The Birth of the Cup

In the summer of '83, Larry Tudor, a local Utah pilot at the time, flew 221 miles from Walt's Point (in the Owens Valley of California) to Austin, Nevada, thereby setting a new official world's open distance record. He also won the Owens Valley Classic that year, which was one of the most prestigious and competitive XC contests being held at that time. Cross Country flying was rapidly catching on everywhere as the ultimate Hang Gliding experience. It was in '80 or '81 (the records are quite fuzzy prior to 1983) when the first long flights were being made here in Utah. Mike Tingey, Chuck Simms, and Tony Sanders had all made flights exceeding 100 miles from Graff Peak near Cedar City. In 1982, Larry Tudor and Gordon Boyce privately formulated and sponsored a year long local Utah XC contest which was called the "Utah Cross Country Odyssey" which would bring cash and/or prizes to the pilots entered who recorded the longest flights of the year. Additionally, all those entered received a custom Tee-shirt. As it turned out, 1982 was not a very good year in Utah (there were no flights over 100 miles), but the idea of a local XC competition did appeal to many members of the club (Utah Hang Gliding Association). Then in 1983, two avid local XC pilots (Ray Attig and Tony Sanders), came up with an extension to the idea and presented it to the club. The idea was for the club to sponsor an ongoing contest which would stimulate more local pilots to experience the joys of flying XC. This idea was adopted in 1983 by the club and was christened: "The Utah Cup". It is still going today.

​

"The Utah Cup"

The purpose of the Cup is to act as a simple catalyst to get the typical "point rats" (you know who you are!) to go fly somewhere else for a change, cut the umbilical cord connected to the primary LZ, and then fly away! The Cup rules were designed to make it as safe and simple as possible. The format was to be "low-key" where you could launch from any site on any day. The only requirement was that you must launch from within the state of Utah. There will be no cash or prizes awarded to the winners. (Cash reward could push some pilots to take unnecessary risks, or might lure in outside professional killer XC pilots. Remember, this is an event by and for local pilots.)  Then, if you were lucky enough to have made the longest flight overall, you would be given the prestigious honor of possessing the Utah Cup Trophy for the entire following year. The trophy was to be passed on from year to year (forever in theory). There were two classes established, "A" and "B". To give less experienced pilots a fighting chance to win a plaque, "B" class could only be entered if you never had a flight over 50 miles. Anyone could enter "A" class. In 1995 a "C" was added for Paragliders. From 1995 to about 2006, there were two Utah Cups awarded each year, one for HG and one for PG.  Since that time, it has reverted back to a single cup for the longest flight by either HG or PG.  In 2015, three additional classes were added (Serial, Sport and Basic) to include both HG and PG flights.

​

Everything changes

It is actually amazing how little the Cup has changed over the years. Except for some minor tweaks to the rules, it is the same now as it was back in '83. The only changes were as follows:

• When towing started to become popular, tow flights were made acceptable.

• When the F.A.A designated the airspace around the Salt Lake City Airport to be a terminal control area (TCA, now called "Class B" airspace), a rule was added that flights within this airspace would not be allowed as valid Cup flights.

• About 2017, three additional categories were added for D, C (sport), and A/B (recreation) and comparable HG, based on wing rating and aspect ratio.

• In 2019, Senior and Women's Cup categories were added.