PG OPEN 2017 WILL BE IN ROTORUA

In 2017 there will be only one round of the PG Open (the National Championship).

The successful bid was from the Auckland Club, and the event will be held in Rotorua, Sunday 26th Feb - Sunday 5th March 2017.

The most likely sites will be the Paeroas and Kaimais ranges.

The competition director will be Xen Zambas, and the main organiser will be Graham Surrey.

The PCC would like to thank Xen, Graham and others for volunteering to run this event for us.

Details will soon follow, particularly regarding registration.

WE HAVE A NEW LEADER

Updated National Paragliding Ladder.

You can download the latest version of the New Zealand paragliding ladder here.

It has been updated to include the six valid tasks from the PG Open (Round 1) that was held in Manilla.

Reuben Muir has overtaken Grant Middendorf at the top of the table and Jeff Ripley has climbed into third place.

Glen Stevens, Louis Tapper and Roy Tingay have all entered the Top Ten at the expense of Derek Divers, Mark Hardman and Eva Keim.

Joe Ward has appeared on the table - straight into 11th place!

Glen Stevens has scored the most ladder points (375) so far this season, while Nick Neynens is the biggest climber, moving up 28 places to number 15.

There are now 93 pilots on the ladder, and 52 of them have 277 points or less, so are facing the chop between seasons.

There are two competitions still scheduled this season that will affect this ladder.

• PG Open (Round 2) in Nelson
• Regional Competition in Auckland

PERSONAL BEST TROPHY - READY TO BE WON

Those wonderful competition organisers down in Nelson! Not only are they busy organising round two of the PG Open but they have also created a new trophy and gifted this to the national competition scene.

The "Personal Best Trophy" will be won by the pilot who best exceeds their personal best open distance flight during the competition.

You can win the trophy at the PG Open in Nelson.

Here is a picture of the trophy and the formal rules are pasted below.


4.8.11 Personal Best Trophy The Personal Best Trophy is particularly aimed at beginner and intermediate level pilots to encourage fun, skill improvement and increased participation in New Zealand Paraglider Flight Competitions.

The PB Trophy is open to NZ pilots that participate in the current annual New Zealand Paragliding Open and fly a Personal Best Open distance.

“Open distance” in NZ is as specified in section 6.6.1 of the rules. Open Distance is the measurement used for Personal Best, regardless of the task type flown in the competition.

A pilot must fly a minimum of 20 kilometres (“Open Distance”) in the current Competition in New Zealand in order to qualify for the PB Trophy.

Their best competition open distance flight will be measured and compared, in percentage terms, to their previous registered career personal best distance (as stipulated at Competition registration, though this figure may subsequently be verified).

In the event that the 20 kilometre Open Distance requirement is not triggered during the competition then the trophy will not be awarded for that given year.

The pilot with the highest open distance increase, over and above their previous registered Personal Best, in percentage terms, as per the PB Rules, will be awarded the PB Trophy.

The PB Trophy will be awarded at the completion of the Competition and will display the winners name and distance flown.