Paragliding isn’t a sport one associates to have a competitive vigour but that is exactly what is expected to happen at the AAI Paragliding World Cup that begins in Bir Billing on October 23.
The first ever World Cup to be hosted by India, will provide a fantastic avenue for the sport and for adventure sports in general to grow a backbone in the country.
Paragliding World Cup — considered as one of the elite events in aero sports — is scheduled multiple times in a year and is hotly contested by pilots across the globe. This year, four World Cups have been held in Baixu Guandu (Brazil), Montalegre (Portugal), Disentis (Switzerland) and Ager, Spain. The World Cup in Bir Billing will be the fifth and last this year.
The World Cups are followed by an annual Super Cup which will be held in January, 2016 in Valle de Bravo, Mexico.
At the ceremony on Monday in the capital, the paragliding community witnessed the birth or hoped for the rise of the sport with the mascot — a Snow leopard — being unveiled. The mascot depicts a snow leopard, Himachal’s state animal, with a paraglider and ready to set sail. Appropriately, the mascot has been named as Mirg.
The trophy too bears resonance with flying with an 18 inch trophy in black and white and embeds bird wings on the top.
Competition format
Over the seven days of competition, a specially designated Task Committee sets a ‘Task’ which the pilots are required to complete. The course decided upon is referred to as the ‘task’ and the task is to fly around the entire course and arrive at the end (the goal) in the fastest time. Points are awarded for various tasks over the period and cumulative points determine the winner.
The task committee and the officials then keep track of the pilots using location based services and the time they are setting to keep a total time of the pilots involved. This helps the organizers in keeping track of the distance, time and the safety needs too - if required.
One of the main reasons behind India getting the World Cup is the infrastructure and medical support available. The organizers have taken the help of nearby army hospitals, air ambulances, three separate teams to attend to pilots and emergency choppers available too if a pilot needs to be airlifted to Chandigarh or Delhi.
Baby steps for India
Bir Billing in Himachal is the hub for paragliding in India. Engulfed in natural beauty of gorgeous flora and fauna, this isn’t the first instance for the town to play host to such an event. Bir Billing, considered as the second ranked aero sports sites in the world, had hosted the pre-World Cup in 2013. With such a scenic background, the next on the agenda for the town and the organizers would be hosting a Super Cup.
“Such events besides helping the sport grow also help the tourism industry in the region and to create jobs for the locals. We had hosted the pre-World Cup in 2013 and now have the chance to host the World Cup. We hope to bid for the super finals in the future,” said Sudhir Sharma, President of the Paragliding Association and Minister of Housing, Urban Development and Town & Country Planning, Himachal Pradesh.
This town saw the advent of aero sports with handgliding in 1984 and hasn’t looked back. Referred to as a “Paradise for Paragliders”, BPA hopes to add more tournaments in the future to its repertoire with national events.
To add to its serenity, Bir is also home to a large Tibetan population and has Buddhist monasteries and a large stupa and the area is also well known for Mcleodganj and Dharamshala.