Dear Wings of Rogallo member,

Annual Club Meeting

The Wings of Rogallo (WOR) annual meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 15th at 7:30pm.  The meeting will be held online.  A link to the meeting and the agenda will be emailed to club members shortly before the meeting date.

Elections

WOR Officer Elections

Officer elections are coming up soon!

The voting period will be from November 16 to November 30th, 2022.

Most of the current club officers are willing to serve for another term, however new applicants are always welcome, and the board is improved by having fresh and diverse perspectives.  You can read the club’s bylaws and reach out to any of the current officers to learn more about their respective roles, and what work is involved.

If you’re interested in running for a board position, submit your nomination using this nomination form.  Nominations are now open.  All nominations must be received by 11:59pm PST on Sunday, November 13th, 2022.

Here are the guidelines for candidates:

1. Candidates must have a paid 2023 WOR Membership and up-to-date contact information on file in the WOR member database.

2. Members may only submit nominations for themselves. Please do not submit information on behalf of other members.

3. Members may only run for one board position in a given election.

4. Candidates for the Safety Coordinator position must hold at least an H4 and/or P4 rating, and must also be either a USHPA Instructor or USHPA Observer.

5. The Communications Director position is an appointed, not elected position. Candidates who wish to apply for this position should submit their statements using the Nomination Form, where they will be reviewed by the incoming President and Board, however, this position will not appear on the ballot.

We will be using the ElectionBuddy platform for the election. Be aware that the information you enter into the nomination form will be copied and pasted verbatim into the election ballot: this is your opportunity to communicate with members about your candidacy.

If you wish to update information that you submit in the nomination form, you may do so up until the close of the nomination period.

Other Elections

The USHPA Board of Directors election is currently running.  Please make sure to vote before the election closes on Oct. 31.

The U.S. midterm election is on Nov 8, 2022.  Please make sure to vote if you are eligible to do so.

Windy Hill Upcoming Possible Weekday Closures

Several MROSD preserves including Windy Hill may be closed on short notice for one to four weekdays between November 14 to December 2, 2022 for a mountain lion conservation study.

Visit www.openspace.org/puma-research for more information about the project and to sign up to receive updates and notifications, and visit www.openspace.org/preserves/windy-hill during the study before venturing out to Windy Hill to ensure that it is open.

The Uncertain Future of Mori Point

History

Mori Point is a coastal paragliding site in Pacifica, CA, and is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA).  It was established as a flying site many years ago and until 2020 was managed by the Bay Area Paragliding Association (BAPA).  With the rising costs of insurance, and the need for flying sites to be insured and managed by a single club, BAPA handed off management of The Stables and Mori Point to the Wings of Rogallo, and BAPA ceased operations as a USHPA chapter.

Current situation

Mori Point is WOR’s least-used flying site, and insurance costs have increased dramatically for this upcoming year.

The GGNRA (and national parks in general) require that the club carry liability insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence, $3,000,000 aggregate, rather than the $1M/$2M that is required by most other landowners.  The extra $1M of aggregate insurance coverage increases the premium to $2,400 a year from less than $300.

Furthermore, until this year, The Stables and Mori Point have been managed and insured as a single flying site, however WOR’s insurer, the Recreation Risk Retention Group (RRRG) now requires that The Stables and Mori Point be managed as separate sites, which means that the club’s insurance cost will double next year for these 2 sites, multiplied by the extra coverage required for $3M aggregate coverage.  We have approached other insurers to see if lower premiums were available outside of the RRRG but they either declined to cover the risk or quoted higher premiums than the RRRG.

This means the club’s costs are increasing to $4,800 per year to insure these two sites starting this year.

To make matters worse, the GGNRA has indicated that it is very likely that there will be some land development in the area of Mori Point within the next few years, which may render the site unsuitable for paragliding.

Given Mori Point’s extremely low usage (estimated 2-3 flights per year), extremely high cost, and uncertain future, the executive board feels that it is in the club’s best interest to give up Mori Point as a flying site.  Such a significant decision is not something that we take lightly, and would like to solicit member feedback and hear alternative proposals.  Please email any questions, comments, and concerns to Ben at [email protected].  We would especially like to hear from anyone who has flown Mori Point recently.

Thanks,

The WOR Executive Board