 |
| Andrea Marrocco didn't win the Webster Memorial Competition but Ottawa's top amateur pilot performed well before the hometown crowd. Photo: The Ottawa Citizen |
Andrew Burns, representing British Columbia, was declared the runner-up. … Local flyer Andrea Marrocco, a student in Algonquin College’s aviation management, represented eastern Ontario. The 29-year-old said her hour-long flight did not go as well as she had hoped, and she did not expect to win the competition," Alicja Siekerska reported for the Ottawa Citizen on Aug. 19.
"The Webster Memorial trophy… is an award that goes to Canada's best young pilot. Nominees must take part in a series of challenging flying exams and statistical tests in order to prove themsleves worthy of the prize. It's a tradition that's been part of Canadian aviation for the last 80 years," James Dobos reported for CFRA on August 19, 2012.
"According to assistant judge Wayne Foy, the competition helps young pilots
move closer to careers in aviation — he estimates that 90 per cent of participants hope to fly professionally. Throughout the week, he says, they meet numerous senior aviation executives, including those from Air Canada, Jazz and Air Transat. A lot of companies tell us that they give Webster competitors — not even just finalists — more weight on their applications. Because here’s a person who’s willing to go out on a limb to challenge themselves. These are Class-A personalities, and that’s who they’re looking for to become leaders and skilled captains,” Bruce Deachman wrote for the Citizen on Aug. 18.
"It was a gruelling week, says (Andrea) Marrocco, and if there was any truth to Foy’s assertion that being the hometown favourite — she flies out of the Ottawa and Rockcliffe Flying clubs — and knowing the region’s topography better than the other finalists might have given her a slight edge, she feels that was cancelled out by the barrage of media interviews she faced as the host city’s representative. Additionally, she found that all the encouragement she received from club members and others in the area only added to her anxiety. Her hour-long flight test — originally scheduled for Friday morning but bumped up to Wednesday as organizers took advantage of clear skies, didn’t go as well as she’d hoped," the Ottawa Citizen reported on Aug. 18.
Wayne Foy, 2012 Top Amateur Pilot In Canada Andrew Woods
Webster organizer Wayne Foy reports, "The Webster Memorial Trophy Competition came to its conclusion on Saturday evening with the Awards Banquet being held at the Canada Aviation & Space Museum in Ottawa. The banquet was attended by one-hundred and twenty dignitaries and guests from across the entire spectrum of the aviation community.
"The Webster has been sponsored by Air Canada since 1980 and three senior executive from the company were present along with senior executive representation from Jazz and Air Transaat. The Webster competition has been expanding significantly in stature over the past few years and has had the good fortune to gather close to thirty significant supporters to the programme including a growing number of United States interests.
"The programme at the national level changed this year with the introduction of the use of Redbird Flight Training Devices as part of the air portion of the testing. The actual flight tests also changed significantly as well introducing new exercises to challenge the skills of the nine superb finalists.
"The winner of the 2012 Webster memorial trophy Competition is Andrew Woods representing the Western Ontario region. Andrew flies out of Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Ont. The runner-up is Andrew Burns representing the region of British Columbia. Andrew flies with Coastal Pacific Aviation in Abbotsford. B.C.
"On behalf of the entire Webster team we would like to congratulate all the finalists who achieved this high standard this year. They represented their flight schools, Air Canada and Webster exceptionally well. The Webster team would also like to profusely thank the Rockcliffe Flying Club as the host school. Their staff and volunteers did a phenomenal job of ensuring that the finalists were transported to and from the hotel and other planned venues and that the air portion of the competition went off on time without a problem of any kind," Wayne Foy reports.
 |
| Andrew Woods is Canada's top amateur pilot. Photo: Webster Memorial Trophy Competition |
Webster organizer Wayne Foy reports, "The Webster Memorial Trophy Competition came to its conclusion on Saturday evening with the Awards Banquet being held at the Canada Aviation & Space Museum in Ottawa. The banquet was attended by one-hundred and twenty dignitaries and guests from across the entire spectrum of the aviation community.
"The Webster has been sponsored by Air Canada since 1980 and three senior executive from the company were present along with senior executive representation from Jazz and Air Transaat. The Webster competition has been expanding significantly in stature over the past few years and has had the good fortune to gather close to thirty significant supporters to the programme including a growing number of United States interests.
"The programme at the national level changed this year with the introduction of the use of Redbird Flight Training Devices as part of the air portion of the testing. The actual flight tests also changed significantly as well introducing new exercises to challenge the skills of the nine superb finalists.
 |
| Andrew Burns was the runner-up in the 2012 Webster Memorial Trophy Competition. |
"On behalf of the entire Webster team we would like to congratulate all the finalists who achieved this high standard this year. They represented their flight schools, Air Canada and Webster exceptionally well. The Webster team would also like to profusely thank the Rockcliffe Flying Club as the host school. Their staff and volunteers did a phenomenal job of ensuring that the finalists were transported to and from the hotel and other planned venues and that the air portion of the competition went off on time without a problem of any kind," Wayne Foy reports.