Top Gliding Line-Up 
The line-up of elite pilots competing for the prestigious title of World GP Gliding Champion has now been confirmed. There will be nineteen pilots hailing from 11 different countries, including Sebastian Kawa (POL) the current number one on the International Gliding Commission (IGC) ranking. Each has earned his place competing in the FAI World GP Gliding Series around the world over the last two years.

Representing the gliding elite, many of the pilots have held national and international titles including Michael Sommer from Germany, current title holder of the Open Class World Gliding Championship, European Champion Peter Harvey (GBR) and Petr Krejcirik, holder of eight Czech national records and two national titles. Also in the line-up is the 1999 World Champion, Giorgio Galetto (ITA), he currently holds five Italian distance and speed records. Ben Flewett, who finished first at the New Zealand Gliding Grand Prix last year, also in Omarama, will be New Zealand’s sole representative.

How to Sign Up
Viewers can sign up to watch the World GP Gliding Championships on www.airsportslive.com. The low resolution is free of charge or viewers can pay approx NZ$10 to enjoy the coverage at full resolution with the ability to revisit and enjoy the highlights. Subscription discounts will apply to multi-day full resolution packages.

Catching the Action in Person
No need for tickets – the action is free to watch from Omarama Airfield and will be broadcast live on the screens at the Countrytime Hotel. www.countrytimehotel.co.nz

Next Generation Technology
The World GP Gliding Championship will feature some of the most technically advanced media coverage, streaming live around the world via the Internet with real time graphics, air-to-air footage and live commentary through www.airsportslive.com.

Viewers will be able to watch the races live, following each glider’s path, speed and altitude, as well as benefit from live commentary providing a fascinating insight into the tactics, decisions and consequences of each competitor.

For the finals day on 24 December the internet coverage steps up to full broadcast featuring in-cockpit mini-cams and air-to-air footage, offering live global coverage as never seen before in the history of air sports.

The technology has been developed by world-leader in computer graphics for television and big screen broadcast, Animation Research Ltd (ARL), based in Dunedin, New Zealand.

They have developed custom-built units for tracking the gliders which send GPS location signals via two networks (GPRS and satellite) to the hi-tech operations centre on the ground. The location data is then visualised through ARL’s 3D sporting graphics package, Virtual Eye, with the resulting life-like animations streamed live to the internet and used in television sports documentaries of the event.

The air sports action continues after Christmas with Air Sports Live, incorporating the New Zealand Air Games, set to be staged at Wanaka Airport on 27 and 28 December. It will be the largest aviation sports event ever to take place in the Southern Hemisphere featuring 10 sports ranging from paragliding to sky diving, helicopters to hot air ballooning, with many of the sports reformatted for high adrenalin viewing.

Fresh from the World Championships in Omarama the world’s top glider pilots will add to the line-up of thrilling action with sprint races designed to show the true power of these incredible aircraft. The 50km high-speed races will provide nail-biting neck-and-neck racing from pilots who really know how to push the gliders to their limits. Competing in heats of five, the gliders will cross the finish line directly over Wanaka Airfield at speeds of up to 280kph, often within a split second of each other.

For more information and tickets, visit www.airsportslive.com. Tickets are on sale now and are $18 for adults per day and children under 16 are free.