How Do You Race, Judge Risk And Keep A Clear Head In Paragliding?
Three series for pilots who want to go further: how competitions are set and scored and how pilots climb the ranking, how experienced pilots decide when to push and when to stop, and the mental side of flying, with the tools around it.
Take a tour into the thrilling world of racing paragliders and learn how to push your performance boundaries safely and effectively. Strategies, training techniques, and mindset from the pilots who have done it all.
The Three Series
Built from the episodesWorld Cups, Racing and Competing
How Do Paragliding Competitions Work?
A clear view of modern race formats and evolving rules, with insights from experienced competitors and organizers.
- Competition formats and scoring systems
- Race strategy and decision-making
- Event structures and calendars
- Insights from pilots and organizers
Risk vs. Reward
When to Push and When to Stop
How to make calculated decisions that balance competitive advantage with safety.
- Risk assessment in real conditions
- High-consequence scenario awareness
- Personal limit setting
- Practical decision-making frameworks
Resources, Tools & Tips
How Do I Stay Calm and Focused When Paragliding?
Uncover the secrets behind epic flights, tracklog analysis, and decision-making in challenging conditions.
- Tracklog analysis techniques
- Performance review tools
- Case studies of notable flights
- Practical tips from experienced pilots
Questions Across These Series
Each answer draws on the series pages and links to the chapters where the guests say it.
Should you race flat out in your first paragliding competitions?
Not yet, says Joerg Ewald. Fly as far as you can first, because speed comes once the distance game works. Manfred Ruhmer separates the two kinds of risk a race asks you to take: losing the task is one, and flying where the landing options have gone is the other. The first is the sport; the second is the one to design out of your flying.
Joerg Ewald WPRS, and ranking the world's pilotsManfred Ruhmer Mentally and physically under high riskWhich matters more for safety, SIV or active flying?
Each has its job. Subir Sidhu's point is that you will only recover a shape your glider has been in before, which is what SIV is for, and the earlier the better. Beni Kälin warns that a rehearsed stall does nothing for a big collapse ten metres above the ground: active flying, keeping the wing open in the first place, is the skill that counts there.
Subir Sidhu Discipline as a way of progressingBeni Kälin Whether pilots need something like a BMIHow do you know when you are pushing too hard?
Start by asking why you are pushing, says Grant Smith: glory is a fine driver, but an accident in an ego battle is a meaningless one. Beni Kälin adds that more flying does not automatically mean more safety, because day after day of smooth air breeds overconfidence. A break makes flying feel fast again, and in his view that feeling is exactly the point.
Grant Smith Backing off, and not lying to yourselfBeni Kälin IntroductionHow should a paraglider be tested before you trust a review?
Where it is hard, says the reviewer Ziad Bassil: low, in turbulent air where you have to push on and turn, not in the strongest conditions or on the best day. That is where a high aspect ratio wing will not turn on a dime and the differences between wings show. He also points out that reflex resists collapse but has nothing to do with trim.
Ziad Bassil What he looks for when reviewing a wingZiad Bassil Reflex profiles, and trimmingHow do you learn from a flight that went wrong?
Look past the outcome, says Subir Sidhu. If you got away with a bad launch, an incident still happened, so ask what it was, why it happened and whether you knew. Will Gadd is blunt about clouds in particular: nobody gets sucked in, you flew into it. Own that decision, and you can fix it next time by leaving earlier and checking the radar.
Subir Sidhu Discipline as a way of progressingWill Gadd What could actually kill you, and what to do