By Leonard Freitag
A week before the Melbourne Gliding Club Christmas Camp 2025, I was thinking about goals that I could set and achieve. That led me to stumble upon the Come and Get It Trophy (CAGIT).
The concept of the Trophy is pretty straightforward. The Trophy sits at one gliding club, until another pilot from another club launches from their home club and makes a successful goal flight by landing at the club holding the trophy, thereby claiming it. The trophy then moves to the club the pilot took off from and the cycle repeats.
For many years, NSW had its own CAGIT that its clubs would compete for, although a Victorian club would occasionally cross the Murray and ‘steal’ it. This led the Victorian Soaring Association (VSA) to create a Victorian CAGIT in 2016. Initially, the Trophy travelled all around Victoria until James Nugent took it to Sunraysia Gliding Club in Mildura in December 2020, where it sat for just over 5 years – until now!
Winch-Only Club
However, before last year’s Christmas Camp, I had mostly dismissed the idea of attempting to claim it due to the logistical complexities involved. When I contacted James Nugent, he confirmed that Sunraysia is a winch-only club and does not operate any tugs, which meant I would not be able to launch out of Mildura for the return flight, as I didn’t hold a winch endorsement. The only other viable option was for someone to drive the empty trailer there, de-rig it and drive 4.5 hours back to Raywood.
Fast forward a week – a few days into the camp, I overheard some discussion in the Bendigo Clubhouse about the CAGIT, and mentioned the possibility of going to get it myself. As the days passed, the forecast began to show a weather window that suggested the flight could succeed. Not wanting to give up the opportunity, and with encouragement from other club members along with my amazing mum, Anita, offering to drive the 9-hour round trip with the trailer, the plan was set into motion.
An Unexpected Race
On the morning of 29 December, it was time. I completed the DI on VCS, our club’s Discus CS, programmed the 321km journey into the S100 and XCSoar, and attended the daily 10am briefing in the Clubhouse. Adding to the pressure, soon after briefing I received a text from James Nugent informing me that Mark Bland, a pilot flying out of Mt Beauty in his ASK21, was attempting the very same goal today. Now it had become a race!
Getting to Mildura first would claim the Trophy. Although I had a roughly 200km head start, Mark was the more experienced pilot and could launch earlier due to thermals forming earlier in the mountains than over the flatlands. Everyone at the club helped me get to the front of the launch grid to maximise my chances of arriving first.
At 1230, I launched behind our Pawnee, and after a superb tow by PK, I circled up to 5,000ft and wasted no time setting off towards Mildura. I made solid progress through the clear blue skies, passing the Archaeopteryx operating out of Boort and the salt lakes near Sea Lake, and periodically checking the OGN to compare my progress with Mark's.
Keeping Afloat
However, approaching the Hattah-Kulkyne National Park roughly 75km from my goal, I found myself in trouble. A combination of poor decisions and rejecting climbs in the interest of speed left me barely staying afloat at less than 1,500ft. Keeping calm and composed, I made one final attempt by gliding over a dark patch next to a cultivated paddock, giving myself landing options in the event it didn’t work.
Thankfully, I managed to find some lift I could hold onto and, with a bit of helpful guidance from the Sunraysia locals who happened to be in the area returning from their own task, I slowly climbed back up to 8,000ft. From there I pushed the stick forward enjoying a fast, relaxing final glide into the ‘A’ shaped runways of the Sunraysia Gliding Club.
Got It!
After a smooth touchdown on the gravel runway of 04, I was greeted by locals Dave and Rob, who helped me push VCS under a tree and congratulated me on the journey. After a 30 minute wait, Anita arrived with the trailer and the four of us derigged VCS before officially presenting us with the Trophy. After a quick tour around the clubhouse where Anita and I would spend the night before driving back to Raywood, Dave and Rob farewelled us and headed home.
Anita and I made a quick trip into town for fuel and pizzas before retreating back to the clubhouse for the evening. We were up again at 5am the following morning and soon began the drive back to Raywood, arriving just in time for the 10am briefing and a loud round of applause.
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