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Our confirmation process is pretty good, but not perfect, so some small number of those 348 may not represent actual hang glider pilots. We've also lost a few through attrition and other causes. So I suspect that brings our actual number closer to 300.
That number (300) reminds me of a movie I saw as a young boy titled "The 300 Spartans". That movie reflects the widely accepted notion that 300 Spartans changed the course of history at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480BC.
Fortunately, there are no fatal arrows raining down on our 300 Hawks. We are fighting for the survival of recreational hang gliding, and that fight is not generally fatal. We may get our egos bruised and our wings temporarily clipped from time to time, but we remain alive to continue fighting for our rights to fly.
I am posting to remind ourselves that over the last decade we have grown from a tiny core to a significant number with regard to the size of our sport. It hasn't happened over night, but it is happening. Our forum started out as an insignificant blip compared to the "giants" of hanggliding.org and ozreport.com. But today our posting activity far exceeds that of ozreport.com and is often on par with (or exceeds) the activity on hanggliding.org. More importantly, we have achieved that success with a forum based on open discussion that values and respects the opinions and dignity of our members.
With those thoughts in mind, I want to again thank each of our 300+ members who have contributed to the slow but steady growth of the U.S. Hawks Hang Gliding Association.
Thank you.
