World Pilot Rankings Update - 09/07/01
Following the 2nd World Air Games (WAG), there are some big changes to the paragliding, hang gliding and class 2 rankings.
HANG GLIDING
In addition to WAG, results from the Millau HG Classic have been included and the 1999 South African nationals have been deleted. The WAG results have had a big influence on the WPRS positions. Manfred Ruhmer's (AUT) win takes him to 1st place in the rankings, 13 points ahead of Oleg Bondarchuk (UKR) who drops to 2nd. Robert Reisinger (AUT) moves up to 3rd (from 6th), with Gerolf Heinrichs (AUT) maintaining 4th, ahead of Josef Zweckmayer (AUT) and Gordon Rigg (GB) who are 5th. Mario Alonzi (FRA) drops to 7th (from 5th) and Richard Walbec (FRA) drops to 8th (from 3rd) with Jean-Francois Gerard (FRA) coming into the top 10 in 9th (from 14th) and Andre Wolf (BRA) returning to the top 10 in 10th (from 11th).
Kathleen Rigg's (GBR) 23rd place at the WAG gives her the lead in the female rankings (27th overall) 38 points ahead of Francoise Mocellin (FRA, 41st overall) and Kari Castle (USA, 44th overall). There 639 pilots (41 female, 6.4%) ranked from 39 countries.
CLASS 2
WAG again has brought about some major ranking changes. Brian Porter (USA) maintains his lead, 5 points ahead of Johann Posch (AUT) who moves up from 4th to 2nd. Diego Bussinger (SUI) climbs to 3rd (from 6th) ahead of Toni Raumauf (AUT, 4th from 10th), and Michael Huppert (SUI, 5th from 11th). Steve Elkins (GBR) climbs one place to 6th, whilst Davis Straub (USA) drops from 2nd to 7th. Newcomers to the top 10 are Manfred Trimmel (AUT) who climbs from 25th to 8th and Rene Leiser (SUI) who moves up from 18th to 9th with David Sharp (USA) who was previously 3rd. There are 63 pilots from 10 countries.
PARAGLIDING
In addition to the big influence of the WAG, paragliding sees the addition of the PWC's in Greece and Switzerland, causing 4 newcomers and some major changes to the top 10. Steve Cox's (SUI) 4th place at the WAG takes him into 1st place overall (from 8th) on 306 points, 9 points ahead Christian Tamegger (AUT) and Kaspar Henny (SUI) who are 2nd, and who push Tsuji Tsuyoshi (JPN) down a place to 4th. Jimmy Pacher (ITA) climbs 5 places to 5th, whilst Martin Brunn (AUT) the long time leader of the rankings falls 5 places to 6th. The remaining places go to top 10 newcomers; Joos Achim (GER) leaps from 19th up to 7th, Marc Antoine Arnold (FRA, from 17th) and Angus Tapper (NZL, from 12th) are 8th, and Jean-Marc Caron (FRA) climbs to 10th (from 17th).
Louise Crandal's (DEN) WAG win keeps her in the lead of the female rankings, and she is now ranked 28th overall, 107 points ahead of Andrea Joubert (RSA, 97th overall) with Noriko Mizunuma (JPN, 116th overall) ) in 3rd. There are currently 750 pilots (38 females, 5%) ranked from 39 countries.
There are no changes to the accuracy rankings.
Results not yet received (and therefore not included in WPRS yet) are the Argentinian Open (PG), Belgium PG Open, US PG Nationals, International Swiss PG Championships, Nordic HG Open.
Forthcoming hang gliding competitions (class 1 unless otherwise indicated) that qualify for WPRS points are:
Category 2: Test Europeans, Slovenia; Spanish HG Open; Dutch Open, Laragne, France; International de France (class 1 & 2); Norwegian Open (Class 1& 2); German Open (class 1 & 2); Test Female Worlds, USA; Test class 2 Worlds, USA; UK Open National Championships, St Andre, France (class 1 & 2); Podbrezova HG Cup, Slovakia; Lone Star National Championships, USA (class 1 & 2), Korean Championships;
Forthcoming paragliding competitions that qualify for WPRS points are:
Category 2: Czech/slovak Nationals; Nordic Open , Piedrahita; Greek PG Championships; Test Europeans, Slovenia; British Open, Piedrahita; PWC La Clusaz, France; PWC Castejon, Spain; Canadian PG Championships; Zimbabwe PG Open; Pre PWC Germany; Pre PWc Greece; Norwegian League Final; PWC Kobarid, Slovenia; alpe Adria PG Open; British International, St Andre, France; Cornizzolo, Italy; Mun Gyong Inernational, Korea.
Details of these competitions can be found on the CIVL web page:
http://events.fai.org/hgpg/civl-calendar.asp
Any queries/questions regarding the World Pilot Ranking Scheme should be
sent to Paula Bowyer, e-mail paula@fai.org.
Information and an application form for CIVL category 2 sanctioning are
available on the CIVL website http://www.fai.org/hang_gliding/ or from Paula Bowyer.
Country rankings
In hang gliding country rankings the Austrians, following their domination of the WAG, have taken the lead for the first time, pushing France into 2nd. Great Britain maintains 3rd ahead of Brazil who move up to 4th and Australia maintain 5th. The USA drops 4 places to 6th, Switzerland moves up to 7th, with Spain in 8th (from 13th), Germany 9th (from 7th) and Ukraine maintaining 10th. Major climbers outside the top 10 are Norway and Slovenia.
Switzerland returns to the top of the paragliding country rankings, which have been dominated by Austria (now 4th) and France (now 2nd) for the last year. The following countries all maintain the same positions: Japan (3rd), Germany (5th), South Africa (6th), Denmark (7th) and Italy (9th). Slovakia (now 8th) and GB (now 10th), have changed places. Major climbers outside the top 10 are Mexico, Canada, Sweden and Korea.
Full details of the country rankings (PG and HG) can be found on the World Pilot Ranking System website. Pilots should check that their personal record shows the correct nationality, particularly as there are a number of hang glider and paraglider pilots of unknown nationality.
All amendments should be e-mailed to Paula Bowyer (paula@fai.org)
Full details of the rankings can be found on the FAI/CIVL website at
http://www.fai.org/hang_gliding/rankings/
