Hang Gliding and Paragliding Volume 44 / Issue 12:December 2014 | Page 51
2014
Women's
Hang Gliding World Championships
by
O
ne of the best aspects of women’s hang gliding
competitions is the sense of support and camaraderie shared by female pilots all around the world.
This is the primary reason many girls participate.
The Women’s World Championships in Annecy, France,
this summer was no exception. There are plenty of objections to the fact that a separate women’s championship
exists in the first place; many think it’s sexist or just plain
wrong. I guess I was of the same opinion until I attended
my first women’s worlds in Chelan, Washington, back in
1994. When I experienced the completely different atmosphere and sense of global kinship among women pilots,
I realized that having a separate women’s event was well
worthwhile.
FAI Section 7 and the local regulations of many international competitions start with a purpose statement. It
reads something along the lines of “The purpose of this
event to is to have a fun, safe and satisfying competition and
to encourage friendship among pilots and nations.” Linda
Salamone and I just returned from two weeks of exciting
flying and global friendship in Annecy, thanks to the generous support and donations from the US and international
pilot communities and the Foundation for Free Flight.
For those who haven’t been to Annecy or heard of
the flying there, this area in eastern France is a spectacularly scenic place to fly, with high alpine mountain peaks
overlooking Lake Annecy. Even without the great flying we
had, when one considers the scenery, the hot meet director
with a sexy French accent, and the endless supply of the
best croissants in the world, it would have been a wonderful
time to connect with women pilots from all over the world.
Most tasks for the women’s class consisted of zigging
and zagging between beautiful mountain peaks and across
JA M IE S H E L DE N
Lake Annecy and the city of Annecy. I have to admit there
was quite a pucker factor for me as I negotiated the turnpoints up ridges with teeny landing fields and dodged the
hundreds of paragliders around the launch and start areas,
so it was actually an achievement for me to get through the
competition without scaring myself to death.
Annecy is known for being one of the most popular paragliding sites in Europe and, unfortunately, has a reputation
for being completely overrun with paragliders to the point
where few hang gliders fly there these days. Luckily, the
o