Plenary 2013 -What's up in Paragliding Accuracy

Reviewing the bid for the next World Championships, upcoming Category 1 events, and putting the finishing touches to Accuracy records, dominated the discussions in the recent PG Accuracy Committee Open meeting.

There was some lively debate on a number of key issues among the 14 people from 11 countries attending the recent PG Accuracy Committee discussion meeting in Lausanne.  The bid from Indonesia for the 2015 FAI World Paragliding Accuracy Championships was reviewed, with key officials from the NAC and the organising team in attendance.  The organisers welcomed ideas and suggestions.  The Subcommittee was unanimous in its recommendation to Delegates to accept the bid.

Indonesia has embraced PG Accuracy with great enthusiasm, and in just a few years has reached 5th place in the nation rankings, with 130 pilots with ranking points.  Its top pilot, Elise Manueke ranks 6th in the PG Accuracy WPRS overall. 

Monitoring Malaysia

Further discussions with the Malaysian delegate and the competition director of the upcoming 2nd FAI Asian PG Accuracy Championships, ironed out some issues that had arisen.  Due to organisational changes, the Test Event has been postponed to September.  The Steward is closely monitoring progress.  

Meanwhile, the Local Regulations for this year’s World Championships in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Hergezovina are in the their final stages, and should be finalised imminently.  The organiser, who was present at the meeting in Lausanne, has responded positively to all the suggestions from the Steward following the Test Event last year.

World Games selection

Pilot Selection for the World Games in Cali, Colombia, is almost complete.  This highly prestigious, multi-sport event takes place every four years, under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee.  This is the first event to include airsports, and this year features Paragliding Accuracy and Parachuting Canopy Piloting.  The PG Accuracy competition is limited to 36 pilots, invited according to strict selection criteria.  The aim is to field the best pilots in the world from as many nations as possible.   The process has resulted in 34 pilots selected from 17 nations.  The Subcommittee discussed how best to allocate the final wild card places.  

This event is destined to provide excellent international publicity for PG Accuracy, demonstrating its unique appeal as a media/spectator friendly sport.  It is interesting to note that the host nation, Colombia, has made a significant effort to ensure its PG Accuracy pilots have risen in the rankings.  No less than 10 Cat 2 competitions were held in 2012, plus a team competed in the pre-Worlds in Sarajevo last summer.  Three Colombian pilots have been selected to compete in the World Games in Cali at the end of July.

Accuracy Records introduced

A discussion on the introduction of new PG Accuracy records, was led by Igor Erzen (SLO), CIVL Records & Badges Officer.  This had been the subject of some debate for several years, with no true concensus.  But this time, agreement was reached.  There will be two record categories initially:  Number of consecutive DCs (dead centre = 0.00cm); and Number of consecutive sub-5cm scores.  Anecdotal evidence was heard that one Bulgarian pilot, during 2012, achieved 11 consecutive scores less than or equal to 5cm.  These new records could provide some tough challenges for PG Accuracy pilots in the coming years!

New chair

The CIVL Paragliding Accuracy Committee has a new chair.  Violeta Masteikiene (LIT) takes over from Nikki Spence (GBR).  Nikki commented: “Violeta has some innovative new ideas, and I am looking forward to supporting her in this role.”  As an FAI Steward, Cat 1 organiser, and pilot, Violeta is well qualified to ensure PG Accuracy continues to develop into an internationally recognised airsports discipline.

Paragliding Accuracy continues to grow, with more than 1500 pilots from 50 nations now registered in the WPRS.  There were 50 Cat 2 PG Accuracy competitions on the 2012 calendar.  Category 1 events have expanded from the first World Championships held in 2000, to include both European and Asian Championships.  Another noteworthy factor, is that PG Accuracy is not seasonal.  Competitions can be held year round, as Lithuania’s annual event on frozen lake in February, demonstrates!

(Our picture: the new Committee Chair, Violeta Masteikiene)