It's true that you are meant to help out with ground handling and other tasks but that's all part of the culture. It's very different from doing a PPL where you turn up for your lesson and leave once it is finished. Gliding is more sociable and you tend to make friends very quickly. There are days when you turn up for 5 hours and maybe get a 15 minute flight but you tend to find yourself kept busy driving tractors, launching gliders etc. and the whole gliding experience far outweighs any negative aspects.
Yes, this certainly describes my experience.
