World rankings for hang glider and paraglider pilots

We are proud to announce that the CIVL World Pilot Ranking Scheme is now active for class 1, hang glider pilots and class 3, paraglider pilots.

The rankings and list of category 1 and 2 competitions can be found on the FAI/CIVL website at http://www.fai.org/hang_gliding/rankings/.

The ranking scheme for classes 2 and 4 is ready and will become active as soon as we receive results from FAI sanctioned competitions.

Pilots accrue ranking points by competing in any FAI-sanctioned competitions. Category 1 competitions have a coefficient value of 1 and category 2 a coefficient value of two thirds (0.66). The scoring is based on competitions over the previous 18 months (competitions over this time scale are automatically dropped). The rankings will be updated on a regular basis and will become a useful tool for many Associations and pilots for selection purposes and for those seeking sponsorship, etc.

The first publication of the rankings includes the following 1997/8 competitions:

Hang gliding:
World Championships, World Air Games , Pre-World Championships, WHGS (Greece and France), Alpen Open, Australian National HG Championships, British Hang Gliding League Open, East Coast Challenge (USA), Sandia Classic (USA), US Nationals 97, King Mountain Open (USA).

Paragliding:
World Championships, World Air Games, British Open 97, PWC 97 (China, Italy, France, Spain, Slovenia), PWC '98 Australia, Swedish Open 97, US Paragliding Nationals.

These are all the competitions for which FAI sanction was correctly sought.

For 1998, all Category 1 events (e.g. European Championships) will automatically qualify. Category 2 events are other open international competitions which have been notified for inclusion in the FAI Sporting Calendar and for which the sanction fee has been paid. The sanction fee is not high - simply the equivalent to one pilot's entry fee for the relevant competition. Organizers are reminded to ensure that their events are included at the earliest opportunity so that pilots can plan their competition year. Already the PWC, WHGS and many open competitions have qualified, so those results will automatically to go forward to the CIVL Pilot Ranking Scheme.

For further details on the ranking scheme or how to apply for FAI category 2 sanctioning, contact Sarah Fenwick, CIVL PR co-ordinator e-mail civl@ukonline.co.uk or tel/fax +44 1983 523003 (or from 25/4/98 to 4/6/98 tel/fax +44 1248 681755).

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