Welcome to the first newsletter from the FAI World GP Gliding Championships. In the weeks leading up to this exciting world-class event we will bring you the latest news from behind the scenes, profile some of the pilots taking part and give an insight into the astonishing technology that will broadcast the world championships live, over the Internet.

It’s all eye’s on Omarama in New Zealand’s South Island as 20 of gliding’s top pilots from around the world compete for the FAI World GP Gliding championship. Since the first event in the FAI World GP Gliding Series,
also held in Omarama in January 2006, pilots have competed in seven other events in countries around the globe to earn a place in the world finals and the right to compete for the title of world champion.

The six days of intense competition will see high speed aerial battles of strategy, courage and skill as the pilots race head-to-head through the challenging skies above New Zealand’s spectacular Southern Alps. Travelling at speeds of up to 300kph, often just metres above the mountain ridges and hostile terrain, competitors are sometimes just a wing’s breadth apart from each other. Despite the huge distances covered in each race, the finishes can be nail-bitingly close with split second decisions deciding the outcome.

LIVE INTERNET COVERAGE

The FAI World GP Gliding Championships will be seen live by viewers around the world using the latest in TV and internet technologies on www.airsportslive.com. The combined power of these technologies will produce a milestone in TV sports coverage as one of the world’s most sophisticated outside broadcast projects.

The coverage will include real-time 3D graphics to explain complex race strategies. Multiple mini-cams placed in cockpits will ensure the viewer is in the middle of dramatic action. Special stabilised helicopter camera systems will provide dramatic air-to-air coverage while teams of expert sports commentators will cover each race. We’ll keep you posted on more information on this ground-breaking technology over the next few weeks.

PILOT PROFILE - SEBASTIAN KAWA

It’s an interesting time for Sebastian Kawa of Poland. Not only is he currently the world’s top ranked glider pilot but he’s also in the process of undergoing a major career change, swapping the medical world of the obstetrics for the equally demanding life of a commercial airline pilot. Sebastian is a highly talented pilot who has won every European and World Championship he has entered since 2003. With a record like this, he must surely be one of the favourites to take out the GP title but that’s part of the thrill of GP racing - nothing is definite and anything can happen!

Before Sebastian became a pilot, he was a champion sailor. He represented Poland in the European Junior Cup as well as the World Cup in Great Britain - his mother’s proudest moment was when Princess Diana presented him the cup in person. The end of communism in eastern Europe marked the end of Sebastian's sailing career. The yacht club, to which he belonged, was no longer subsidised by the governmental factory sold to FIAT. Sebastian, already a teenager in high school, turned his attention towards flying.

Inevitably as a man of great talent and dedication, Sebastian far surpassed all of his colleagues, winning every junior championship he participated in. In 1997 Sebastian participated in the World Cup in seniors' open class in an ASH 25 glider. Completely inexperienced in flying over the high Alps, he still attained victory in two of the main events: he won the fastest and the longest task and was honored with the Kronfeld Prize. Sebastian's flying activity slowed down as he began studying medicine. Nevertheless, his studies did not affect his top spot in Poland's rankings - two victories in Euroregion Beskidy's Cup as well as setting a new world record in Leszno.

Sebastian is also an excellent skier. He is married and has a beautiful daughter, Aleksandra, who, not surprisingly, is already hanging around planes!

EVENT UPDATES

Keep an eye on the web site and the Race Diary, updated regularly by Sue Wild, chief logistics organiser with her finger on the pulse of preparations in both Omarama and further a field. Visit www.gpgliding.com for more information.