Final day of Nardt Open

The day started with some faint thunder and a couple of dropplets. After breakfast and packing the cars, it really started to rain. Only thing to do, was to reverse the combi half way into the tent and off load our stuff.
In the background the Australiens had a mini table tennis competition going on, using tables a third of a standard width table. No wonder we call them mad hatters! But at least they all entertained us for a while. Craig used the opportunity to do some repair work, which he couldn't complete as the rain stopped and we were called out to set up our equipment.

We were still busy with distance of round 2, which I completed with a fairly low cloud base. Next up was speed for round 3, with Nigel up first. His run was smoothly flown. After that, it was my turn and I just wanted a clean run, aiming for a sub 20. Well, I got the height, got to base B and turning into base A towards me, I over rolled and planted the Ceres Lift into the ground at high speed. After the thud there was dead silence in the winch area. It had to be me, the first time at a worlds, making headline! It was actually gratefying to see that every pilot there in the winch area felt my pain. But, these things unfortunately happen, and we just need to move on.
Michelle also had a good speed run, but Craig again faired best of our team.
The last task of the day and the Open was duration. Here we all did quite well, with Craig still outperforming us. Thanks to Craig, I was able to complete round 2 with one of his other Ceres.
Having completed the flying, it was back to bringing in all the lines and packing the winches close to our designated launch area for the worlds. At 17h00 the opening cermony was started, with the usual speeches and the flag parade. At one point it started raining quite heavily, leaving some individuals to source some umbrellas. Needless to say, some chaos was caused with some people migrating to other nations for protection.
A parachute display was arranged where the official flags were attached to the skydivers.
Unfortunately the rain stopped the rest of the planned displays, prompting us all to go back to the hotel for dinner.
At 20h00 I had to attend to the managers meeting, where a couple of things were discussed. The one that took the most time, concerned the German team, who requested 2 extra winches and batteries for their team. Reason being, that they had a full team of 3 seniors, 1 junior and a word champ to cater for. They argued, that they would use more battery power and more winchline, leaving the rest of the team disadvantaged. Apparently they had 2 extra winches and batteries at the last worlds in China, and subsequently requested the same. The majority ruled against that preposition. But in the end they got one winch and 2 batteries. Think about this and you will see what a discussion it can create.
Anyway, lets's see what tomorrow will hold for us, other than starting at 8h00.