JoeyGlide, organised by the Australian Junior Gliding Club, is the annual Australian Junior National Gliding Championships. This year it was held at Benalla, 18-25 January, and celebrated JoeyGlide’s 20th year.
Entrants travelled from as far as Townsville for the event, including 15 competition entries and 23 coaching entries who participated in a preparation class for future competition.
JoeyGlide extended their thanks to all competitors, coaching participants, coaches, supporters and volunteers for their help in delivering a safe and welcoming event.
From Max Scutchings
The summer of 2025/2026 was a big season for me. I took part in the Victorian State Competition, South Australian State Competition and Multiclass Nationals in Leeton, culminating in Joeyglide 2026, my first Junior Nationals and fourth-ever competition. After listening to a number of winners at the Nationals talking about ‘having fun’ and how it contributed to their success, I decided to take that into my approach.
I was privileged to fly an LS4 that I had loaned from the Waikerie Gliding Club in South Australia. Arriving at Joeyglide, I was very excited to see the number of people taking part with 15 competitors and around 40 participants overall including pilots who received coaching.
The practice day was all about area familiarisation at Benalla. I had been warned that it can be a tricky site with landmarks that can catch you out. The locals recognise the Warby Ranges as a good thermal trigger late in the day.
After doing well on the practice day, I had a fairly slow start to the week, so it was important to reset and start fresh on Day 2. I put a lot of effort into having the right 'mindset' to ensure that I am focused on the task. That is particularly important when you don’t quite get it right, and need to reset and get back onto the job. That worked for me, and I managed to win Day 2. From then on it was intense racing against the other juniors, some of whom were local and some who had travelled from interstate. In the end, consistency worked in my favour. After some tough days of racing, and the last day cancelled due to poor weather, I was fortunate to win the competition. I was very impressed with the coordination of the event and found everything to be very professional, safe and, most importantly, enjoyable.
Joeyglide was the most fun I’ve had in a glider, spending time with and racing other people my age. The social aspect as well as the flying brings it together to be a fantastic event. If you are a junior and are interested, I would highly recommend it. Joeyglide 2027 will be even bigger and better so we hope to see you there.
