Gliding Competitions - Present Day

Present Day

Modern gliding competitions now comprise closed tasks where everyone races on an aerial route around specified turn-points, plus start and finish points, that brings everybody back to base. The weather forecast and the performance of the gliders, as well as the experience level of the pilots, dictate the length of the task. Today, most of the points are speed points. Nowadays, the rule is to set the task so that all pilots have a fair chance of completing it.

With the advent of GPS, new types of tasks were introduced such as speed or distance tasks within assigned areas, and speed or distance tasks with pilot-selected turn-points. Despite the use of pilot-selected turn-points made possible by GPS, tasks over a fixed course are still used frequently. In the European Gliding Championships in 2005, a task of 1,011 km was set in the open class; the longest task in an international competition.

The FAI Sporting Code for gliders sets out the rules and procedures to be used to verify soaring performances in competitions and badge flights. The main objective of these rules is to ensure that a consistent level of proof is achieved for all flights.