The Soaring Society of America (SSA) was founded at the instigation of Warren E. Eaton to promote the sport of
soaring in the
USA and internationally. The first meeting was held in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in the
McGraw–Hill Building on February 20, 1932. Its first objective was to hold a national
soaring competition
Some of the pilots in the sport of gliding take part in gliding competitions. These are usually racing competitions, but there are also aerobatic contests and on-line league tables.
History of competitions
In the early days, the main goal wa ...
every year, but other roles were quickly adopted. In 1954, the Society created the
Soaring Hall of Fame. Today the SSA, with a nationwide membership of over 10,000, is headquartered in
Hobbs, New Mexico. It is a 501(c)(3) charity organization.
The SSA is led by the 17 members on its board of directors and its executive committee, ten of whom are regionally elected by the general membership and serve for three years. The other seven at-large directors are elected annually by the other directors. In addition to the executive meetings of the board, full SSA Board meetings are held twice a year and are open to the general membership. A support staff administers the daily business of the society from the headquarters offices.
The main responsibilities of the SSA are:
*
Flight training
Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills.
Flight training can be conducted under a st ...
and
safety
Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
There are two slightly di ...
* Technological research and development
* Services to members, such as organising SSA conventions and verifying badge claims
* Sponsorship and monitoring of competitions
* Promoting the sport and contact with the media
* Representing members' interests at meetings with Federal agencies in matters such as airspace
* Publishing Soaring magazine
See also
*
Richard C. du Pont Memorial Trophy
External links
Soaring Society of America
at the National Soaring Museum
Soaring Safety Foundation
{{Authority control
Sports governing bodies in the United States
Gliding in the United States
Gliding associations