Today, at Overfly Tenerife’s blog, we are going to talk about the 25 paragliding competitions you should follow if you are a paragliding lover. Although paragliding is not as famous as football is, we also have the means to follow the competition in a passionate way!
We want to tell you everything you need to know about paragliding competitions and which are the next events scheduled for this 2019. Keep reading!
What are paragliding competitions?
Like any other sport, paragliding celebrates competitions in order to prove who the best paragliders of the world are. However, paragliding competitions are quite useful in terms of learning too. This paragliding experience is a different way to improve paraglider pilots’ skills, regardless of they are beginners or advanced paragliders.
Paragliding Competitions — Next Competitive Events (2019)
Take a look at the calendar competition! We have created this list with the following paragliding competitions, together with some hang gliding competitions (just in case you are interested too). Are you ready? Off we go!
Austrian Open 2019 — International Austrian Championship
24 – 26 May 2019 Aflenz, Austria
The flying site of this paragliding competition is located in the north-eastern part of Austria. The elevation of the main take-off area is 1490 metres above sea level. The wind direction is mainly south, but there is also an alternative starting place for north-west wind.
2019 Finnish Open XC League, Round 1
24 – 26 May 2019 Kiikala, Finland
The airfield of Kiikala (ICAO EFIK) is located in the south-western part of Finland, about 100 kilometres west from the capital city of Helsinki. The nearest large town is Salo, which is about 40 kilometres west of this flying site. Kiikala airfield is the home base of the Southern Finland Paragliding Club.
Puchar Północnej Polski
24 – 26 May, 2019Piła, Poland
The starting point is the old military airport of Piła. Its surface is made of asphalt, concrete, and grass. The surroundings are coniferous forests, allotments and the reservoir of the Gwda River.
Canadian Open National Championships
25 May – 01 June 2019 Kamloops, Canada
This paragliding competition takes place in a beautiful open airfield in Kamloops, in south-central British Columbia, Canada.
2019 Korean ACC 2nd Boryeong
25 – 26 May 2019 Boryeong, South Korea
Boryeong, Okmasan take-off is a peak about 530 metres above the sea level. It is situated in the middle-west part of South Korea. The floor of the flat is between 30 and 60 meters above sea level. Although the flying season lasts the whole year, the best season for flying is during the spring (from March to May).
Spring International Cup Krusevo 2019
26 May – 01 June, 2019Krusevo, Macedonia (FYR)
Krushevo is the highest town in the Balkans, situated at an altitude of 1350 metres. It is 159 kilometres from the capital Skopje, 55 kilometres from Bitola, 32 kilometres from Prilep, and just 68 kilometres from the crossing border between Macedonian – Greek “Medzitlia – Niki”.
PrePWC SkyTribe XC 2019
26 May – 01 June 2019 Clopotiva, Romania
Clopotiva is part of the Retezat National Park, one of the most beautiful and highest mountain ranges in Romania. Its highest peak is Peleaga, with an altitude of 2509 meters. This peak can be reached fairly easy if you cross from Pelegii meadow.
V Open El Yelmo XC 2019
29 May – 01 June 2019 El Robledo – Segura de la Sierra, Spain
IV Open XC El Yelmo takes place in El Robledo, Segura de la Sierra (Spain). It is a paragliding distance event where pilots look for the development of XC flight and improving their personal marks.
El Yelmo is located in the heart of Sierra de Segura, framed within the Natural Park including Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas, in the northeastern part of Jaen. This is a mountainous part of Andalusia province — it is very famous for its olives!
Internationale-TIROLER-OPEN-2019
31 May – 02 June 2019 Tirol, Austria
This paragliding competition is organized according to the “Code Sportive” and the Austrian Competition Regulations. In terms of requirements to be elected, we have to mention that only pilots with a valid pilot license, as well as a sport license, are allowed to participate.
These licenses will be checked, but they are not the only requirement. If you want to participate, you better make sure that the glider is licensed and insured against third-party risks. The paragliding helmet and reserve parachute glider are required. Moreover, bear in mind that the anti-doping regulations must be observed!
In terms of accountability, you should know that the organizer and the landowner of the launch and landing paragliding sites are not liable to the pilot or others. This paragliding competition, its transfer, retrieval and Framework Program are at your own risk.
XXXII Valerio Albrizio Trophy
31 May – 02 June 2019 Laveno (VA), Italy
Laveno is located at the north-west part of Italy, on Lake Maggiore. The take-off can be comfortably reached thanks to a modern cableway and it is also the perfect launch site for Hang Gliding competitions. This launch site is used when the wind comes from the south.
Kauno taurė 2019 (LLL varžybos, FAI 2)
01 – 02 June 2019 Čekiškė, Lithuania
Kaunas CUP 2019 FAI2 is an open XC paragliding competition, taking place from 1st to 2nd of June in Šateniai village, Lithuania. Competitors will be towed up with payout winches. Towing will take place on roads around Kaunas District and the headquarter basecamp in Šateniai village.
Šeteniai is a village in Kėdainiai district municipality, located at Lithuania. It is situated 13 kilometres at the north of Kėdainiai, on the left bank of the river Nevėžis. The location is about 143 kilometres north-west of Vilnius. The country is beautiful flatlands covered with woods and forests everywhere.
Ayacucho XC 2019 – Peruvian Championship and Paragliding Open
04 – 09 June 2019 Ayacucho, Peru
Pilots from Peru and from all over the world are invited to participate in the Peruvian Championship and Paragliding Open Competition “AYACUCHO XC 2019” taking place in and around the city of Ayacucho (Peru), located on the eastern slope of the Andes.
Ayacucho is almost a new site for paragliding. The city is located 560 kilometres by road southeast of the city of Lima, the capital of Peru, and it has a height of 2756 metres. It has 150,000 inhabitants.
Danish open 2019
10 – 16 June 2019 Fasterholt, Herning, Denmark
Danish Open 2019 competition is organised with the purpose to determine the Danish Hang gliding Champion this 2019. It takes place in the Fasterholt Hanggliding & Paragliding Centre.
The Fasterholt Hang Gliding & Paragliding Centre is located just outside the small village of Fasterholt, not so far from Herning in central Demark. It is a traditional hang gliding and paragliding club run by and for its members.
Naviter Open 2019
15 – 22 June 2019 Tolmin, Slovenia
The Naviter Open is a CAT 2 competition open to all Sports Class pilots (paragliding pilots flying from EN-A to EN-C wings). This paragliding competition takes place in Tolmin, Slovenia. The event is being supported by Naviter and it is being organised on their behalf by FlyEvent.
Kobala is a famous flying site in Soca river valley, located at Slovenia. With the landing site in Tolmin, it is intended for flying paragliders and hang gliders, for sport flying, XC and FAI competitions, events, and training for paraglider and hang glider pilots.
Polish Paragliding Open Championship 2019
16 – 22 June 2019 Levico Terme, Italy
Polish Paragliding Open Competition 2019 is the Polish national paragliding championship, which means it counts towards the next World Cup selection. Once there, you can count on the hospitality of the local paragliding club.
Levico Terme is located at the southern part of the Alps, right between Trento and Feltre. If you are lucky and you count on good weather conditions, it is quite easy to make flights to Mt. Dolada and back.
Iceland PG Open 2019
19 – 23 June 2019 Arnes, Iceland
Iceland Paragliding Open XC 2019 is a competition for all levels of competitors. The competition is FAI Category 2 Competition. Its main flying site is Burfell, but there are other take-off sites that can be used depending on the weather conditions.
BaWü Open 2019
19 – 23 June 2019 Pfronten, Germany
BaWü Open 2019 is International FAI Category 2 Competition. It is located at Breitenberg, in the Bavarian Alps near Pfronten.
Croatian national XC “ZAGORJE OPEN 2019”
20 – 23 June 2019 Ivanec, Croatia
Official FAI-2 paragliding competition Zagorje Open 2019 is Croatian National competition in cross country paragliding flying. It takes place in Ivanec (Croatia), during the month of June.
British Championship Pedro Bernardo 2019
22 – 28 June 2019 Spain
This paragliding competition takes place at Pedro Bernardo. It is a flying site located in the province of Avila, in Castile and Leon, at central Spain. This flying site offers great thermal conditions during the greatest part of the year. It is known as the Balcony of Tietar for its beautiful panoramic view of the valley and the Montes de Toledo.
It has three different takeoffs facing the south, the east, and the west. The prevailing wind in the valley is southwest direction, and you can fly very well with winds of this component. Several flights of more than 200 kilometres in different directions have made Pedro Bernardo a very popular flying site.
Ozone Chabre Open
29 June – 05 July 2019 Laragne, France
Ozone Chabre Open is a week-long international, stress-free paragliding competition for pilots flying EN-A, B or C wings. Providing a learning environment for experienced XC pilots new to paragliding competitions, the week includes task briefings, as well as a great number of social events.
Laragne is the best known of the local flying sites. A great number of paragliders and many other hang glider pilots have probably heard of Laragne Chabre, but it has been recently that paraglider pilots have discovered how good it is actually.
42º Nacional Ala Delta Zujar Jabalcon
30 June – 06 July 2019 Zujar, Granada, Spain
The 42nd Spanish Hang Gliding National championship will be held this year in Zujar (Granada). It is a place well known by all Spanish Hang Gliders with great conditions for the practice of this sport. It has several launches to all wind directions, high ceilings, no air restrictions, and large landing fields. These conditions make Jabalcon (the mountain in Zujar) one of the best flying sites to practice this sport in Spain.
We are also running the 1st International Hang Gliding Open Zujar-Jabalcon, in which all pilots with FAI license with the necessary coverage in Spain participate regardless of their nationality. You will find all the details of this competition in the local regulations.
Polish Sport Class Cup 2019
30 June – 07 July 2019 Pieve d Alpago, Italy
This will be the second edition of polish sport class paragliders only competition. This event is meant to be a training competition for young polish pilots, but open to other nations too. Pieve d’Alpago is a small town in the province of Belluno, located in the Italian region of Veneto.
This town and its paragliding site are about 80 kilometres from the north of Venice and about 11 kilometres from the north-east of Belluno. It has hosted many international events in the past, including Italian Championship, Polish Championships, Regional Leagues and so on.
BGD Weightless
07 – 13 July 2019 St Jean Montclar, France
The BGD Weightless is a new concept for a paragliding competition. Up to now, flying heavy has always been an advantage. This has resulted in heavy paragliding equipment and ballast for paragliding competitions.
Montclar is the well-known flying site in the Southern Alps, famous due to its generous aerology. Many important competitions, such as the World Championship, French open, or British Opens have taken place here for the last twenty years.
PIEDRAHITA OPEN – PRE-World Cup & FAI 2
14 – 19 July 2019 Piedrahita (Avila), Spain
Piedrahita is a beautiful village located at Avila (Castile and Leon, Spain), about 150 kilometers west of Madrid. It is situated in the northwest tableland, at the base of the north face of the Central Dividing Range and on the northern slope of Sierra de Gredos.
Piedrahita is one of the most reliable paragliding competition venues in the world thanks to its consistent soaring conditions, with high cloud bases and its famous convergence. The main launch is on the Peña Negra Pass, with extraordinary views towards the entire northern tableland, rising to 1909 metres above the sea level and 900 metres above the valley floor.
The central dividing range runs through the central tablelands from southwest to northeast. The dominant winds, which normally come from west to northeast, also allow good ridge and thermodynamic lift when flying the northern side. The flat tablelands in front of the mountains are excellent thermal producers and provide for easy landings and good road systems for quick retrieves.
Also, the southern face of the spectacular high plateau favors flights towards the southern slopes of the Sierra de Gredos. Moreover, if you fly further to the north, you can easily avoid the airspace beyond Avila.
VII Open Internacional Vila d’Ager i Campionat de Catalunya
19 – 24 August 2019 Ager, Spain
It is the 7th edition of the Open Internacional Vila d’Ager. This paragliding competition will take place in Ager, and there will be two main categories in this competition — open (class 1 and class 5) and sport. Ager is a town located in the valley between Sierra de Monsec Mountains and Aiguabarreig Segre-Noguera Pallaresa National Park in Lleida, a province of Spain.
The main take off is Coll D’Ares, which is 1560 metres above sea level. It has a few streamers to show the wind. It is facing the south, nevertheless, it allows taking off with west winds. If there is wind coming from the east, it is slightly in the rotor.
We hope that you have enjoyed this post about the best paragliding competitions! Please, share your opinion — we would love to read your commentaries! Remember that if you want to practice paragliding, there is no other place like Tenerife to enjoy the tandem paragliding experience here with us. If you have any doubt or if you need further information, don’t hesitate to contact us — we will be pleased to help you!
At Overfly Tenerife, we want to fly with you — we want to be your wings.
