Ross joined the Wellington and Wairarapa Gliding Club on the 9th of August 1959. In 1963 he became the Press Officer for the 1st New Zealand Championships, both as liaison with the local newspaper and a story of the Championship for Gliding Kiwi. His work as publicity officer lifted the profile of the sport gliding with his articles being published for many years in many magazines. In 1970 he took over the Awards work for the NZGA, this included the checking of evidence for FAI awards, and for records, both local and World, a role he continued until his relocation to the UK in 1992. He found a number of areas in the Sporting Code that could be improved and recommended the code be reworded. Nearly all his recommendations were accepted by the IGC. In 1990, when IGC meeting was held in New Zealand, the Sporting Code Committee chairman, Tor Johannessen, took the opportunity to visit him in Auckland and in a couple of days hard work, they reworded a great deal of the Code into more accurate English. In 1999 Ross took over the chairman’s position on the Sporting Code Committee, a position which he still holds today. Under his chairmanship the SC3 was rewritten, removing aspects which no longer were applicable such as visual sighting from the ground for competition turn points and the new version came into operation from October 1999. By 2004 it was clear that after their introduction in 1995, flight recorders were by then, the standard evidence source. It was agreed that eventually, the flight recorder would be replacing photographic evidence completely. A note was added to the SC3 text as a warning that this would be happening. It was not until 2006 that it was decided that the time had come, so the committee went to work to rewrite SC3 again. This time they made very extensive changes. It was a lengthy process, with a group of about 16 individuals, all with an interest in the Sporting Code rules, as a consultative group. However after an extra year for more consultation the new edition was approved in 2009 with only minor amendments. In addition Ross is often consulted by FAI and NACs for advice on problems that they have found in claims for badges or records. His contribution to the sport of gliding and his enthusiasm and dedication to the whole area of awards and the updating and maintenance of the Sporting Code over some 29 years is remarkable. Under his leadership the IGC Sporting Code Committee has carried out their work tirelessly and efficiently.
Manfred Reinhardt began gliding at the age of 15, obtaining his A and B badges in a SG38. While studying for his doctorate in atmospheric physics at Stuttgart Technical University, he was a leading member of the Akademische Fliegergruppe Stuttgart. He participated for the first time in OSTIV at the 1954 Congress held in Buxton, UK. In 1956 he was employed as an assistant to Prof. Dr. Walter Georgii, the former president of the pre-war ISTUS, forerunner to OSTIV and IGC, who had established a new institute for atmospheric research at the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt f�r Segelflug. The work of Dr Georgii and his staff contributed greatly to the sport of gliding. In 1956 Manfred Reinhardt joined DFVLR (now DLR) and worked for this organisation until his retirement in 1992. During his time with this German equivalent of NASA, much of his work had a directly benefitted the soaring community. As President of OSTIV for 20 years, Manfred Reinhardt worked tirelessly to advance the organisation�s worldwide status. His professional leadership resulted in an ever-increasing world image, greater participation in OSTIV Congresses, expanded distribution of OSTIV papers through partnership between the Soaring Society of America and OSTIV, a healthy financial position and strong OSTIV support for the Sailplane Development Panel, the Meteorological Panel and the Training and Safety Panel. He maintained OSTIV as a key organisation within FAI through his annual reports and active presence at FAI annual conferences.
