The 14th FAI Women’s World Hang Gliding Championships that was to have been held in Brazil in August has been cancelled due to lack of pilots.
CIVL President Stephane Malbos explained in an email: “Unfortunately, due to a non-sufficient number of women participants, the 14th FAI Women’s World Hang Gliding Class 1 Championship in Brasilia (Brazil) that was to take part from August 6 to 19, 2017, is cancelled.
“As per the event local regulations, the women with allocated spots are allowed to compete with the men and will be scored according to their national team selection.”
CIVL is the hang gliding and paragliding commission of the FAI, the World Air Sports Federation.
The Women’s competition was due to have taken place alongside the 21st FAI World Hang Gliding Championships, which takes place 6-19 August 2017. The women who are lined up to to go to Brazil will now fly as part of the overall competition.
In hang gliding, separate men’s and women’s competitions are often run at the same time in the same place. Pilots might launch from the same spot and use the same infrastructure, but they will fly separate tasks and be scored separately.
The cancellation does not come as a surprise as only four pilots from two countries had registered to fly in the Women’s Hang Gliding World Championship in Brazil.
As reported on the Oz Report on 13 May, only three Japanese pilots and one British pilot had registered. The competition needed eight pilots to be valid.
Back then the Oz Report’s Davis Straub wrote: “Instead of seven pilots from five countries, which is what they thought that they had yesterday … they actually have four pilots (three from Japan) and two countries represented.”
CIVL President Stephan Malbos added: “CIVL will be now be proactive and try to find another time and venue for a Women’s World Championship.”
