Soaring as a sport fosters the best in young adults. Adding young pilots to our membership has manifold benefits. The SSA is proud to sponsor and support youth programs and their activities. The material below is also available in Slide Show format for your meetings and outreach presentations.

Your SSA YOUTH/JUNIOR COMMITTEE oversees a full range of yearly scholarships to support the following goals:

• • Recruit. Inform youth at large about soaring and encourage them to join SSA.
  • Educate. Develop soaring skills among young SSA members.
  • Organize. Make young members feel part of SSA and encourage their activity.
  • Recognize. Publicize the achievements of young SSA members.

• CADET (June 30).
  $750 for learning to fly gliders. Desire award.
  The anchor program, the one that addresses the very first goal, is the Cadet Youth Flight Scholarship for would-be-pilots ages 13 to 22. Preferably, these will not be SSA members nor will they have any substantial experience with soaring. In essence, it is an excuse for Clubs and FBOs to contact local youth and invite them out to the glider field to see what we do. The incentive–to both the kids and the Club/FBO–is a $750 flight credit. Winners visit a glider field to have an application witnessed, make a convincing case for their desire to fly, write a creative essay about soaring, and state their financial need. In 1995, over one hundred kids wrote SSA for info on this program, two dozen thought about soaring long enough to write an essay, and half of those joined us as SSA Youth members. Funding for the Cadet program was initiated by Cadet designer and Hall-of-Famer Dr. Frank Gross, who matched gifts by 60 other SSA donors totaling $20,000 by December 1996. Additional funding would help make additional, and perhaps larger awards, available.  Details, a promotional poster, and a downloadable application form are at Cadet Youth Flight Scholarship.

• DENNIS PURDUSKI FLIGHT TRAINING SCHOLARSHIP (March 31) 
  Up to five $2,000 awards for primary training, pre-solo to solo and beyond.
  Details and application for are available at Dennis Purduski Flight Training Scholarship.

• COSTELLO INSURANCE FLIGHT TRAINING SCHOLARSHIP (March 31)
  Up to two $2,000 awards for primary training, pre-solo, and post-solo student pilots to solo and rating.
  Description and application form are available at Costello Insurance Primary Flight Training Scholarship. 

• SSA Flight Training Scholarhips (March 31)
  Up to $2,000 awards for primary training, pre-solo, and post-solo student glider pilots to solo and rating.
  Description and application form are available at SSA Flight Training Scholarship.

• BULTMAN (March 31).
  $1000 for soaring progress. Service award.
  This SSA award is geared to goals 2 and 3 and member retention, for post-solo soaring by SSA members ages 14 to 22. Preferably chasing badges, going to wave camps, entering contests, and training. This is a “worker” award for a youngster who has made essential contributions to a Club or FBO and who may be too financially strapped to buy tows just for fun. Jane & Elizabeth Bultman set up this award to honor their late husband and father, Richard, an ex-USAF RF-101, airline captain and tow pilot at Bermuda High Soaring School. It serves to remind us of the many friends on the ground we rely on every time we fly. To apply, a sponsoring soaring group needs to send nominating evidence and letters of recommendation to SSA, being sure to document the Club or FBO service of the and their plans to use the funds for soaring. Soaring experience or achievement are not criteria, nor are academics.  Details and a downloadable application form are at Bultman Youth Flight Scholarship.

• Spirit of Dr. John H. Campbell Junior CFI-G Scholarship (September 30)
  Up to $2,000 for a qualified Junior, 17 – 24 years, to complete CFI-G training and qualifications.
  Application

• KOLSTAD (September 30).
  $5,000 for College expenses. Achievement award.
  SSA’s most prestigious youth award, meeting goal number 4, this has been for 48 years and 60 awards the capstone to teenage years spent in pursuit of soaring. It honors the memory of Paul Kolstad, who had earned the FAI Gold Badge with two diamonds by age 15. To be eligible for this grant for academic studies, pilots must be USA Citizen SSA members ages 14 to 24 and have earned the FAI Silver Badge or the SSA Century I youth award. Scholarship winners complete an application form available from the SSA office (and downloadable from the web), including a summary of cross-country flights and education plans, and documentation of their service and character from club members. Thanks to Colorado Soaring Association, Black Forest Soaring Society, and Texas Soaring Association for outstanding support of this award — frequently, $1,000 got collected at a cook-out or contest. Thanks also to Chris Woods for donating sales income from the new Hilton Cup DVDs! Details and a downloadable application form are at Kolstad Junior Soaring Awards. 

Several SSA Affiliate and Division Members also run excellent programs designed to encourage young people to discover and progress in the sport, such as:

• SKY GHOST Grant (WSPA, March 15)
  $750 for use at any glider operation.
  Available to a female student pilot under the age of 25 for expenses related to glider instruction toward obtaining a private pilot license in gliders. Applicant must be a member of SSA and the Women Soaring Pilots Association. A completed application form and brief essay are required. Winner will be notified by mail. Moneys will be paid directly to the glider operation. WOMEN SOARING PILOTS ORGANIZATION.

• BRIEGLEB Scholarship (WSPA, March 15)
  $750 for use at the Women’s Soaring Seminar.
  This award is given to a female student glider pilot of any age. The money is to be used for flying expenses during the seminar. The applicant must be a member of SSA and the Women Soaring Pilots Association. A completed application form and brief essay are required. Winner will be notified prior to the seminar. The Women’s Soaring Seminar is held every summer at a soaring location in the USA. The seminars offer lectures, flight instruction, and checkouts in a variety of gliders as well as a supportive environment for beginning pilots. WOMEN SOARING PILOTS ORGANIZATION.

• Mid Kolstad Scholarship (WSPA March 15)
  $1500 to help pay expenses toward obtaining a Private Glider License or add-on rating.
  A female student glider pilot or a licensed airplane pilot over the age of 25 is eligible for the Mid Kolstad Scholarship of   WOMEN SOARING PILOTS ORGANIZATION.

Your gifts are welcome at any time to extend and enlarge these national programs. All the funds will put your tax-deductible contributions to work with youth right away. For programs directly administered by SSA, be sure to note the name of the fund on your letter or check [e.g. Kolstad, Bultman, Cadet, Junior Team, or Eagle/Youth Fund]. 2016 marked the 50th year since the passing of 15-year-old 2-Diamond pilot Paul Kolstad and the 50th award of the college scholarship that anchored our financial support for new generations. Local groups had great fun raising funds in the spirit of the longtime Labor Day chicken barbecue started by Ken Kolstad, who passed himself in June 2007 at age 96 (!). How about passing the hat at your event, for your favorite cause, now?

Please contact the SSA Youth/Junior Committee if you could help set up more SSA programs. We are especially interested in the middle ground between CADET and KOLSTAD, to give junior SSA members a boost in chasing badges, records, contests, cross-country soaring, and other advanced delights of the sport.

Finally, Numerous SSA Chapters and Commercial Operators run their own soaring camps, youth scholarships, and line-crew work programs. Please contact SSA to add to or correct our current

•  DIRECTORY OF YOUTH CAMPS or
•  DIRECTORY OF YOUTH GRANTS.

Downloadable list of:  SSA Youth Opportunities 2020.