DMSt Competition Rules 2026

1 General Rules

1.1 Purpose of DMSt

Promotion of cross-country soaring and of the next generation of competitive glider pilots within the air sports clubs and single-discipline air sports associations organized under the DAeC. Determination of the German Champion in cross-country soaring.

1.2 Organizer

The organizer is the Federal Gliding Commission (BuKo) of the DAeC, in cooperation with the gliding commissions of the regional associations and the single-discipline air sports associations of the DAeC.

1.3 Competition Date and Location

The DMSt takes place during the scoring period from October 1st to September 30th. Only flights conducted within this scoring period will be scored. The DMSt is conducted on a decentralized basis.

1.4 Clubs and Participants

Participating clubs may be air sports clubs that are members of a regional association of the DAeC or of a single-discipline air sports association. Furthermore, participating clubs based at the same airfield may form local combined registration groups. Participants may be glider pilots who are full members of a participating club, an air sports association, a single-discipline air sports association, or the DAeC. Participants may submit their flights for up to two participating clubs within a single scoring period. Participants are considered Juniors if their 25th birthday falls within the calendar years of the competition, or if they are younger.

1.5 Rules

Participants are responsible for the duty of care to comply with legal and governmental regulations, as well as all other rules and recommendations applicable to gliding. Regarding the determination of SR and SS (sunrise and sunset) and the related times, the civil twilight times (SERA) listed on the Date and time page are binding.

The Sporting Code applies to the planning and execution of scored flights, unless superseded by specific regulations in these DMSt competition rules. Distance calculations are based on the WGS84 ellipsoid (Vincenty's formula). Only flights for which either the free flight begins in Germany or the departure point of the flight is located in Germany will be considered for scoring. Scored flights must be submitted online via the gliding online platform weglide.org.

1.6 Registration for the Competition

A participant's first submitted application for scoring is considered their registration for the championship. By doing so, the participant accepts the DMSt rules and waives the right of legal recourse. With the application for scoring, the participant's personal data is collected, processed, and used within the framework of the evaluation and publication of the flight data. The data privacy notes available on the WeGlide internet platform used for flight submission shall apply.

1.7 Violations

Participating clubs and individuals who attempt to gain an advantage in the standings through false statements or unfair methods may be disqualified from the current DMSt. In cases of intentional violations of the DMSt rules, a 5-year ban will be imposed, and the name of the person/club concerned will be published. For repeat offenses, the ban is extended to 10 years. In such cases, the regional associations reserve the right to take further measures.

1.8 Protests

Protests regarding scoring must be addressed to the DAeC sports director appointed for the DMSt by the BuKo Gliding, who decides together with the chairperson of the RS/B. A protest must be submitted to dmst@segelflug.aero no later than 48 hours after the flight has been scored. A decision on a protest should be made promptly, and no later than October 10th following the end of the scoring period.

1.9 Awards Ceremony

The announcement and publication of the winners of the DMSt for the respective scoring period, as well as the awards ceremony, will take place at the subsequent Deutscher Segelfliegertag (German Gliding Day).

2 Scoring Categories

Participants may submit any number of flights for scoring. Each flight must be uniquely assigned to one participating club. A flight is scored in the class assigned to the glider type flown in the valid DAeC index list. All gliders with an index up to and including 106 may also be scored in the Club Class.

Club Class aircraft may be flown with variable ballast in accordance with the flight and operating manual. If participants have submitted flights in aircraft of different classes, they will be scored in each of those respective classes or categories.

Flights in two-seaters are also counted in the Women's or Junior's rankings (2.2.1, 2.2.2) if the co-pilot is also a woman or Junior, or if the two-seater is flown solo. A solo flight in a two-seater must be confirmed during the online flight submission. All flights are scored using the index of the aircraft according to the currently valid DAeC index list.

2.1 Class Distance Scoring

Winners in the distance scoring categories are determined in the following classes:

• Open Class
• 18-Meter Class
• 15-Meter Class
• Standard Class
• Club Class
• Two-Seater Class

The winner in each class is the participant with the highest point total from three flights in that class.

2.2 DMSt Ranking Lists

In a distance scoring ranking list (4.1), the three highest-scoring distance flights of participants from the individual scoring categories according to 2.1 are taken into account.

2.2.1 Distance Ranking List - Women

The scored distance flights of women are additionally compiled into a Distance Ranking List for Women. The individual winner is the participant with the highest point total from three flights.

2.2.2 Distance Ranking List - Juniors

The scored distance flights of Juniors are additionally compiled into a Distance Ranking List for Juniors. The individual winner is the participant with the highest point total from three flights.

2.3 Team Distance Scoring

Three participants from a participating club form a team with their highest-scoring distance flight from the distance scoring ranking list according to 2.2. Multiple teams per club are possible. The winning team is the participating club with the highest point total for its team.

2.3.1 Team Distance Scoring Juniors

Three participants from a participating club form a Junior team with their highest-scoring flight from the Junior distance ranking list according to 2.2.2. The winning team is the participating club with the highest point total for its Junior team.

2.4 DMSt Bundesliga

The DMSt Bundesliga is a team competition for all clubs participating in the DMSt. The DMSt Bundesliga takes place over 17 weekends between late April and August of a competition year. The exact period will be announced no later than March of the competition year. Each weekend constitutes one round.

2.4.1 DMSt League System

The DMSt league system is structured hierarchically as follows:

• The 1st DMSt Bundesliga is the highest division, in which 25 DMSt clubs participate. At the end of the season, the bottom five clubs of the 1st DMSt Bundesliga are relegated directly and are replaced in the following season by the top five teams from the 2nd DMSt Bundesliga.

• The 2nd DMSt Bundesliga is the second-highest division, in which 25 clubs likewise participate. The top five teams are promoted directly to the 1st DMSt Bundesliga at the end of the season. Likewise, at the end of the season, the bottom five clubs of the 2nd DMSt Bundesliga are relegated directly to their respective Regional League and are replaced in the following season by the winner of each of the 5 Regional Leagues. In addition, there is one relegation play-off place. For the following season, this place goes to the club with the higher points result according to 2.4.2, determined by comparing the sixth-from-last club of the 2nd DMSt Bundesliga with the runners-up from all Regional Leagues.

• Five Regional Leagues, into which all remaining participating DMSt clubs are distributed according to the following scheme:

  • Bavaria
  • North Rhine-Westphalia
  • Baden-Württemberg
  • Central with the clubs from Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony, and Thuringia
  • North with the clubs from Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Schleswig-Holstein

• The DMSt Junior League, to which only the Junior scores can contribute. The number of clubs participating in the DMSt Junior League is not limited.

2.4.2 DMSt Bundesliga and Regional League Scoring

The basis for the DMSt round scores is the points result from the flights of the participating clubs on a weekend, which is calculated as the sum of the two following components:

• the three best results from different participants in the distance scoring according to 4.1, weighted at 10%
• the three best results from different participants in the speed scoring according to 4.2, weighted at 100%

The participants from the distance and speed scoring may be identical. The points results of the participating clubs on a weekend are sorted in descending order and shown in the corresponding sequence. The championship points of the DMSt round scores for the 1st/2nd DMSt Bundesliga are determined as follows:

• Every club with a points result receives at least one championship point
• 1st place gets three more championship points than 2nd place, but a maximum of 20 championship points
• Places 2-4 get two more championship points than the club ranked below them
• Places 5-14 get one more championship point than the club ranked below them

The championship points of the DMSt round scores for the Regional League are derived directly from the points results of the rounds. In the overall standings, the championship points from all round scores are summed and shown in order. The winner of each DMSt league is the participating club with the highest number of championship points.

2.4.3 DMSt Junior League

Scoring in the DMSt Junior League is carried out analogously to the DMSt Bundesliga (see 2.4.2). However, only the best two participants each in the distance and speed scoring are taken into account.

3 Flight Documentation and Submission

Flights may only be documented using IGC-approved GNSS flight recorders or position recorders approved by the DAeC (currently: Flarm without IGC approval and FlyWithCE), as well as the WeGlide Copilot. The declaration of the flight must be made in the same flight recorder used to document the flight.

Cross-country tasks can be declared online or via a GNSS flight recorder: For GNSS flight recorders, the last valid declaration (C-record in the flight recorder) before the actual flight is binding.

The online declaration is made via the DMSt organizer. If an online declaration exists, any declaration in the GNSS flight recorder or position recorder is void. The online declaration is only valid if it is made before take-off, and no other online declaration is made after take-off until the flight is submitted. The IGC file must have a valid signature (G-record). This implies that the file can be validated using standardized procedures.

The participant is responsible for the proper documentation of the flight. A flight will only be scored if it is conducted from the departure point to the finish point without motor assistance, and an uninterrupted altitude trace as well as proper documentation of the flight path from take-off to landing are proven. If motor assistance is used between departure and reaching the finish point, the flight will only be scored up to the last coordinate proven to have been reached without propulsion assistance.

The interval between two recording points should not exceed four seconds. If technical problems occur, gaps in the flight recording of up to 180 seconds will be tolerated. Flights must be submitted online no later than 12:00 noon local time on the second day following the flight.

4 Scored Flights and Procedures

The minimum score is 50 points for the distance scoring and 25 points for the speed scoring.

4.1 Distance Scoring

Routes from a departure point over up to three turnpoints (a maximum of four turnpoints for a quadrilateral flight, and a maximum of twelve turnpoints for multiple circuits) to a finish point can be scored. The altitude difference between the lowest possible departure point and the highest possible finish point may not exceed 1000m.

4.1.1 Declared Tasks

For a declared flight, all goal points of the flight (departure, turn, and finish points) must be uniquely defined in the specified order by their geographical coordinates before take-off, as a flight task in the flight recorder or via the online declaration. For closed flights, the departure and finish points must be identical. A flight with different flight tasks in different flight or position recorders is not permitted and will be considered an intentional violation of the DMSt rules. The goal points must be flown and documented in the intended order.

4.1.2 Free Flights

For undeclared, so-called "free" flights, only recorded coordinates from the flight path are used as the departure, turn, and finish points. Free flights are considered closed if the departure and finish points are no more than 1 km apart. Free flights are only possible over a maximum of three turnpoints.

4.1.3 Documentation of Start, Finish, and Turnpoints

Turnpoints are considered successfully rounded if entry into the 90° sector (per the Sporting Code) is proven. The departure and finish points are considered successfully rounded if entry into a circle with a radius of 1 km around the departure/finish point is proven.

4.1.4 Point Calculation

The score for scored flights is calculated from the scoring distance in kilometers (km), plus the sum of the applicable bonuses on the scoring distance, divided by the index/100 of the respective aircraft.

4.1.5 Bonus Rules

Declared tasks that are successfully documented according to 4.1.3 receive a bonus of 30%.

4.1.5.1 Triangle Flights

For a closed triangle flight, an additional bonus of 40% is added if

1. the shortest leg is at least 28% of the total distance, or
2. for a scoring distance of 500 km or more, the shortest leg is at least 25% and the longest leg is no more than 45% of the total distance.

For triangle flights, the distance between the three turnpoints is counted as the scoring distance. The departure point may lie between two vertices of the triangle.

4.1.5.2 Quadrilateral Flights

For a closed DMSt quadrilateral flight, an additional bonus of 40% is added if the area between the turnpoints (or the turnpoints and the departure/finish point) can be described by two triangles for which:

• both triangles must meet the same requirement as in 4.1.5.1
• the triangles must share one identical leg
• the triangles must not overlap

The scoring distance for quadrilateral flights is the perimeter of the quadrilateral. The departure point may lie between two vertices of the quadrilateral. Free quadrilateral flights are not permitted for scoring.

4.1.5.3 Out-and-Return Flights

For a closed DMSt out-and-return flight, an additional bonus of 30% is added for a route from the departure point over one turnpoint back to the finish point.

4.1.5.4 Straight-Line Distance Flights

For a DMSt straight-line distance flight, an additional bonus of 30% is added for a route from the departure point to the finish point.

4.1.5.5 Multiple Circuits

For multiple circuits of triangle (4.1.5.1) and quadrilateral flights (4.1.5.2), an additional bonus of 20% is added. A maximum of three circuits is permitted. An additional bonus for the triangle flight according to 4.1.5.1 or the quadrilateral flight according to 4.1.5.2 is not taken into account. The number of circuits must be declared in advance according to 4.1.1 as a sequence of turnpoints when declaring the task. Free multiple circuits are not permitted for scoring.

4.2 Speed Scoring

For the speed scoring, the greatest possible speed distance in kilometers (km) over a maximum of two turnpoints and a maximum of three legs, within a period of at most 120 minutes of gliding without motor assistance, is determined from the recorded flight path. The departure altitude used to determine the speed distance may not be higher than the arrival altitude. The speed points are calculated from the speed distance corrected by the DAeC index with a 75% weighting.

5 Additional Rules for Motor Gliders

The motor glider must carry a flight recorder with a propulsion runtime recorder suitable for the engine system, in accordance with Sporting Code Section 3.

6 Error Codes

The validation of flights is based on the Error Codes stored by the provider WeGlide.