It was a fun contest, with good weather most of the time, and most of those who compete know they have little chance at making the team. That is why they make you fly more than one flight, first to make the cut, then to make the team. One of the Canadian observers asked me before flying began, "How many who come here don't really have a shot at making the team?" My answer was, "About 17." I figured Billy was in. I figured Paul was in. I figured the final position was between Ted and David. Bob showed up with a new plane and put enough flights on it to make a valiant effort. He ended up as the alternate. (These are the "wild cards" that you cannot anticipate and why they have a contest for all contestants.) David's chances probably went out the window when he had to change lines from solids to braids when the last four had to fly in the rain. Billy flew in the rain and put in his best flight and moved from second to the top spot. That flight wasn't needed to make the team, but it gave him the trophy. David had to make adjustments with the feel of the new lines and had no chance to practice. The bottoms of his first maneuvers were high and it was not his best performance.
Still, for all of the final ten, when you consider the totals of 6500 points and more (all judges added together under FAI scoring) the scoring was quite close, and who knows what will happen two years from now. Nothing is certain, and there is a new group of contestants (and there will be more) knocking at the door. Robby Gruber doesn't need to get older to complete. But he can get better with age and is still only 15. Scarry, isn't it, when you consider that two guys who made the team are old enough to collect social security.
