CIVL Long Term Plan

(photo: Austrian advertising)In 1994, CIVL published what it called its Long Term Plan.

It analyzed the general purposes and aims of its organisation and regulations, and more precisely those of:

• Competitions & Championships
• Badges, Records & Flight Verification
• Information & Communications
• Safety & Training
• Funding & Finances
• Air Space and governmental regulation
• Membership development.

In 2001, the CIVL Plenary defined again what CIVL goals should be. It said:

Overall goal
To enhance and ensure popularity, longevity and safety of the sport, by:

Airworthiness and safety

1. To improve safety in free flying and competitions
2. Focus on safety and training
3. Liaison and co-operation with testing organisations (DHV, SHV, BHPA, FFVL, etc) in particular monitoring safety standards for build.
4. Continue with safety and training committee
5. Promote CIVL safety and training abilities
6. Promote consolidation of countries training programmes to align with Safe and Para Pro standards
7. Safety and training programmes for new countries

Competitions

8. Development of the sport (e.g. continental championships)
9. Promotion of sport to the media
10. To reduce the pilot entry fee at Category 1 events
11. Improve the format of our competitions in order to better achieve the determination of World Champion.
12. To have all gliders in Category 1 competitions certified.
13. WPRS to become a ranking system that is accepted by the majority and is of such a nature that any interested party can use the ranking scheme for pilot and team selection in category 1 competitions
14. Include other disciplines in flying sports at World Championships and World Air Games
15. Continually assess World Air Games for validity in terms of promotion and status (set CIVL level of compromise)

Organisational

16. Meetings to be open and democratic process with time for debate on all proposals
17. Become more professional in organisation and running of events

Those goals were supposed to be formally included in the Long Term Plan. It was never done.
CIVL regulation still refers to its Long Term Plan. There is no doubt that this Plan must be updated.

The original 1994 CIVL Long Term Plan can be downloaded by clicking on the link below.

CIVL Presidents

(photo : Malbos/CIVL - Olivier Burghelle and Flip Koetsier)

Getting Organized

(photo: Vol Libre)

At World level the question was: should our sport be served by existing soaring (sailplane) organisations, including the FAI’s Commission International du Vol à Voile (CIVV) or was it different enough to need its own infrastructure?

The initiative was taken by Ann Welch (UK), who was Chairman of the Rules and Classes sub-committee of CIVV. In June 1974 she circulated a questionnaire via FAI to all National Aero Clubs asking questions about hang gliding and, specifically, if it should have its own commission within the FAI. The response was positive for hang gliding, approved by FAI and everything set in motion for an inaugural meeting to prepare for a Commission Internationale de Vol Libre to be held directly after the big international competition at Kössen in March 1975.

Now the wild young sport, the ‘surfing of the sky’, as the press of the time called it was well on the way to finding a home within the FAI. Now it could organise itself in a way which could serve its own growing needs: claims for flight achievements accurately monitored and recorded; safety and training ideas exchanged between people who really understand the problems and challenges; true World Championships organised.

Ann Welch presided over that first meeting in Austria and the Commission took shape. Three months later, on 26/27 June 1975 the first Annual Meeting of CIVL was held in Paris, with Ann again presiding and Dan Poynter as Secretary. Thirteen countries were represented. Towards the end of the meeting Dan Poynter became the first elected President and Ann, in recognition of her being ‘the first, if not the only, instigator of the Commission’, was made President of Honour, a post she was to hold for the remainder of her life, almost 30 years.

How it works

(photo: Malbos/CIVL)

Aeronautical sports in most countries are members of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Membership is normally through the NAC (National Airsport Control, also referred as National Aero Club), which has sometimes proved a problem for hang glider pilots in countries where the NAC has refused to take hang gliding and paragliding seriously.

The FAI has a number of Commissions, each having responsibility for its own speciality – aerobatics, ballooning, gliding, air rallying etc. Hang gliding and paragliding make up the Commission Internationale de Vol Libre (CIVL), translated as ‘FAI Hang Gliding and Paragliding Commission’. Considering the scale of its international responsibility, CIVL’s budget is small. It is funded by sanction fees from competitions.

The Plenary meets once every year. It decides which rules will apply for safety and for the conduct of competitions, badge flights and record attempts. It also decides where future Championships will be held. Finally, it elects the Bureau. Each member country of CIVL has one vote.

Between annual meetings, CIVL is run by the Bureau, which consists of the President, four Vice Presidents, the Treasurer and the Secretary.

It can be said that the Plenary is the Parliament of CIVL and the Bureau its elected Government.

The Bureau is helped by various Subcommittees and Working Groups, covering all aspect of our sport: Safety and training; Hang gliding; Paragliding; Paragliding accuracy; Aerobatic; Flight verification, records, badges and awards; Scoring, ranking, and CIVL softwares, Environmental affairs, Sporting code, Jury and steward…

The Bureau

CIVL is run on a daily basis by the Bureau, which consists of the President, four Vice Presidents, the Treasurer and the Secretary. The secretary and the treasurer don’t have to be delegates to be elected.

It can be said that the Bureau is the CIVL elected Government.

The Plenary Meeting may delegate to the Bureau certain responsibilities. These shall be precisely defined by the Plenary Meeting and the decisions will be taken by majority agreement of Bureau members, except that, where the vote is equally divided, the President shall cast the deciding vote. Matters with a perspective beyond the next Plenary meeting shall be subject to subsequent ratification by the Plenary Meeting and may be modified or repealed by CIVL.

The Bureau is helped by various Subcommittees and Working Groups, covering all aspects of our sport.

The Bureau meets twice a year: once just before the Plenary, once at mid-term, in October or November. It doesn't mean that Bureau members meet only twice a year. In fact, they are in constant email and telephone contact throughout the year.

Flip Koetsier (Netherlands), President
Contact Flip Koetsier
Flip started flying hang gliders in 1977. He was a hang gliding instructor and competition pilot in the 80's but now prefers to fly only for recreation. Since 1987 he has been meet director and organiser of the Dutch hang gliding championships. He was for a long time the President of the Dutch hang gliding federation. He is also the team leader of the Dutch hang gliding team. Flip has been Dutch delegate at CIVL since 1993, and CIVL President since 2005. Flip has also been hang gliding meet director at the WAG in Turkey in 1997, CIVL steward and occasionally jury member.

John Aldridge (UK), Vice-president
Contact John Aldridge
John has been flying hang gliders since 1984 and also took up paragliding at the start of the new millennium. He has flown in many countries and competed for some years but his flying is now strictly recreational. He has organised and run British national hang gliding competitions since 1995 and serves on the BHPA's executive board. He is the UK delegate and was elected Vice President of CIVL at the 2002 Plenary meeting; he is also head of the Section 7 Subcommittee and the CIVL representative on CASI. He has been steward or a jury member at several CIVL sanctioned events. He is also a council member of the UK’s NAC, the Royal Aero Club..

Agust Gudmundsson (Iceland), Vice-president
Contact Agust Gudmundsson
Agúst has been flying hang gliders since 1986. In 2001 he started paragliding and has been flying both hang and paragliders in recent years. He also has a PPL licence since 1995. In 2003 he built a Skyranger ultralight and has been flying ultralights since then together with all other flying. For the last 15 years he has been organizing and running HG and PG competitions most of which have been FAI Cat2 competitions and also acting as an instructor. Agúst has 4 children, and most of the family are also flying paragliders (wife, two sons and his son's girlfriend). He has been working as a manager of a software house since 1981. Since 1997 Agúst has attended CIVL plenary meetings and in Guatemala 2005 he was elected as a Vice President. Agúst is also acting as a vice president of the Icelandic NAC.

Scott Torkelsen (Denmark), Vice-president
Contact Scott Torkelsen
Scott has been flying paragliders since 1987 including World, European and World Cup as well as National championships. He is still a very active pilot, however he only competes in National championships now. Has been a board member of the Danish NAC since 1995 as well as previous President of the Danish hang gliding and paragliding association (DHPU). He is still a delegate for CIVL and EHPU. He has maintained a full time chiropractic practice since 1987 and is an active lecturer throughout Europe on skeletal injury, biomechanics and rehabilitation to both humans and animals. He was first elected as a CIVL Vice President in 2004.

Leonard Grigorescu (Romania), Vice-president
Contact Leonard Grigorescu
Leonard started paragliding in 1993. In 1995 he was awarded his Instructor licence, and has been involved in teaching the sport ever since. In Romania, he is currently the Secretary of the Romanian Free Flying Association and organiser of Paragliding Instructor and Tandem Pilot courses at a national level. He has been Meet Director for several Romanian Open championships and a number of other FAI Cat 2 PG events. Leonard has also served as FAI Steward and Jury Member for many Cat 1 PG events. As the Romanian CIVL Delegate since 2000, Leonard has served as CIVL Bureau Vice President, Secretary, Jury & Steward database Co-ordinator and Chairman of the PG Subcommittee.

Louise Joselyn (UK), Secretary.
Contact Louise Joselyn
Louise learned to paraglide in 1995 in the UK, and since moving to France (near Laragne) in 2000, has vastly increased her airtime, predominantly flying cross-country. However, in the UK she flew Paragliding Accuracy competitions for several years, was Team Manager for the UK at the first World Championships in 2000 in the UK, and flew for the UK team in the 2003 and 2005 World Championships. She was Chairman of the CIVL Paragliding Accuracy Subcommittee from 2003 to 2008, helping organise Cat 2 competitions, and establishing a Judging training programme. In Laragne, she is a founder member of Chabre Vol Libre runs the annual 'Ozone Chabre Open' friendly paragliding cross-country competition, and is involved in the organisation of the 2009 World Hang Gliding Championships (Class 1).

Wayne Sayer (USA), CIVL Treasurer
Wayne began flying hang gliders in 1977, and dabbled in competitions from the early 90’s. He assisted as an instructor in a series of cross-country hang gliding clinics in Europe for 5 years, during which time he combined his love of travel with flying to reach many destinations around the world. However, the ease of traveling with a paraglider was too much to resist and he now flies them almost exclusively.

Originally based in the eastern US, after spending several years traveling in a small RV he has settled in California’s Owens Valley. He also holds a PPL, and flies a weight-shift microlight.

Paula Sayer(UK), CIVL coordinator
Contact Paula Sayer
Paula is not formally a member of the Bureau, but she is involved in every aspect of its work. She has been employed part time by CIVL since 2001 as one of the main points of contact for pilot queries as well as dealing with the sanctioning of competitions and the World Pilot Ranking Scheme. She has flown hang gliders since 1991 and has competed in National and World championships. She has flown an Atos since 2003 but following a move to the Owens Valley in the USA, she has taken up paragliding, and flies regularly amongst the 14,000ft peaks. She has been a steward at several meets, in the USA, Austria and Slovenia and will be steward at the HG Europeans and the Serbian PG Europeans in 2007 and 2008.

(photos: Malbos/CIVL)

The Delegates

(photo : Malbos/CIVL - The delegates in Panajachel, Guatemala, 2005)

The lists of Officials, Delegates and Alternate Delegates to CIVL, the FAI Hang Gliding and Paragliding Commission can be consulted here.

If you are looking for a list of FAI Member Organisations, you should go to http://www.fai.org/fai_members/.

Subcommittees, Working Groups and Technical Officers

Subcommittees, Working Groups and Technical Officers
Elected or appointed, and mostly volunteers, these CIVL workers aim to solve the many problems that arise daily, throughout the year. In the longer term, their aim is to look to future development, to suggest and make improvements in each discipline. They always operate in accordance with the purposes and aims set forth in the CIVL Long Term Plan.

(photo : Malbos/CIVL)

Subcommittees are set up by CIVL. They have specific terms of reference (TOR) for their work and responsibilities. These TOR are approved by the CIVL Plenary.
Current Subcommittees are: Safety & Training; Sporting Code; Hang gliding competitions; Paragliding competitions; Paragliding accuracy competitions; Aerobatic competitions; Records & badges.

Working Groups are established temporarily by CIVL. They study and report on specific matters or proposals. Working Groups are disbanded upon completion of their assigned task.
Current Working groups are: Software (including scoring, WPRS and flight verification); World Air Games; and World On Line Contest (WXC).

Technical Officers are appointed by the Bureau to take care of special tasks or solve specific problems.
Current Technical Officers are: CIVL Coordination, Jury and Steward Coordination.

Technical Officers and chairmen of subcommittees and working groups report regularly to the CIVL President.
Chairmen of subcommittees and working groups produce a written report on work completed and work ongoing twice a year, once for the Plenary and once for the mid-term Bureau meeting.

Meetings

(photo : Malbos/CIVL - in Guatemala, 2005)

The Plenary meeting is CIVL's governing body. He is the policy and decision making body, the authority for any procedures or actions…
Between annual meetings, CIVL is run by the Bureau, elected by the Plenary every year…

THE PLENARY

According to CIVL internal rules, the Plenary meeting is CIVL's governing body. It is the policy and decision making body. The authority for any procedures or actions may only come from the Plenary Meeting.
The Plenary meets once every year. It decides which rules will apply for safety and for the conduct of competitions, badge flights and record attempts. It also decides where future Championships will be held. It finally elects the Bureau. Each member country of CIVL has one vote.

THE BUREAU

Between annual meetings, CIVL is run by the Bureau.
The Bureau is elected by the Plenary every year. It has the following members: the President, 4 vice-presidents, the secretary and the treasurer. The secretary and the treasurer don’t have to be delegates to be elected.
The Plenary Meeting may delegate to the Bureau certain responsibilities. These shall be precisely defined by the Plenary Meeting and the decisions will be taken by majority agreement of Bureau members, except that, where the vote is equally divided, the President shall cast the deciding vote. Matters with a perspective beyond the next Plenary meeting shall be subject to subsequent ratification by the Plenary Meeting and may be modified or repealed by CIVL.

The Bureau is helped by various Standing Subcommittees and Working Groups, covering all aspect of our sport.

It can be said that the Plenary is the Parliament of CIVL and the Bureau its elected Government.