SOP 500 – Association Awards

Issued February 29, 2024

Purpose of this operating procedure

1.This operating procedure defines procedure for issuing the association Awards.
2.Association awards are normally issued annually, however the Board of Directors reserves the right tonot make an award in any given year at its sole discretion.

Objectives of the Awards

3.The objectives of the Awards are to recognize outstanding service to the HPAC/ACVL and the sports ofhang gliding and paragliding by a member, volunteer, group, landowner or public official.

Association Awards

Procedure

4.Any member of the HPAC/ACVL may nominate an individual for an award. Nominations must be forwarded to the Executive Director prior to the annual Board of Directors meeting to be considered.
5.The recipient(s) of awards granted to points champions and the Chris Muller award shall be determined by the Competition chair(s) and communicated to the Executive Director.
6.The recipient(s) of all other awards shall be selected by a vote of the Directors at the annual meeting of the Board of Directors.

Appendix A — About Cliff Kakish

Cliff Kakish was a Canadian hang gliding pioneer. Born in Foam Lake, Saskatchewan, Cliff began flying hang gliders as a university student in the 70’s. His first glider was made of plastic.

Cliff was involved in the Alberta Hang Gliding Association (AHGA) and was involved with the formation of the HGAC, the precursor association to the HPAC/ACVL. Over the years, he served as President of both the AHGA and the HGAC. More specifically, Cliff served the HGAC in the following capacities:

• 1977, Vice President
• 1979 – 81, President
• 1978 – 81, Insurance committee
• 1980, Instructor standards committee
• 1981 – 85, FAI/Record committee
• 1977 – 1987, Legal adviser to the HGAC

Cliff also worked with Transport Canada on the original ultralight/hang glider regulations. Cliff was a devoted and active competition pilot and he represented Canada at the World Championship in 1981. He founded the Cochrane Cup, a XC competition to promote XC flying which was the impetus for multiple 100-miles flights in Alberta. He was the first Canadian to file for an official world record. Cliff became involved in the Olympic Movement for Calgary ’88 on the bobsleigh committee. He, along with Willi Muller, started the Skeleton movement in Calgary. Cliff was the 6th recipient of the HPAC Master Rating. He also received the Paul Tissandier Diploma, awarded by the FAI to those who have served the cause of Aviation in general and sporting aviation in particular, by their work, initiative and devotion.

Appendix B – About Jamie Christensen

Jamie wrote the original HAGAR study manual which was photocopied and passed around all over western Canada. He was an HPAC Paragliding Instructor living in Kelowna.

Appendix D – About Lew Neilson

Lew Neilson was Canada’s first Hang Gliding National Champion. A resident of Vernon, British Columbia, Lew began flying hang gliders in 1974. He was one of the driving forces in the creation of the Vernon Hang Gliding Club (later renamed to the Okanagan Soaring Association) and in the development of the competition scene in Canada.

Appendix E – About Willi Muller

Willi Muller built and successfully flew (on skis) a kite in March 1971 after seeing Les Oitz fly his Jobe Kite down the Men’s Downhill at Lake Louise. In January, 1973 he formed Muller Kites Ltd and started his factory in downtown Calgary. In January 1973 Willi entered the “World Snow Kite Championships” at Big White Kelowna and won the ‘free-flying’ competition. In 1973 Willi and Vincene Muller purchased land on Cochrane Hill which is now the Cochrane Flying Site. Muller Kites manufactured kites until 1978 and then transitioned to importing kites and became Muller Hang Gliding Ltd. Willi formed the Alberta Hang Gliding Association in 1973 and was the founding president. Transport Canada approached him and said that they would like a National body to deal with and subsequently HPAC was formed with Willi as founding president. In 1975 he was part of a group of instructors who developed the initial Instructor Standards. In 1987 Willi bought his first paraglider. Paragliding became part of Muller Hang Gliding in 1988. Willi held a Master Rating with HPAC and Senior Instructor status for both hang gliding and paragliding. Willi represented Canada internationally several times in hang gliding and he held a World Paragliding Record and many Canadian Hang Gliding & Paragliding Records. He was Canadian Hang Gliding Champion three times and Canadian Paragliding Champion once. His best international result was 7th at the 1981 World Hang Gliding Championships in Japan.

Appendix F – About Chris Muller

At age five, Chris began hang gliding by catching rides with his dad Willi. When he got too big for Willi to take him tandem, he began to paraglide (age eleven). He chose paragliding because he was still too small to fly hang gliders. It wasn’t long before he became an accomplished pilot in both disciplines. He grew up teaching others to fly hang gliders and paragliders and went on to become a Senior Instructor and HPAC Instruction Committee Chair. He set world records at age 15 and became an internationally acclaimed competition pilot in both hang gliding and paragliding. He was a three-time Canadian champion, a US champion, placed first in international competitions in Brazil, Mexico and placed second in both the Pre World and World Paragliding Championships in Austria.

Chris was equally respected by his teammates and his opponents, both for how he competed and the type of person he was. His positive attitude, his sense of fair play, and his understanding of the real meaning of competition, distinguished him as a true ambassador for the sports of hang gliding and paragliding and competition flying. Although Chris was a gifted pilot who won many contests, competition for Chris was about sharing flying with friends. He competed for fun, adventure, and to be the best pilot he could be. There are few elite competition pilots that have been able to earn as much respect and admiration from their fellow competitors, both nationally and internationally, as Chris did. Chris embodied the real spirit of hang gliding and paragliding competition and was an inspiration to others.

Appendix G – About Domagoj Juretic

Domagoj Juretic was President of AQVL from 2003-2013. In 2008 was elected President of HPAC and served until his untimely death in 2016. Dom’s extraordinary leadership skills brought together the disparate flying groups across Canada into a tight-knit community of pilots. In all his activities, from initiating a complete review of the Association and all of its programs to leading the Association through difficult issues such as a sudden unexpected loss of the insurance policy in 2009, he served with professionalism and collegiality, but also with joy for the sport that he loved.

Appendix H – About Jimmy “Jimbo” Giroux

Jimmy Giroux Received his P2 rating in 2015 and quickly advanced to P3 and P4 in the following 2 years, earning his instructor rating in 2018. He attended his first Paragliding Accuracy World Cup (PGAWC) event in 2015 in the Philippines. He was one of only 5 pilots to attend all 4 events of the PGAWC in 2016 and developed into a world-class competitor ranking in the top 100 pilots worldwide in 2019. Jimbo has been instrumental in promoting Paragliding Accuracy in Canada, bringing the first PGAWC in North America to Mont St. Pierre QC in 2017 and again in 2018 to Mont Yamaska QC. The 2018 PGAWC was also the first Canadian PG Accuracy Nationals. In 2019, with Jimbo’s help, the first stand-alone Canadian PG Accuracy Nationals was held. Jimbo was the first Canadian Recipient of the NTSS points championship award in 2019, the award that now bears his name.