Narrative:

Immediately preceding and upon takeoff of [my] motor-glider; a glider was being towed from north to south on runway 14 which was in use for takeoffs and landings of gliders being towed and the motor glider that I was flying. The wind had a westerly crosswind component of 8 to 10 being primarily from the west.as I began my takeoff roll; I saw a sailplane being towed to the north by a golf cart with one person on the westerly wing (on the active runway); opposite of the takeoff direction. The glider being towed was passing the northern threshold markers; 3 cones. The driver of the golf cart attempted to divert to the east and take the aircraft off of the runway but the person on the wing; and standing in the active runway; did not follow the lead of the golf cart and left the left wing and fuselage on the active runway with the right wing not on the active runway.the takeoff was uphill and cockpit visibility in addition to the short time between startup of the takeoff roll left little time to react. I used full right rudder and right aileron to move to the west as best I could but ended up passing close to the lowered wing on the active runway; approximately 10 to 12 feet to the west while being pushed back to the east by the westerly crosswind. The person who was walking the wing on the runway moved 3 to 4 feet to the east but remained standing and did not even duck.the club rules state:taxiing all equipment shall be towed on the far east side of the field to the staging area; keeping as far to the east as possible; east of the pylons if possible. Do not drive cars on the runway when it is wet or soft; even when towing sailplanes. Move them by hand; or don't fly. And remember; the west side of the field must be kept open at all times for landing traffic!not in the club rules is the normal procedure that wing handlers must not be on the runway but on the adjacent taxiway off of the active runway. It is my opinion that sailplanes should only be moved; by golf cart or other vehicle; on the adjacent taxiway and not on the runway. Motorized aircraft capable of back-taxiing should be able to announce as is done at many airports.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Motor glider pilot reported a near collision during takeoff with a glider being towed in the opposite direction by a golf cart.

Narrative: Immediately preceding and upon takeoff of [my] motor-glider; a glider was being towed from north to south on Runway 14 which was in use for takeoffs and landings of gliders being towed and the motor glider that I was flying. The wind had a westerly crosswind component of 8 to 10 being primarily from the west.As I began my takeoff roll; I saw a sailplane being towed to the north by a golf cart with one person on the westerly wing (on the active runway); opposite of the takeoff direction. The glider being towed was passing the northern threshold markers; 3 cones. The driver of the golf cart attempted to divert to the east and take the aircraft off of the runway but the person on the wing; and standing in the active runway; did not follow the lead of the golf cart and left the left wing and fuselage on the active runway with the right wing not on the active runway.The takeoff was uphill and cockpit visibility in addition to the short time between startup of the takeoff roll left little time to react. I used full right rudder and right aileron to move to the west as best I could but ended up passing close to the lowered wing on the active runway; approximately 10 to 12 feet to the west while being pushed back to the east by the westerly crosswind. The person who was walking the wing on the runway moved 3 to 4 feet to the east but remained standing and did not even duck.The club rules state:TAXIING All equipment shall be towed on the far East side of the field to the staging area; keeping as far to the East as possible; east of the pylons if possible. Do not drive cars on the runway when it is wet or soft; even when towing sailplanes. Move them by hand; or don't fly. And remember; THE WEST SIDE OF THE FIELD MUST BE KEPT OPEN AT ALL TIMES FOR LANDING TRAFFIC!Not in the club rules is the normal procedure that wing handlers must not be on the runway but on the adjacent taxiway off of the active runway. It is my opinion that sailplanes should only be moved; by golf cart or other vehicle; on the adjacent taxiway and not on the runway. Motorized aircraft capable of back-taxiing should be able to announce as is done at many airports.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.