21 Feb 2023

Looking forward to the 2023 gliding competition season

The Gliding competition season looks promising this year with five World and Continental Championships registered in the FAI events calendar.

5th FAI Pan-American Gliding Championship

The first Category 1 event of the season, the 5th FAI Pan-American Gliding Championship, is organised by the Kansas Soaring Association. It will take place from 6 to 17 June in Hutchinson, Kansas, USA, in both club and handicapped class.

The topography in the contest area consists of a flat terrain, with most farm fields landable at that time of the year. The flying conditions are widely varied and thus bound to test the pilots’ skills. Thermal conditions of 4-6000 agl. can be expected, with strengths varying depending on frontal passages. Expected Area Tasks and Racing Tasks range from 100 to 400 km.

2019 winners

Below are the reigning champions and medallists from the 3rd FAI Pan-American Championship 2019 in Rockton, Canada (as the 4th edition in 2022 was cancelled):

18M Class

Jerzy Szemplinski CAN
Sergei Morozov CAN
Joerg Stieber CAN

Club Class

Carlos Iucci ARG
Matias Pasztor ARG
Rafael bravo ARG

Handicapped Class

Luke Szczepaniak CAN
Tim Taylor USA
Sarah Arnold USA

12th FAI Women's World Gliding Championship

The world’s best female pilots will race their gliders over 14 intense competitions days from 1 to 15 July 2023 at the 12th FAI Women's World Gliding Championship in Garray, Spain (Standard Class, Club Class, 18m Class).

Relatively new compared to its well-known neighbour Fuentemilanos, the airfield of Garray offers excellent flying conditions: little chance of rain, warm temperatures, strong thermals and high cloud bases.

Gliding-related activities for the kids, air and ground displays and street food stalls guarantee plenty of fun for families on a day out, while live race tracking will allow fans to follow the competition from all around the world.

2022 winners

Reigning champions and medallists from the 11th FAI Women's World Gliding Championship 2022 in Husbands Bosworth, United Kingdom:

18M class – Overall

Anne Ducarouge FRA
Mélanie Gadoulet FRA
Alena Netusilova CZE

Standard class - Overall

Cornelia Schaich GER
Sabrina Vogt GER
Jana Veprekova CZE

Club class - Overall

Petra Piskata CZE
Claudia Hill GBR
Ines Engelhardt GER

Team

Germany
France
Czech Republic

Follow the competition

21st FAI European Gliding Championships

Leszno will host the 21st FAI European Gliding Championships (Open Class, 18m Class, 20m Class) from 29 July to 12 August 2023.

This Polish city stands as a legendary venue for air sports pilots. From as far back as the World Gliding Championships in 1958, it has hosted top-level competitions in gliding, ballooning, microlights, aeromodelling and aerobatics.

The airfield offers a safe aera for long and fast flights. The typical tasks to be expected include a speed task up to 750 km, with numerous average speeds up to 135 km/h, some even up to 150 km/h. Weather conditions are usually good at this time of the year but challenging weather is also a possibility with weak thermals and a low cloud base.

2019 winners

Reigning champions and medallists from the 20th FAI European Gliding Championships 2019 in Turbia, Poland:

Open Class

Petr Tichy CZE
Riccardo Brigliadori ITA
Markus Frank GER

18M Class

Sebastian Kawa POL
Karol Staryszak POL
Wolfgang Janowitsch AUT

20M Class

Tomasz Rubaj & Christoph Matkowski POL
Steve Jones & Garry Coppin GBR
Uli Gmelin & Christine Grote ITA

Follow the competition

6th FAI Junior European Gliding Championships

Youngsters up to the age of 25 will compete at the 6th FAI Junior European Gliding Championships from 30 July to 12 August 2023 in Arnborg, Denmark (Standard Class, Club Class).

A well experienced team is in charge of the organisation of event with Øjvind K. Frank as Competition Director. Frank is an active competition pilot and has held many roles in the gliding community over the years, including coach and team captain for the Danish junior pilots.

Owned by the Danish Gliding Federation, the Arnborg airfield has been used for more than 100 national and international gliding events, including the successful 8th FAI Women’s World Gliding Championship in 2015. Tasks from 250km to 400km can be expected, and flat agricultural land should guarantee safe flying conditions for the up to 90 junior competitors.

2021 winners

Reigning champions and medallists from the 5th FAI Junior European Gliding Championships 2021 in Pociũnai, Kaunas, Lithuania:

Club Overall

Finn Sleigh GBR
Lasse Edslev DEN
Nils Fecker GER

Standard Overall

Simon Briel GER
Thomas Pavis GBR
Henry Inigo-Jones GBR

Team

United Kingdom
Germany
Czech Republic

37th FAI World Gliding Championships

The well-known gliding centre of Narromine, Australia, will host the 37th FAI World Gliding Championships from 2 to 16 December 2023 (15m Class, Standard Class, Club Class).

December is the summer season in this part of the world. The Narromine region is located in an area that is largely influenced by hot dry climatic conditions, with temperatures often in the high 30s. The contest area is located in the Western Plains area of New South Wales and as such is slightly undulating with extensive grazing and cropping farms that facilitate cross country flying activities and provide safety for finishing aircraft and outlanding options.

The topography and soil structure provide excellent thermals, often to over 10,000ft agl. The typical tasks to be expected are 300km-600km flights, with potential up to 1000km.

These Championships will also be organised by a very experienced team that ran numerous State & National & World Gliding events including the Junior World championships and numerous Australian National championships.

2021 winners

Reigning champions and medallists from the 36th FAI World Gliding Championships 2021 in Montluçon-Guéret, France:

Club Class Overall