It is with regret that I must inform pilots that the upcoming Pemberton PG Nationals has been cancelled for 2014. Jim Orava, the organizer, has decided he cant reasonably guarantee a smooth event during the dates originally chosen due to the presence of the Pemberton Music Festival organizers essentially taking over the town, not only for the Music Festival itself July 18-20, but for the 2-3 weeks leading up to that weekend. Due to their presence from early July on, basic and vital items such as camping facilities, HQ options, and emergency services (eg. ambulances) will not be readily available to us as they have all been allocated towards the PMF. Moving the Nationals to earlier to avoid the PMF presence puts it too early in their season for reliable weather: June can be very rainy and not reliable for a week-long comp. Waiting until after the town returns to normal puts it too late: in addition to increasingly stable and windy weather, August is thunderstorm and forest fire season and with the low snowpack this year, the local forest and airspace have a good chance to be shut down by then for firefighting (this has happened in previous years). Jim has therefore decided to cancel the event for 2014 in order to concentrate on putting in a bid for a safe and professional event in 2015, when there will be a greater chance of getting the time of year right with the right combination of weather, and not having to share Pembertons resources with another major event. The competition committee is working hard to sort out an alternate venue/dates for the 2014 Canadian PG Nationals. When we get that organized I will publicize it immediately as I know pilots are keen to make summer vacation plans (myself among them!). I would like to apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. Personally I was looking forward to flying a comp in Pemberton again and had made plans accordingly. But I understand Jims position of wanting to have a safe and enjoyable comp, and hope everyone else can also appreciate his position. I would also like to thank Jim for making this difficult decision so we can enjoy the town of Pemberton to its fullest at a more appropriate time. From what Ive been told, the townspeople and businesses of Pemberton are very eager to host the Canadian PG Nationals...just not this year ;) As well thank you Magali and Corinne for bringing this to our (and Jims) attention. Im sure Jim is thankful he has such a good wife and friends back in Canada while he is enjoying the sunny weather in Mexico! Again, when I have more information I will post it here. Nicole -HPAC comp chair
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 04:17:43 +0000
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