Some of the best glider pilots from New Zealand and abroad will converge on Omarama this weekend - but as long as they are on the ground, they will not take their eyes off the sky.
''Once you get into gliding you have forever got your eyes turned skyward,'' Geoff Soper, contest director for the the 51st South Island Regional Gliding Championships, said.
The ''old quote'' had truth in it, he said.
Gliders are a passionate bunch.
But the question on the minds of most before the annual gliding competition at Omarama belies New Zealanders' first passion.
Will Richie McCaw attend?
Mr Soper replied, ''No comment'', but said he doubted the All Blacks captain would be there this year, after such a busy past couple of months.
''I don't think so,'' he said.
''He has flown before, but when Richie shows up we tend to keep it a bit quiet.''
The gliding starts with a warm-up day tomorrow.
Competition begins on Sunday and continues through the week until next Saturday.
''It's just a real fun week with a bunch of gliding pilots,'' Mr Soper said.
''Climbing a thermal, you realise the power of nature. You hit the wave and the whole world just opens up in front of you as the ground appears to disappear below you.''
About 30 pilots were expected to take part in the competition, which this year had changed formats.
Instead of seven classes there would be two: open and racing.
''I think you'll have a more honest list of who's flown the furthest and the fastest.
''And it helps rank the competitors a lot better.''
Task setters look to the weather each morning to determine whether glider pilots will experience a ''wave day'' or a ''cumulus soaring day''.
On wave days pilots could get up to 20,000ft and ''race around as fast as they can''. On soaring days tasks set for pilots were different.
''The whole thing is it's a test of a pilot's soaring ability. It's a test of how they read the weather conditions, their own glider's limitations, the speed they can fly at, and calculating it down to the precise moment when to cross the finish line, when to start - they start to play a bit of a cat-and-mouse game with each other.''
Importantly, the weather looked all right for the week ahead.
''Last year, we flew every day. We're hoping that the weather comes right for us, which it looks like it could do. But spring flying is unpredictable.''
