The 12th FAI Women's World Gliding Championship 2023

Compiled by Willie Bodenstein

23.07.2023





Garray Airfield in the town of Soria in Spain was from 1 July to 14 July 2023 a rather busy airfield when 45 female glider pilots from 15 countries competed in the 12th FAI Women's World Gliding Championship.

Three classes were to be contested, namely Club, Standard and 18 Metres.

The airport is situated at the head of the Iberian Mountain. The convergence of the Central range, Albarracin range and Montes Universales ranges creates the ideal conditions for the sport of soaring. These conditions guaranteed long distance flying for the majority of competition days.









In total 14 flying days were planned. In only two no tasks were allocated because of weather conditions.





The task for the day were based on the predicted soaring and weather conditions of the day and is made up of a combination of a minimum time in the air (between 2 and 5 hours) coupled with a collection of locations (turn points) which must be overflown (within a specified radius). Some turn points may be mandatory, others may be optional, or a combination of both.

Launching all the gliders usually took an hour. Once all gliders in a class are launched and have had time to get into a position to start, the launch director will announce that the "start gate is open" via radio.

This means that pilots can begin flying their assigned task and can start immediately, or might delay their start for tactical or weather-related reasons. The pilot must announce his start time via radio. Each pilot will then attempt to fly the task as quickly as possible.

Daily Tasks and Results



Podium Finishers







SA 15 metre, club and 2-seater Nationals, Potchefstroom 2022
SSSA
Events 2023
Gliding







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