24 nations sign up for Hang Gliding Pre-Worlds

Laragne is going to be a popular venue for hang glider pilots this summer! Registration for the 2008 Chabre Hang Gliding Pre-Worlds is now complete, with 120 pilots signed up from 24 countries. An amazing 200+ pilots registered for this competition and it may well be the highest scoring comp of 2008!
Pilots are coming from as far away as Australia, Argentina, Mexico, the USA and Canada. Europe has a strong presence, and all the leading Hang Gliding nations will be represented, including Austria, Germany, Italy, France and the current world championship team, the UK. World champion Attila Bertok of Hungary will be here, no doubt eager to get to know the area and prepare for the defence of his title in 2009.
Our pioneering priority team registration process, proved to be even more popular than we anticipated, as 25 nations signed up, fortunately, not all of them registered the maximum of five pilots! But still there were less than 30 places left to fill from the 100 pilots registering in the first hour of open registration on December 20th. The waiting list still stands at more than 80.
The 2009 Worlds will be the first held in Europe for 8 years, and the interest shown in the 2008 Chabre Pre-worlds, demonstrates that careful consideration will have to be given to team size for next year. Some team leaders expressed disappointment that for 2008, team size was limited to five. For next year, they are going to have to get used to the idea that initial time size is likely to be just four pilots!
The Women’s Worlds championships takes place in Italy in 2008, so teams for the 2009 worlds will be picked from a nation’s best pilots irrespective of sex; unlike the paragliding worlds where places are reserved for women. This does not mean women cannot enter the 2009 World Championships, just that they have to be selected as part of their national team. For the 2008 pre-worlds, three women have registered, from the Netherlands and Russia, and a fourth (French) is close to the top of the waiting list.
Meanwhile, at least three other FAI Cat 2 Hang Gliding competitions are scheduled to take place at Laragne during July and August. National teams are keen to get the maximum air time in the skies around Laragne prior to the 2009 World Championship. Check the calendar for more details.

Presidential summit
Following the announcement that France has been awarded the FAI World Hang Gliding Championships in 2009, the Organiser Agreement was signed on 7 April on the Montagne de Chabre. It was a veritable Presidential Summit with the president of CIVL, Flip Koetsier, the president of the Féderation Française de Vol Libre (FFVL), Jean-Claude Benintende, together with the presidents of the organising clubs, David Owen (Chabre Vol Libre) and Réné-Pierre Gillain (Avolia).
The occasion was hosted by local, departmental and regional authorities who are extremely keen to ensure the competition is a great success, assuring the organisers that they will be providing some considerable support for the event. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Flip Koetsier commented on his special relationship with the Montagne de Chabre. He loves it because, in his view, it is one of the best hang gliding sites in Europe, with excellent tasks to be flown and many happy pilots. The only downside is that, as meet director or FAI official, he has spent many, many hours in the blazing heat being buzzed by insects. To the delight of the locals, his speech was delivered in excellent French!
Jean-Claude Benintende welcomed the opportunity to enhance France’s international reputation for hang gliding, and that of Laragne-Chabre in particular, emphasising the FFVL’s full support for the organising team. The FFVL also aims to take good advantage of the event to promote ‘vol libre’ to the young people of France and elsewhere.
The mayor of Laragne, Mme Henriette Martinez, thanked the organising clubs for taking the initiative to launch the bid, something the council had aspired to since running the European Championships in 1994, but had, until now, lacked the confidence and expertise to attempt.

As eloquent as ever, Auguste Truphème, president of the Conseil Général des Hautes-Alpes, and long time supporter of hang gliding and paragliding in Laragne, expressed his confidence in the organisers. Chabre Vol Libre and Avolia who have both, over the last few years, demonstrated their competence in running successful, international hang gliding and paragliding competitions.

Team Rego Opens

Team Registration for the Pre-Worlds opened on the 20th October with a rush of entries, well a couple, and even a few payments notably from the USA who registered first and paid first!
As at the end of October 8 countries have submitted teams of 5 pilots though as yet not all have named their team members – this will have to be done before the opening of general registration on 20th December.
Team entries so far have been received from: U.S.A., Holland, Sweden, France, Russia, Ireland, Guatemala and Hungary.
With places limited to 120 pilots and the event being the first Hang Gliding Worlds and Pre-Worlds in Europe for many years we expect the competition to be over subscribed so it’s worth getting team entries in early to guarantee a place for your national team.
Team members do not need to be named at this stage (though this is preferable) and teams can be made up of up to 5 pilots. Pilots must be named and paid for before general registration opens on 20th December

Organisers welcome Safety Director
The organisers of the 17th FAI World Hang Gliding Championship, 2009 are delighted to announce the appointment of Ali Gali as Safety Director. He takes up this crucial role immediately, and is already a key member of the competition committee working on the Pre-Worlds event in 2008.
Ali Gali is a senior hang gliding and paragliding instructor, and knows the Laragne-Chabre area extremely well, having spent many happy years flying hang gliders here. He was a member of the French team for the World Championship in 1993, and is a former French champion in 1987 and 1994. He currently lives in Morzine, and was Meet Director for the FAI European Paragliding Championship, 2006, and worked closely with the Safety Committee. He speaks excellent English (and his French is pretty good too!).

Eyes right! Montagne de Chabre!
In celebration of the coming of the 17th FAI World Hang Gliding Championships to Laragne in 2009, and the pre-Worlds in 2008, the local council have designed and installed two roads-side display panels. Tactically placed beside the N75 (D1075) at the entrance to Laragne from the north, and at Chateauneuf de Chabre at the start of the Gorges du Meouge close to the Montagne de Chabre access these panels encourage passing traffic to glance up to the mountain of Chabre which dominates the town, and which will host many hang gliding and paragliding competitions in the years to come, not least the World Hang Gliding Championships in 2009.
Unveiling the panels are several local Mayors and representatives of the local communities, together with Christian Seard, vice President of the local county, as well as David Owen Event Director of the forthcoming Pre-Worlds in 2008 and World Championships in 2009.