Willi 2021 Update

We apologize for the delay in getting back to everyone about plans for the Willi. As you know, with Covid restrictions and lockdowns, things have been uncertain. As of today, except for essential travel, no one is supposed to be travelling into or within B.C. until at least after May 25. And it looks like that uncertainty could very well last into the summer. Besides the obvious problem of getting to the event, we wonder about the likely reception we would receive from the local community even after things open up more.

On the other hand, pilots continue to show interest in attending. 36 pilots responded to our survey, with 35 expressing an interest in attending. You can see the full survey results here…http://survey.corporatecompass.com/r/486057_601d80e6a6fee1.17896276

Barring the worst happening, we expect we will see pilots in flying Golden during the planned dates of the Willi (Week 1 July 24-Aug 8). And we just can’t stand to go another year without an event. So, we’re planning to run a stripped-down comp at a minimum, and will ready to add features and events as health restrictions and time allow. We have agreed with the Splashdown organizers to delay our proposed partnership until 2022.

The stripped-down event will be run as virtually as we can…

• Flying days for the Willi will be extended to 2 weeks, allowing you to count flights flown from July 24 to Aug 8.
• Flights may be flown and scored from launches in the upper Columbia Valley, including Mt.7, Swansea, and Wasa. Pilots are required to comply with local site rules and restrictions, with reported violations resulting in 0 points for the flight.
• Mostly the same rules as a normal Willi – fly as much as you want, top 3 scoring flights count, etc.
• Tracking will be required – Dannie will be watching and we will coordinate with local RCMP, SAR, etc. to ensure the flying is as safe as possible.
• All registration, tech sign-up, waivers to be done on-line.
• No face-to-face meetings, but we will do a morning briefing online with weather, tips, daily and Willi-Make-It winners, and perhaps a draw or 2.
• No parties or other formal social gatherings. We’d like to have the tent up for shelter and there may be beer there, but we’ll ask everyone to abide by the Covid gathering and masking rules in place at the time.
• Scoring will be done online as per usual, and awards presented via video conference.

As we get closer to the event and know more about the Covid restrictions in place, we will add features as possible. There will be an obviously lower meet fee to cover essentials to run the comp (we’re working that out now), and if we add features later, they will be pay-as-you-go.

Expect to see another announcement from us within the next week or 10 days with details about the base fee and how to sign up. Thanks all for your continued interest and participation. If you have questions for us, email flyfar@thewilli.com and we’ll do our best to answer them.

The Willi Team