Plenary 2013 – Crucial decisions made, more to come

Shaping the direction of the hang gliding and paragliding competition scene, delegates and representatives from 34 FAI member nations, took part in the 2013 CIVL Plenary.  Although held in Lausanne, Switzerland, participants came from five continents, and the impact of the decisions made will be felt worldwide.

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Plenary 2013 - A New Competition Class Is Born!

The 2012 CIVL Plenary in JiaoXi, Chinese Taipei, had decided that a new Competition Class should be created, implemented in 2014 and included in a “light” EN certification as soon as possible.

The 2013 CIVL Plenary in Lausanne, Switzerland, discussed at length the Paragliding Subcommittee proposals, amended it, and voted almost unanimously (minus 1 voice) for the implementation of a new CIVL-EN Competition Class (CECC).

For the first time, all parties involved in the decision making process agreed in a long term solution that comes as a conclusion to 14 years of debate about Serial vs. Open in Category 1 competitions (see our historical analysis here).

CIVL, EHPU, PWCA, test pilots and PMA worked on a compromise that they agreed is the best long-term solution available.

• The competition gliders will have a limitation on aspect ratio,
• This limitation might encourage more manufacturers to produce competition gliders.
• Using optimum speed, in conjunction with the new End of Speed Section rule, will give more importance in wing design and pilot strategy to best glide performance (instead of maximum speed).
• The in-flight test will be done in the same configuration as for of competition flying (current harness, pilot reacting).
• The certification tests are simplified, hence faster and cheaper, opening the way to certification of gliders of all size.
• The characteristics and procedures can be revised every two years, allowing both stability and development.
• The reference to EN test (lines, load, in-flight test) will speed up the implementation of a new EN standard that CIVL is ready to be part of.

The implementation date of the new CECC has been pushed back to 2015 so that:

• Pilots and manufacturers have more time to adapt to the new regulation.
• The 2013 and 2014 seasons are run with the same gliders: EN certified without additional limitations.

This new regulation concerns only Category 1 competitions. Regarding category 2 events, NACs are responsible for managing the sport in their own territories and are best placed to make judgements on which rules are appropriate for their events.

A Paraglider Competition Pilots Survey

For the 2013 CIVL Plenary, the Paraglider Manufacturers Association (PMA), at CIVL’s request, created a proposal for a future paragliding competition class for cross-country competitions. This proposal, as well as the topic of equipment for such competitions in general, has been heavily discussed over the last several months, amongst pilots, officials, country associations and many others. These discussions will continue at the Plenary, and will most likely lead to a vote there.

The views of many players on this complex topic are well known, but to this date, no clear information existed on the point of view of those mainly affected by CIVL’s decisions: The

competition pilots themselves. Following a blog post by André Rainsford, a group from within the PMA approached CIVL and proposed a survey amongst competition paraglider pilots, to learn about their opinion on PMA’s proposal, and on the equipment topic in general.

Between February 4th and 10th 2013, such a survey was conducted. This document contains its final outcome.

13th FAI Paragliding World Championships Local Regulations Published

THe Local Regulations for Sopot, Bulgaria, 19th FAI Paragliding World Championships are now published in the Document chapter of this website.

What’s up in January 2013?

Well, this IS a new year, so happy and merry to everyone! And specially to Molly and Bill Moyes, still going strong after more than 40 years of involvement in our sport!

January has been quiet on CIVL Bureau front. With the agenda published, we almost took a nap until the next Plenary. But…

The Plenary Agenda was adjusted twice, with a bid for a Hang Gliding World Championship in Mexico in 2015, and a bid to hold the Plenary in Bali, Indonesia in 2015. We refused to add awards nominations as they came too late.

There was a FAI Hang Gliding World Championship in Forbes, Australia, and a very successful one, with great Champions crowded. We had to adjust the Remote Jury, as one member was not available after all.

We worked on the next FAI Paragliding World Championship local regulations; on CIVL annual report for FAI annual report; on our financial situation, with difficulty as the FAI person in charge had a bad accident and was not available (get well fast, Cosette!).

We followed with attention on the CIVL Delegates mailing list the discussion on the new PG Competition Class glider proposals.

That's it, Folks! See you soon at the Plenary!

2013 Plenary Agenda Updated

The 2013 CIVL Plenary Agenda is modified as follow: a bid has been received in time from Indonesia to hold the 2014 Plenary in Bali (Annex 38). 

The local regulations from the PG World in Sopot, Bulgaria, will be added soon.

The President and Treasurer reports will be published before the end of the month. The Treasurer report will probably be provisionnal, due to standing problems and the accident of the person in charge of FAI finances, Cosette Mast (both arms broken).

Corinna 5th, Manfred 4th, Italy 3rd titles!

The 19th FAI Hang Gliding Class 1 World Championship came to an end on January 18th in Forbes, Australia. An exciting competition with many and long tasks, and in the end true Champions: Corinna Schwiebershausen for her 5th title, Manfred Ruhmer for his 4th, Italy for its 3rd! Congratulation!

All details, pictures, video are on the organizer website.

The podiums:

Overall

• 1st : Manfred Ruhmer (AUT)
• 2nd : Alessandro Ploner (ITA)
• 3rd : Filippo Oppici (ITA)

Women

• 1st: Corinna Schwiegershausen (GER)
• 2nd: Kathleen Rigg (GBR)
• 3rd: Tove Heaney (AUS)

Team

• 1st : Italy
• 2nd : USA
• 3rd : United Kingdom

Plenary Agenda Modified

With apologies to the Mexican NAC, organizers and pilots, we are publishing the Valle de Bravo bid for the 20th FAI Hang Gliding World Championship. The bid was sent in time but somehow got lost between CIVL and the webdog. The agenda is modified accordingly and a V2 is published. Both modifications appear in the Document chapter of this website.

Forbes 19th FAI HG World is on!

The 19th FAI Hang Gliding World Championship started strongly with a 157km task flown by 61 of the 96 pilots. Results, blogs and video on the organizer's website at http://www.forbesflatlands.com!

CIVL is recruting a new Competition Coordinator

The Hang Gliding and Paragliding Commission of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (CIVL) is seeking a suitable person to act as Competitions Coordinator.

The successful applicant will have some knowledge of hang gliding and/or paragliding competitions and CIVL, good written and spoken English, plus some database/spreadsheet oriented IT skills.
As the work is Internet based, it may be done at a location of the candidate’s choice.Working hours average 8-12 hours per week, but vary with the flying seasons.The  person must be in a position to invoice the FAI for his/her work on a regular basis, in conformance with the tax/employment laws in force in his/her country of residence, and in accordance with the rate agreed with the CIVL President.

A summary of the work includes:

• Receiving and checking applications for sanctioning of Cat 2 events to be entered on the CIVL Sporting Calendar.
• Communicate with FAI office on sanctioned competition related matters.
• Running the CIVL World Pilot Ranking System (WPRS), which includes chasing, receiving and uploading competition results, managing the pilots and results databases, dealing with related enquiries arising.
• Some first line support of Cat 1 organisers, answering or fielding enquiries on issues such as allocation, exemption applications, entry requirements etc.
• Tracking progress of Cat 1 championships including; publication of documents, website information etc.  Communicating outstanding actions to the CIVL Bureau.
• Producing reports and analyses on competition trends when requested (twice per year).

A more detailed Job Description is available on request.

Applications must be sent here before January 31st, 2013.