2016 FAI Annual Report

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FAI ANNUAL REPORT–2016 FAI ANNUAL REPORT–2016 8 9
Air Sports
Championships
& Events
→
The competition calendar was again packed in 2016, with
49 Championships and 559 Category 2 competitions.
From Indoor Skydiving to Space Modelling and from
Parachuting to Hang Gliding, thousands of pilots and
competitors came together throughout the year to
compete against each other and themselves.
Attracting a lot of attention and creating a buzz in the
sport and in the wider world, Wingsuiting saw its first FAI
WorldChampionships. More than 60 pilots competed in the
1st FAI WorldWingsuit Performance Flying Championships
in Zephyrhills, Florida inNovember. The USA’s Chris Geiler
took home the gold medal and the title of FAI Wingsuit
World Champion. Run at the same venue and the same
time, the 1st FAI World Cup of Wingsuit Acrobatic Flying
was won by Team USA 1.
The Red Bull Air Race continued towowspectators around
the world and online. It toured the world fromAbu Dhabi to
Las Vegas andwaswonbyMatthiasDolderer fromGermany.
Perhaps inspired by the real-life pilots racing at speed
around the full-size pylon course, Drone Racing continued
to develop rapidly and organically around the world. The
FAI is enthusiastic about this exciting development, and
continues to encourage the organisation of drone racing FAI
International Events (World Cup and NonWorld Cup) in as
many countries as possible. New rules, new competitions
and new classes are all on the immediate horizon, as well
as the 1st FAI World Drone Racing Championships.
Building on the success of the FAI World Air Games Dubai
2015, the bidding process has already started for the next
FAI World Air Games, to be held in 2020. In the meantime,
the FAI continues to encourage participation inmulti-sport
events. CanopyPiloting, Glider Aerobatics andParamotoring
will all take part in The World Games in 2017. This will be
the tenth edition of this multi-sport event and will take
place in Wroclaw, Poland over 10 days in July.
Paramotoring saw its second FAI European Slalom
Championships . In a new development welcomed by the
sport, this was held over water for the first time, in Bornos,
Spain. Paramotoring also partnered withMicrolighting to
hold concurrent World Championships in 2016, both held
in August in the UK.
The 22nd FAI World Hot Air Balloon Championship was
held in November. More than 100 pilots travelled to Japan
for the competition, which saw 31 tasks over a week, and
was won by Rhett Heartsill of the USA.
The 2016 FAI World Parachuting Championships – The
Mondial, took place in Chicago, USA, over 10 days in
September. This packed competition saw627 parachutists
from37 countries compete across 11 disciplines, including
Formation Skydiving, Artistic Events, Speed Skydiving,
Canopy Formation, Freefall Style and Accuracy. Among
the world records to be broken, the standout was Henrik
Raimer’s (SWE), who broke through the 600km/h mark in
Speed Skydiving. He didn’t only set a newworld record, he
went on to win the event and take home the gold medal.
The list of 2016 Competition results can be found on
.
“Henrik Raimer broke
the 600km/h mark in
Speed Skydiving.”