FAI Gliding Commission (IGC)

All FAI gliding international championships, competitions and record activities are conducted under the direction of the FAI Gliding Commission (IGC). It is the body within the FAI which is responsible for all international aspects of air sports involving gliders (not including hang gliders and paragliders, which belong to the FAI Hang Gliding and Paragliding Commission) and motor gliders. An exception is the sport of gliding aerobatics, which is handled together with powered aerobatics by the FAI Aerobatics Commission.

Meetings

The FAI Gliding Commission meets once a year in plenary session to discuss and work on the development of sport gliding, rules changes and sporting events (decision on venues for future events, appointment of organising committees, etc.). 

Each FAI Member Country may appoint a Delegate with the right to vote at the Annual Meeting.

Bureau

Between annual meetings, the FAI Gliding Commission is run by the Bureau, which consists of the President, four Vice Presidents, the Treasurer and the Secretary.

The Bureau is elected during the annual meeting of the FAI Gliding Commission.

Delegates

Each FAI Member Country can appoint a Delegate to the FAI Gliding Commission and participate in the work of the commission.

Subcommittees

Subcommittees are set up by the FAI Gliding Commission. They have specific terms of reference (TOR) for their work and responsibilities. These TOR are approved by the IGC Annual Meeting.

Working Groups

Working Groups are temporarily established by the FAI Gliding Commission to study and report on specific matters or proposals.

Go to the Organisation page to get the list of all Bureau Members, Delegates, Subcommittees and Working Groups.

Awards

FAI Medals and Diplomas are awarded each year at the Opening Ceremony of the annual FAI General Conference.

The FAI Award for gliding are the following:

• The Lilienthal Gliding Medal
• The Pelagia Majewska Gliding Medal
• The Pirat Gehriger Diploma

Records

The FAI maintains files of all aviation records and the FAI Gliding Commission lays down the requirements for class conformity and flight verification where parachuting is concerned. The requirements are to be found in Section 3 of the Sporting Code.

Access the database and consult the current and past Gliding Records.

Rules & other documents

The FAI Gliding Commission establishes and maintains rules and criteria for FAI gliding competitions and records, FAI badges, security at world sporting events, and technical standards.

The rules are published in the FAI Sporting Code, which has a General Section and a section for each air sport. The gliding section is Section 3. The rules include definitions (glider, motor glider, classes, flights) procedures for flight documentation and verification, competition rules and technical specifications.

Go to the Documents page to get the latest edition of those documents.

Development

An objective of the FAI Gliding Commission is to further the development of gliding sport and to encourage its spread to more countries. The IGC-defined class structure has had a strong influence on the technical development of gliders and motor gliders. In these technical questions the FAI Gliding Commission can rely on expert advice from our sister organisation, the OSTIV (Organisation Scientifique et Technique de Vol à Voile). The advent of GPS navigation equipment has made a great impact on the sport of gliding. The FAI Gliding Commission has set up a procedure for approving GPS flight recorders for record and badge flights.