SSA Vice President, Secretary; National Records; FAI Rules Committee
Exceptional Service Award 1997; Exceptional Achievement Award; Hilton Cup 1999; SSA Distance Award; World Distance Award; Silver #468 1961; Gold #196 1964; Diamond #50 (Int #457) 1966; 1000 K Diploma #82 (Int #368) 2000
Bob Semans is one of those special people who just keeps going - continues making outstanding flights, continues making contributions to our sport of soaring, continues to find ways to help people and introduce them to our sport of soaring and, mostly, continues to look the same as he always has.
Bob's long involvement with soaring has been one of both accomplishment and contribution. Bob joined the Southern California Soaring Association and served on the Southern California Competition Committee to improve contest and turn point validation procedures. He became a Director and later Vice President of the SCSA, in addition to being Chairman of the SSA Elections and Allocation Committee.
After moving to Northern California and joining PASCO, Bob became an SSA Director for Region 11 and introduced the contest site rotation policy. Subsequently he served as SSA Secretary (1973 and 1974) which gave him a broader perspective. He was SSA Vice President from 1975 to 1976.
From 1987 to 1997 -- Bob served as Chairman of the SSA FAI Badge and Record Committee, devoting time each year to ensuring that all pilots were treated fairly. Bob edited and rewrote claim verification sections of the Sporting Code, and the establishment of a formal process for reviewing IGC proposed changes to the Sporting Code.
Bob enjoys regional and national contests, both as a competitor and a worker. He has won several regional contests and was CD, start gate crew, or photo interpreter at others. He served as CD for the first Nationals in Minden (1972) and for the first two Hitachi Masters of Soaring contests in which national and world champions competed in a single class - at Minden (1986) and at Estrella (1987). He served as Steward for the 1989 Worlds in Austria, as CD for Ameriglide in 1990, and as Chief Timekeeper for the 1991 Worlds in Uvalde. While in Austria, at the request of the IGC Vice President, Bob worked on clarification of international competition rules.
Always willing to share his time and expertise, Bob has helped others with task setting, and with the creation of 16 (well-developed) courses - both photo and GPS - known locally as the "Minden Standard Courses." Using his courses and guidance, local and visiting pilots have achieved many records and badges. Bob helps on claim documentation as well. Bob himself has set 42 state records and 6 national records as of this writing. He won the SSA Distance Award in 1999 and 2000, and is a recent winner of the Barron Hilton Cup. He has been a lead pilot at cross-country and racing camps and a speaker at local, regional and national conventions and safety seminars. Recently he co-developed a safety procedure to reduce risk of collision over the increasingly busy White Mountains of the Owens Valley in Central California. Bob is a member and supporter of PASCO and Air Sailing and has been President of the Minden Soaring Club.
He received the Exceptional Service Award in 1997 and the Exceptional Achievement Award in 1991. He holds Silver #468 (1961), Gold #196 (1964), Diamond #50 (Intl #457 1966) 1000 K Diploma #82 (Inth #368 2000), SSA Distance Award (1999, 2000, 2002), World Distance Award.
He and wife Barbara have spent countless hours helping other people soar and promoting our sport.
Thank you, Bob!