Sports and Disciplines Selected for the FAI World Air Games Dubai 2015 Revealed

The FAI has today announced the list of the 11 sports and 24 disciplines selected for the FAI World Air Games Dubai 2015. More than 1000 athletes, crews and officials will be involved in the multi air sports event. It will be the biggest FAI World Air Games ever organised.

The selection was made in collaboration between the FAI Head Office, the FAI Air Sport Commissions and the Dubai Event Organising Committee after close examination and intensive discussions. Criteria such as adaptability to the local weather conditions, presence of adequate infrastructures and facilities were taken into account.

FAI Sport and Marketing Director Markus Haggeney from the FAI Head Office stated: “The FAI World Air Games is an absolutely unique chance to show how exciting, interesting and beautiful our air sports are. This is why it is crucial to have as many sports as possible included in the programme."

The logistics involved are impressive. Events will take place in several outdoor sites, namely at the Palm Jumeirah and Desert Campus dropzones of Skydive Dubai. There will also be an Indoor Radio Controlled Aerobatic Powered Model Aircraft competition due to be held in the Dubai Mall. Furthermore, each of the sports and disciplines has its own rules, regulations and technical requirements. These must be satisfied while keeping in mind the main overall objectives of the Games:

• To create a sense of cohesion between the different air sports disciplines and to foster camaraderie among the world’s top air sport athletes;
• To showcase air sports to the general public and to attract new participants to them;
• To promote the FAI events to other sports organisations and to create an attractive platform for the media and for other external stakeholders.

 “We are now looking carefully at each of the disciplines to see how they can best be presented to the crowds,” Haggeney continued. “Spectators are indeed one of our main concerns: we want them to have a fantastic time watching the events on-site or behind their TV screens. For that we must think of the setups of the venues, where the aircraft will fly, where the parachutists will land, for example. Action will take place within one of the world’s most thrilling cities. Combining all the events will also be the key to success - we are working on a programme where the people will be kept interested all day long every day. All in all, this is an exciting challenge.”

List of sports on the programme of the FAI World Air Games Dubai 2015

About the FAI World Air Games

The World Air Games, conducted under the rules of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), is the premier international multi-discipline air sports event fielding the world’s top Air Sports athletes.

The FAI World Air Games 2015 has been awarded to the United Arab Emirates and will be held in Dubai. This multi-discipline event will be organised by the Emirates Aerosports Federation under the patronage of the Crown Prince of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and will take place from 1 to 12 December 2015.

A Memorandum of Agreement was signed on 4 June 2014 by Dr. John Grubbström, FAI President, and His Excellency Nasser Al Neyadi, President of the Emirates Aerosports Federation.

The FAI’s primary goals for this event are to determine “FAI World Air Games Champions”; to showcase air sports to the general public and promote public participation in air sports by attracting new participants to air sports disciplines; to promote FAI events to other sports organisations and create an attractive platform for TV, media and other external stakeholders.

The past editions of the Games took place in Turkey (1997), Spain (2001) and Italy (2009).

• www.worldairgames.aero

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