That's a wrap on the 2024 XContest UK season!
Although the weather was often against us, it was a good year with a record number of 406 pilots signed up for XContestUK. This incredible turnout is a testament to the growing popularity of XContestUK and paragliding in the UK.
Distance records were broken on several popular sites, amongst the most notable are:
- Frocester: Adam Kozlowski flew an impressive 252km on the 14th of April, surpassing the previous record of 231km set by Alex Coltman in 2020.
- Milk Hill: Ludek Munzar broke the Milk Hill record on the 21st of June, flying 259km. His flight was cut short by the lack of suitable landing areas near Wells-Next-the-Sea, making it a challenging record to beat.
- Worcester Beacon: Ben Dry and Marek Mogielnicki both broke the Worcester Beacon record on the 26th of July, flying 254km and 266km respectively.
- Woolacombe: Jamie Goodreid and Andy Brown managed to achieve a rare feat on the 5th of June when they went cross country from the coastal site and flew an incredible 173km and 176km respectively.
Open Category champions for season 2024:
1. Adam Kozlowski (696.77 points)
2. Ludek Muznar (684.68 points)
3. Marek Mogielnicki (683.18 points)
Club Category Champions for season 2024:
1. Grupa 303 Polish PG Club in the UK 2218 points (https://grupa303.net/)
2. Malvern Hang Gliding Club 2177 points (http://www.malvern-hang.org.uk/)
3. Avon Hang Gliding & Paragliding 2164 points (http://www.avonhgpg.co.uk/)
Full results: https://www.xcontest.org/2024/united-kingdom/
Congratulations to all participants for their dedication and skill! We can't wait to see what incredible feats are achieved in the 2025 season.
Marcin Egiert
XContestUK
#XContestUK #Paragliding
An interesting day at Worcester Beacon last Saturday! Conditions were tricky and quite a few pilots failed to go over the back. The day was quite unstable but finding good lines wasn't easy with very little sun until about 3pm. Although sometimes hard to identify under almost 100% cover, sucking clouds helped quite a bit. Despite that, the first small gaggle of 5 was up and away at 12pm, led by Benjamin Dry. In the following hour, 20 more climbed out and headed East. Big congratulations to those who covered distance of over 100km, especially Alex Coltman who was only 1.7km short of 200km mark, not a small feat! Huge thanks to Tim Pentreath for compiling the Sportstrack Live 3D!
https://www.sportstracklive.com/en/scene/bfcccd1e-2795-463a-af9f-d8201a491131/
Pictures courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/xcjunkies.org and Tim Pentreath
Sportstracklive compiled by https://www.facebook.com/tim.pentreath
Check out daily UK flights @ https://www.xcontest.org/united-kingdom/flights/daily-score-pg/
Marcin Egiert
XContestUK
#xcontestuk #crosscountryflying
We all saw the bright red 5-star forecast for Wednesday, June 5th, and the anticipation was high! But as the day approached, the wind decided to change direction and strength, creating less-than-ideal conditions for popular XC sites in the southwest.
Despite these challenges, some adventurous pilots started from Frocester at 10am. Turns out it was a rather difficult day with many well-known XC hounds bombing out before reaching the 100km mark.
In the southeast, Devil's Dyke saw a few good flights, with pilots surfing the sea breeze convergence line to Margate. James Chancellor, followed by 5 more pilots, covered 130km in just over 4 hours, landing on the beach!
However, the day's most remarkable achievement came from Jamie Goodreid and Andy Brown. They made history with the first-ever flight from Woolacombe on the North Coast of Devon to Swanage in Dorset! Not only did they have the best flights of the day, but they also broke the Woolacombe site record. Jamie even broke his personal best distance record.
Huge congratulations to Jamie and Andy for their incredible flights and for setting new records! 🎉👏
Pictures courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/JamieGoodreid
Check out daily UK flights @ https://www.xcontest.org/united-kingdom/flights/daily-score-pg/
Marcin Egiert
XContestUK
#xcontestuk #crosscountryflying
In the spring of this year, we have not been blessed with an abundance of good flying days. However, when a day with a reasonable forecast emerges, enthusiasts eagerly gather, ready to take to the skies. Today, the 25th of May, proved to be one of those special days. The weather above the UK was interesting, with high pressure from Scandinavia bringing in cold air from the northeast and low pressure west of Ireland pushing warm, moist air from the Atlantic. This mix made for a good flying day in the southwest of the country, although it was likely to be cut short by high clouds. A SSE wind direction pointed towards Milk Hill/Golden Ball as an optimal takeoff spot. It turned out Golden Ball was a much better choice with a significant east element to the wind direction. The sky looked quite dramatic from the early hours, and everyone was eager to get going. Although initial indications hinted at a potential early start around 11 am, the formation of the most robust thermals was delayed until closer to noon when the first gaggle went over the back. Overall, the day was a little tricky; many pilots landed along the NW route towards Gloucester and Hereford. More than ten made it over the 100 km mark, with Marek Mogielnicki leading the pack and landing at 200 km. Coming back from the depths of the Welsh backcountry must have been an adventure on its own.
Pictures courtesy of Aga Zaborowska & author
Check out daily UK flights @ https://www.xcontest.org/united.../flights/daily-score-pg/
Marcin Egiert
XContestUK
#xcontestuk #crosscountryflying
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