Sending an 8-ounce, 60-inch wide glider soaring into the air may sound difficult, but it’s a sport that Fossil Ridge High School sophomore Oscar Cytrynowicz has mastered. 

Cytrynowicz began gliding in 2015 with his dad, who is his coach. Since then, his passion for the sport has taken him around the world for competitions. 

“It was a little bit scary for me,”  Cytrynowicz said, describing the gliding. “But then once I got my own, it wasn’t scary. Now it’s just part of me.”

Cytrynowicz uses hand-held transmitters to control the mechanics of the non-motorized gliders, which measure 40 inches long and have a wingspan of nearly 60 inches.

“We grab the peg on the wing tip, rotate at least 180 degrees as fast as possible, and let go at an upward angle,” he said, describing how the gliders take flight. 

Cytrynowicz’s passion has earned him many awards nationally and internationally. In 2023, he placed 11th for the juniors on Team USA for the F3K class in the World Championships in Sânpetru, Romania.

One of the best parts of playing a sport, competitive or not, is being able to connect with people who share the same interests. 

“It’s a great community. I think my favorite part is getting to fly with friends,” he said. “I’ve met people from different countries and made friends from different countries. Whenever you go to another contest. It’s like a giant reunion.”

The scoring for gliding requires competitors to do different tasks each round.

“Typically, each round is a 10 minute window, and what happens is, you have to do the best you can on all four rounds,” he said. “So let’s say you’re flying well, you might have done perfect on your first, second and fourth. But you might have had some really bad air and only gotten a 130 on your third. That’s your score.”

Christopher Savage, Cytrynowicz’s FRHS counselor, called Cytrynowicz’s gliding skills and achievements “impressive.”

“For him to do so well in the United States, then to go to a world tournament and be really competitive with some of the top contestants in the world is remarkable,” Savage said. “I’m super proud of him.”

Cytrynowicz hopes to take his gliding career into college and even further.

“I love this, it’s a big part of who I am. It’s one of my favorite ways to spend my downtime. I could see myself taking this to college, and hopefully making some new friends.”