Gliding: Sacred Heart schoolgirl, 15, flying high with national gliding title

Sacred Heart College pupil Alexandra Thompson shares her joy with principal Maria Neville-Foster after becoming the national gliding racing class champion. Photo/Paul Taylor

Having her head in the clouds for two weeks paid off for Alexandra Thompson when she and her gliding partner, Campbell McIver, became the country's best in the racing class.

However, holding the title of "national racing class glider champions" is something Thompson is still wrapping her head around after only unexpectedly getting into the sport three years ago.

"We didn't expect it at all and even on the last day we were expecting to be beaten or overtaken somehow and at the end of the day we just had to let it sink in," she said, after the 2018 National Gliding Championship concluded in Matamata.

The competition that ran from January 26-February 10 saw about 15 gliders from all over the country travel overland for upwards of three hours each day completing tasks along the way.

Thompson had flown with 22-year-old Auckland-based McIver as part of Youth Glide New Zealand (YGNZ) - not-for-profit organisation that provides under-25s with education, tuition and training in the skills necessary for gliding in New Zealand.

It all started when she was gifted a flight in early 2015 at the Hawke's Bay and Waipukurau Gliding Club at Hastings Aerodrome in Bridge Pa - and it almost instantly became an obsession. Before then, the Taradale family had no contact with the world of flight but just hours before she turned 13, Thompson took to the air on her own.

Now 15, she has lost count of how many hours she has spent in the air - well over 100, she reckons.

"I love the whole uniqueness of it and the fact that when I get up there it is a completely different world and I can be myself," the keen flyer said.

"Once you're up there you can pretty much do anything in your limits and it is a whole different side to the world that you never really get to see from the ground and it is quite stunning when you are first up there."

As a year 12 at Sacred Heart College, Thompson has aspirations of entering the Air Force specialising in either piloting or engineering.

"I definitely want to keep continuing with my gliding because it is a great hobby to have and I love it and it is quite fun to do and there are always heaps of opportunities."

Sacred Heart College principal Maria Neville-Foster was delighted by her pupil's success.

"She is very conscientious about her academic studies as well as her gliding and I am really proud of what she has achieved."

"I am pleased that Sacred Heart College is able to give her the opportunity to compete at a National level, to follow her dreams and for us to be able to support her in that. Ensuring that she pursues her goals, that's what we are all about."