This coming season marks the 60th Horsham Week flying competition in western Victoria.
By Ryan Driscoll
This coming season marks the 60th Horsham Week flying competition in western Victoria. By comparison, the Han Weide Wettbewerb, one of the longest running and best known competitions in Europe, is only up to its 57th iteration. This rates Horsham Week one of the longest continuously running gliding competitions in the world – and for many good reasons. The event is always held in the first full week in February, which historically marked the end of harvest for many of the local farmers.
The Horsham Flying Club hosts two weeks of gliding – the competition week itself, as well as the week preceding devoted to cross country coaching, self-declared tasking and Silver C based training.
Horsham’s location boasts many advantages. To begin with, the airport is the smallest paddock in the local area. Based on the original royal subdivision of land, most of the predominately cropped wheat paddocks that surround the airport and extend in all directions into the task area are still fenced to the original 2 mile by 2 mile division. Consequently, outlanding options are as plentiful as they come. Additionally, Grampians National Park is a short drive away and makes for many great rest day walks and explorations.
The coaching week is a fantastic event for new GPC pilots to begin to explore their abilities in a safe and fun environment. Someone is always ready to lend a hand with rigging, tasking and outlanding retrieves if required. Throughout the week, many presentations are given on topics such as navigation and weather, and coaching flights are available with the attending clubs’ two-seaters. All in all, the Horsham Coaching week provides a distinctly ‘flying for fun and self-development’ social atmosphere.
The competition week that follows is a model pilot-run event. Thanks to a rotating roster of volunteers hailing from clubs across the state, all organising positions are filled and thus attendance costs can be kept to an absolute minimum. Total fees, including entry to the competition, are similarly as fair as they come. For example, last season’s fees for entry and facility only totalled $230, plus aerotows at $70 each.
Accommodation is readily accessible with many reasonably priced Airbnb properties in town and budget airfield camping/bunkhouse rooms available. Bringing the competition together is the wonderful Lorelle Esmore who leads the catering team at the Horsham flying club and ensures meals are always accessible and social.
This recent Horsham Week was well attended, as have been the previous five comps I’ve experienced. A total of 26 pilots competed in club class, Standard/15m and 18m/open class, although numbers most years ranged between 30 and 40. This year, catastrophic fire conditions were raging to the south of the town in the Grampians and to the west in the Little Desert. Many fingers and toes were crossed concerning the containment of these bushfires, first of all, and then with hope of clear air returning.
Unfortunately, most of the coaching week was lost to extreme smoke haze. Luckily, by the time the competition week started, the wind had swung around and tasking became possible as we managed five tasks out of a potential seven days.
Additionally, I also enjoy flying at Horsham Week because of the uniquely varied weather conditions. You truly never know what the weather will bring. This year included thunderstorms, trough lines, low blue days and high cumulus days. Task setting accommodates the conditions with an attitude of always intending to fly, while also keeping the tasks achievable. But no matter the weather, if there’s one thing that does remain constant at Horsham week, it’s the grins on display at the Presentation Dinner.
So if you’re a keen glider pilot of any ability and looking for a safe and friendly new place to fly, I encourage you to put the Horsham Week(s) on your calendar, and together let’s celebrate the 60th Horsham Week with a fun couple of weeks of flying.
31 January to 6 February 2026
Horsham Coaching Week
7 to 14 February 2026
Horsham Competition Week
horshamweek.org.au
