Soaring is the sport of flying gliders over long distances at high speed, using only naturally occurring sources of lift to stay aloft. The words gliding and soaring are often used interchangeably. The subtle difference between the two is that gliding implies, after the glider is towed aloft, that it gently glides to the ground. Soaring on the other hand is where the glider pilot, using their knowledge and skill, can find invisible rising air currents to defy gravity. Using the rising air efficiently to not only arrest the descent but also to climb, glider pilots can now translate this height gained into distance across the ground allowing them to travel much further.
The San Antonio Soaring Society launches gliders by means of aerotow. In an aerotow, a powered aircraft is attached to a glider with a tow rope. The tow-plane takes the glider to the height and location requested by the pilot where the glider pilot releases the tow-rope.