Steven Gyomrey

Chairman – (The presiding officer of the committee)

Gerry Lawson

Membership Secretary – (Administering recruitment and retention of Members)

Chris Dusgate

Treasurer – (Maintain a proper book of accounts)

Hi, I've been paragliding for 15 years and have 700 hours. I used to do 70-90 hours per year but since 2004 that's dropped to 20-30. I enjoyed getting tandem qualified last year and hope to go Xc some time on the new club tandem.
 
Paragliding has given me some truly superb experiences, such as flying along the Aravis chain in the Alps and being high over the plains of Piedrahita, however it's the Xc flights from our sites which I've probably enjoyed the most. I hope I never cease to get such a kick as I do from drifting at 5 grand over the South Wales landscape, enjoying a viewpoint that very few will. Not knowing where you will land and who you will meet all being part of the fun. I'm choosing to ignore the bombouts of course! I've never participated in a sport before where the highs are so high and the lows are so low (e.g. injury, your mates flying over you at 5k!etc)
 
It always amuses me that 'Joe Public' cannot understand how we can fly so far without a motor or starting from a very, very high hill. When I told a senior police officer at Abercynon in 2005 that I'd launched at Seven Sisiters his face seemed to suggest he was considering what he might be able to charge me with as I must be lying (a member of the public thought I'd crashed, leading to a large number of the three rescue services being dispatched to look for me at great cost (I was assurred)) . This after he initially told me I'd done nothing wrong (this I knew!) but I still didn't get a lift to the train station.
 
The camaraderie in the sport is second to none in my opinion. I live in Llanmadoc on the Gower (without a view of Rhossili please note) and work from home as a chartered accountant. I guess it's this which led to the imaginative idea of me acting as the club treasurer, which in truth is not a lot of work.
 
Fly safe, fly happy.

Steve Jones

Sites Officer – (Negotiation of the Club’s current & new flying sites)

Hello my name is Steve Jones, User name: SteveJ. My role as Sites Officer is to act as a liaison between the landowners of our flying sites and the Club Committee; ironing-out any problems which may arise, such as access issues, fees etc.

I'm 47 years-of-age and work as a Fire-fighter (fireman in old money) at Port Talbot Fire Station. I live in Cwmafan with my partner, Sabina.

My obsession with paragliding began in 2001, though due to the restrictions of Foot and Mouth, I didn't qualify as CP until 2002.

I still get a buzz whenever I take-off, whether it's ridge soaring on a cold and crisp winter's day, or spiralling up to cloud-base on a booming spring afternoon.

When not flying I enjoy sub-aqua diving, fishing, motor biking (both on and off-road) and mountain walking. If the weather stops play you'll probably find me researching family history, or doing a spot of DIY on the house.

For me Leonardo deVinci summed it all up in his famous lines....'When once you have experienced fight, you'll always walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return'.

Barry Abbott

Social Secretary – (Organisation of club events, social meetings, etc)

Hi, I am 34 years old and well as corny as it sounds for as long as I can remember I have dreamed about getting into paragliding but have actually have only been paragliding for a year. My previous employment in the forces (Royal Marines) prevented me from initially fulfilling my dream of paragliding due to hectic deployments and uncertainty of where I will be and when. I left the Marines after meeting girlfriend Stacey and decided it was time to settle down and have a family.

After leaving the Marines I was very fortunate in working on some exciting projects in the defence sector for a company called EADS DS. Currently I am working for Fujitsu Services on the DVLA account. I work 24/7 shifts which is quite convenient at the moment as it gives me plenty of opportunities to get out paragliding without having an impact on my Family Life.

The short year I have been paragliding I must admit I have met a fantastic bunch of people and have a great time even when were not flying, good humoured banter is normally the order of the dayJ.  My Spare time when I am not flying is predominantly taken up doing family things; I have 3 demanding cats, Cheeko, Ellie and Roxy and a spoilt dog Bailey.

Steve Watkins

Webmaster – (Provision & Maintenance of Club Website)

Hello :) I have been paragliding for approx 7 years now and did my training with Nick Bambers & Paul Williams of Paraventure. My mate Gaz got me into the sport after spending countless hours listening to his antics which sounded amazingI My first wing was the Advance Alpha 3 (DHV1) but have now upgraded now to a Gradient Aspen 3 (EN C) I successfully passed my Pilot's examination 2009. I have been to Slovenia & Italy more recently flying and my personal best XC at the moment is 43km in Italy although I aspire to do a 100km flight.

Other interests include Ufology, Web Design/Admin, Mountain Biking & looking after my kids who are very demanding at the moment and are all in school and college.

I trained as an electrican with Swalec but then move to the NHS as a maintenance electrician, I then move up the ladder and I'm now responsible for the engineering services in Powys NHS. Luckily I still manage to get some flying in between all the meetings I attend!

I've been computer mad since a young age and have always been comfortable around technology. I had a bulletin board or BBS as some may remember when I was 14. The internet came into fruition around that time with AOL leading the market. This built my hobby in web design which is why I enjoy maintaining and running the SWWSC website. 

John Nash

Safety Officer – (Pro-active promotion of safety of the Club Members and sites)

Hello I’m John Nash (Nasher) born in 1954 (if anyone asks tell I’m them 46)

I started hangliding in a 1979, Paragliding in 1991 and have been a Cub Coach since 1994. As an active member of the South West Wales Soaring Club I was elected as Safety Officer in 2010. Recent achievements include gaining my Tandem Rating so I can take up passengers and election to the executive committee of the BHPA (now PR Officer).

I have been fortunate enough to fly in, America, Canada, South Africa & much of Europe, but nothing compares to South West Wales, on a good day. Having been flying in the SWWSC area for nearly 20 years, I moved to Pontardawe in 2008. Born in the slums of London and despite leaving there when I was eight years old, I still have the accent – “not from round here, are you?” is a question I get a lot.

Having spent most of my career in senior management/director roles in Information & Communication Technology, with a bias towards trouble shooting & saving ‘fallen’ companies, in 2009 I gave up mainstream work and now am a professional unicyclist! (In reality, I teach circus skills on a voluntary basis, but get occasional paid jobs.)

When not flying I spends my time motorcycling, snowboarding, windsurfing, mountain biking, playing guitar (badly), unicycling, chasing women and drinking beer (in moderation).