Ted Lys Awards

Edward Lysakowski, usually known as Ted Lys, was a well-known UK glider pilot who from the early 1970s until his untimely death in 1998 competed in UK National Championships, and in European Championships as a member of the British Team. His wife Krystyna and their daughter Karen established the Ted Lys awards in his memory.

In 2017, the Ted Lys Awards were incorporated into “Launchpoint” (a charitable trust which supports British Gliding) together with the Caroline Awards. The scope of the Ted Lys awards has been broadened to help qualified UK based pilots to make a rapid advance towards fulfilling personal aspirations in any sphere of gliding.

In recent years Ted Lys Awards have been made to support:

– Advanced two seater training for a number of different small groups organised by individuals, clubs or other organisations. Some of these programmes have been delivered at gliding competitions.

– Aerobatics course (Sports Badge)

– Formal XC country training

– An XC training package tailored by the pilot to their own needs

– Advanced training abroad

Ted Lys awards are made on an annual cycle. The application window is typically November/December though January with all the applications considered after the deadline for applications, with the awards being made in February.

The application process for 2025 awards is now open. The deadline for applications is (midnight) Sunday 12th January 2025.

The application process and some notes on the process are detailed below.

Applications are invited from individuals and groups, including clubs. While past awards have been focussed on cross-country, competition, & mountain flying, proposals for any other aspect of gliding are now also be eligible. Reflecting the pattern of the original Ted Lys awards where recipients attended coaching events with fellow Ted Lys award recipients, the trust will be particularly interested in proposals for group participation or specifically organised coaching activity.

Awards are in the form of bursaries towards the costs of coaching and development activities. Acceptable activities will normally include structured training & coaching under the auspices of a club, other training organisation, or recognised coach.

Recipients will be asked to write a brief report of their activity and the benefits they have gained, with a view to encouraging further participation and help with fund raising.

How To Apply 

To apply for a Ted Lys award, please:

Notes on what makes a good application that is likely to succeed are available here.

Please note: All applications require support and sign off by a club chairman or CFI and we have observed in the past that some applicants have failed to get their applications to us by the deadline as club chairman/ CFI like all of us can be distracted by Christmas or even go abroad for an extended duration so we advise any pilot considering making an application to start in early November. However, we do not consider any application till after the application window closes and no consideration is given to when the application arrives so if it works for you to send your application on the day of the deadline, please do so, but you have been warned!

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