded for each 100 feet of height gained after the launch, provided the climb is maintained for 500 feet. Climbs less than 500 feet do not gain height points.</li>
<li value="3">A [[GPS trace|GPS or barograph trace]] must be submitted for a flight to be awarded height gain points. If this is not available, only time points will be awarded for the flight. It is the responsibility of each team to ensure that the trace of each scoring glider is captured.</li>
<li value="4">Instructors may fly in scoring gliders and may verbally assist the competitor. They may not physically fly the glider at any time. The only exception to this is to maintain normal safety.</li>
</ol><br>
=== Scoring Metric under Bad Weather ("Spot landings") ===
''As agreed at the 2019 Varsity Match''
<ol>
<li value="1">A marker (or markers) shall be set up on the ground, at an appropriate landing area, visible to all pilots from the air. The markers should indicate a line, perpendicular to the intended landing direction, and must not interfere with the safety of landing.</li>
<ol style="list-style-type:lower-alpha"><li value="a">The intention is for pilots to touch down and roll to a stop as close to the line as possible.</li></ol><br>
<li value="2">The use of wheel brake during the landing is prohibited, except to maintain normal safety. Any landing which uses the wheel brake is disqualified.</li>
<li value="3">All flights are to be taken in two-seater gliders, with an instructor sat in the back to verify the lack of wheel brake. The instructor may not physically control the glider during flight or during landing, except to maintain normal safety.</li>
<li value="4">The (unnormalized) score of the flight is given as 3000/(30 + ''d''), where ''d'' is the shortest distance, measured in feet, between the landing line and the glider's main wheel at its final resting position.</li>
</ol><br>
=== Scoring Metric under Bad Weather ("Circuit flights") ===
''As agreed at the 2012 Varsity Match''
# <ol><li value="1">Every 1 minute over 5 minutes is counted as one point, each pilot submits the best flight of the day.# Scores for each university are aggregated, the university with the highest score wins.</li># <li value="2">Instructors may fly in scoring gliders and may verbally assist the competitor. They may not physically fly the glider at any time. The only exception to this is to maintain normal safety.</li># Flights making their final turn below 300ft will not score, nor will land out flights.</ol><br>
== Past reports ==
