The rules changes proposed by the Rules Sub-Committee were adopted as proposed except the Board retained the 95.0 seeding value for Sports Class. (The committee had proposed raising it to 100.0.)
The most significant change is that the objective of Regional Sports Class contests was changed to make it a class for beginners. Pilots with a seeding of more than 86.0 can enter Regional Sports Class contests but will not be eligible for medallions.
The changes do NOT include mandatory use of GPS flight recorders for 15-Meter and Standard during 1999. (This will likely occur in 2000.)

Steve Northcraft reported on a situation where it would have been extremely beneficial if a club had had a written airport use agreement. He recommends all clubs or commercial operators take the time to develop a written use agreement with the airport management.

Ron Ferguson briefed Ephrata's bid for the 2003 World Championships. He will formally present the bid to the IGC at its Seattle meeting in March.

The Board approved a new award, the Chairman's Special Recognition Award. It is intended to be a short fused award for special occasions. Cliff Robertson received the first award for his help with the Hall of Fame ceremony.

The 2000 convention will be in Albuquerque, NM. The 2001 convention is set for Indianapolis, 2002 in Southern CA, and 2003 in Dayton, OH.

The board changed the Soaring Hall of Fame nomination due date to August 31 so it could discuss nominations at the Fall meeting.

Updated SSA Membership Handbooks will be available soon.

The US Hang Gliding Association (USHGA) and US Ultralight Association (USUA) Boards joined the SSA Board for a joint meeting to hear an address from the Chairman of the House Aviation Sub-committee. He said one of his goals for 1999 is to free up the Aviation Trust Fund.

Other convention notes:

USHGA and USUA had their annual meeting in conjunction with the convention which was named Air Expo 99. Phil Bachman, the Executive Director of the USHGA, did an outstanding job of promoting the Air Expo to the local TV, print, and radio media. The International Aerobatic Club (IAC) had its board meeting at the Air Expo and folks from the Balloon Federation visited. The joint venture was a big success.

We had the usual crowd of great speakers and a busy exhibit hall with a large display of sailplanes, hang gliders, and ultra-lights..

On Friday night, Hannes Linke and Gren Seibels were inducted into the US Soaring Hall of Fame. This was a most excellent ceremony and reception.