Mairie de Laragne-Montéglin
The town of Laragne warmly welcomes the World Hang Gliding Championships in 2008 and 2009. The town is delighted to make available the centrally located Salle des Fêtes for the duration of the competitions for use as Headquarters for the organisation.
Financial, logistical and technical support is also being provided to ensure the success of both events.
The Communauté de Communes du Canton de Ribiers Val de Méouge
The Montagne de Chabre is located in this district, dominating the villages of Ribiers, Chateauneuf de Chabre and Barret sur Méouge. The beautiful valley de Méouge runs along the south side of the mountain.
The district welcomes the World Hang Gliding Championships, and is providing considerable logistical and financial support.
Département des Hautes-Alpes
Located in the Alps of south east France, Hautes Alpes is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution in 1790. Noted as having the highest prefecture (Gap) and subprefecture (Briançon) in France, the average elevation is more than 1000m, and the highest elevation is more than 4000m.
Tourism is the largest industry, based on skiing in winter, and a wide variety of outdoor activities including canoeing, sailing, rambling, cycling, climbing and aerial sports such as gliding, hang gliding and paragliding.
Région Provence Alpes Côtes d’Azur
This beautiful region comprises the six sunniest departments of south east France. It includes the Côte d'Azur tourist centre on the Mediterranean, and Provence, which was an independent kingdom in the 10th century. Provence still has its own traditional language, Provençal. The region is mountainous but its river valleys are fertile. It includes the Southern Alps, the French Riviera, the salt marsh and lagoon area of the Camargue, the Rhöne River and delta and the urban area of Marseille. Tourism and high technology represent two of the region’s most important industries.
Tourist Office
Based in the heart of Laragne town, the Tourist Office is open 6 days a week, all year round. It provides a warm welcome to visitors, with plenty of information on hand on accommodation in Laragne and the surrounding villages. Up to date information is also available on all the facilities the town has to offer, a calendar of events in the area, and brochures on places of interest, historic sites, amazing view points and themed tours of the region. Plus, discover the wide range of sports activities on offer, including water sports, mountain biking, cycle touring, walking, horse riding, climbing and, of course, free flying. Office du Tourisme
Pays Sisteronais-Buech
Formed specifically to promote the countryside stretching across 86 villages in three departments and two regions, this organisation is keen to develop the tourism potential of the area. Sparsely populated, this beautiful district includes lavender-clad hillsides and bubbling river valleys, including the renowned Gorges de Méouge. Hosting a range of tourism and sporting activities, the Pays Sisteronais-Buech welcomes the FAI World Hang Gliding Championships, and the efforts of Chabre 2009 to help create a long-lasting legacy of free flying over this idyllic terrain.
Fédération Française de Vol Libre (FFVL)
Created in 1974, the FFVL coordinates the activities of clubs and schools in France which are targetted at free flying, in all its forms: hang gliding, paragliding, kites and kite-surfing.
Its main objectives are:
- To coordinate and encourage the take up of free flying
- To maintain training and teaching standards
- To continually improve all safety aspects
- To develop the rules and regulations of sporting events
- To support and coordinate the club activities
- To represent France’s free flying interests on the world stage
Ligue de Vol Libre - PACA
At the regional level, the Provence Alpes Côtes d’Azur (PACA) free flying league of the FFVL, is closely involved with the local clubs and schools and helps encourage free flying. It also helps manage the take-off and official landing sites in the area, and encourages and supports events, especially competitions.
Quo Vadis
Run by world-class gliding pilot, Klaus Ohlmann, Quo Vadis is a gliding school and flying center focused on performance flights, offering tuition at all levels, guided flights and also tourist flights. Located just north of Serres, the center lies between the Hang Gliding sites of Laragne-Chabre and La Longeagne-Aspres sur Buech.
Quo Vadis offers as a competition prize, an exceptional flight above the Alps with Klaus.
Delta Sud
Run by experienced senior instructor, Bernard Kurtz, and based at Laragne, Delta Sud provides Hang gliding coaching and training courses designed for improvers, qualified pilots wanting to make their first cross country or out-landing. Typically flying at Laragne-Chabre or Aspres-sur-Buech, the courses include expert tuition, coaching, transport and retrieve. Contact Bernard Kurtz
Chabre Vol Libre
President : David Owen
The club was formed in 2004 with the primary aim of organising paragliding and hang gliding competitions at Laragne-Chabre and the surrounding area. The Ozone Chabre Open is now a firm, and very popular annual fixture on the paragliding calendar. It is an international friendly competition, welcoming 120 pilots, to fly cross country in a less stressful environment, with plenty of support from experts and a full social programme. Chabre Vol Libre has also started running ‘B competitions’ as part of the FFVL national league.
Avolia
President : Stéphane Varetto
Avolia was originally formed in 1975, one of the first clubs in the department to encourage and promote hang gliding. It expanded to cover paragliding in the late 1980s. The club headquarters moved from Gap to Laragne in 2005. Organiser of the French national HG championships at Laragne-Chabre in 2006, Avolia has since been instrumental in finding a new home for the FFVL’s hang gliding museum.