The 1st Turkish Aerobatic Paragliding Championships, also part of the Acro Paragliding World Cup series, took place last month in Oludeniz, Turkey. CIVL’s Aerobatics Subcommittee chair, Iris Vogt commented: “Oludeniz is a great place to start the aerobatics season and it is a great competition venue with a lot of altitude." 40 pilots from 15 nations participated, with Hungary’s Pal Takats and Gabor Kezi taking 1st and 2nd places respectively. Felix Rodriguez of Spain came a very close 3rd. 

Iris added: "The overall organisation was good. Many thanks to Mercan Günel and her team for the hospitality and great work they did.” Media exposure was good, with the local TV channel filming the whole event. Pilots, judges, organisers and spectators were interviewed. Highlights of the event also featured daily on the websites: www.acroparaglidingevents.com and www.justacro.com Iris reported that the judging team were kept particularly busy, as there were new rules to respect. “The new table of manoeuvres introduced this year has certainly enhanced spectator interest,” Iris concluded. In addition there were no cuts, so all 40 competitors flew all three rounds. Landings were made on the beach instead of a raft, so ground spirals and low hook turns were banned for safety reasons. Three more FAI Cat 2 sanctioned paragliding aerobatics events are scheduled for this summer. See the calendar for more details.