30 Aug 2022

Three new champions: results of 2022 FAI Women's World Gliding Championship

The 11th WWGC has come to a close in Husband’s Bosworth, UK, with three new champions declared and many more women inspired to take to the skies, after a spectacular event by the organisers.

The 43 pilots who represent the elite of Women's Gliding competed in two weeks of tasks. The Czech team gained excellent results, with Petra Piskata receiving the trophy in Club Class, Jana Veprekova taking the bronze in Standard and Alena Netusilova another bronze in 18m, which meant a bronze overall in the Teams.

France’s Anne Ducarouge and Mélanie Gadoulet took gold and silver respectively in the 18m Class, which contributed to a silver for the French team overall. Great Britain’s Claudia Hill gained second place in the Club Class just one point ahead of Ines Engelhardt of Germany, but it was the German team who took the gold overall, after great results by Cornelia Schaich and Sabrina Vogt in the Standard class (gold and silver, respectively), and Engelhardt’s bronze.

Cornelia Schaich (GER) lifts her trophy

Inspiring new pilots

Liz Sparrow is a glider pilot who would usually have competed, but for this event took on the role of Competition Director. She is passionate about sharing the sport with new people, and the opportunity to showcase women in aviation to the general public alongside the racing was too good to be missed. A line-up of exciting activities and inspirational talks went down well with participants, as Liz reported after the event:

“We've had great feedback from competitors, and the public events really opened people's eyes to gliding, especially women gliding, and inspired people - young and old - with role models in aviation and engineering. I'm very proud of what we achieved and looking forward to sharing what we learned with clubs across the sport in the UK and overseas. Together, we will make a difference!”

Liz Sparrow and David Monks
Liz Sparrow, Competition Director and David Monks, FAI President