WACL and CIVA at signing ceremony in China

Many months of negotiations between CIVA President Nick Buckenham and British and Chinese executives from World Air Carnival Ltd., a UK based company dedicated to mounting a new series of aerobatic "World Air Master" (WAM) and "World Formation Aerobatic Championship" (WFAC) tournaments in China, have now culminated in a formal agreement between CIVA and WACL to jointly manage these events.

At a ceremony in China last weekend Vice President John Gaillard represented CIVA along with FAI Executive Board member Gillian Rayner, WACL's Managing Director Mark Jefferies and WACL principal Siyu Jiang together with Air Sports Federation of China (ASFC) executives and other notable Chinese sport aviation leaders to formalise the inauguration of these two extremely exciting new concepts.

In practice WACL will secure arrangements with various cities and provinces in Asia to stage these events, sharing the management and control of each one with a team of CIVA judges, jury and scoring staff. Approval for the initial 16 pilot WAM event scheduled to run at Changsha in November this year is imminent, and an inaugural WFAC is planned for May 2017. At WAM tournaments at least one in five of the competitors selected by WACL must be experienced CIVA championship pilots, while for the WFAC events resourcing is expected to draw broadly from among the many well-known international formation aerobatic display teams.

This represents a significant step for CIVA into new territory beyond its well established classical championship culture, enabling the commission to apply its expertise in a more commercially based environment and as a consequence is set to enjoy the rich benefits that this great opportunity offers.