Utah AAA Paragliding & Hang Gliding Sprints at The Point of the Mountain, Utah, USA

Memorial Day Weekend, Thursday May 27th thru Sunday May 30th

The Utah AAA Paragliding & Hang Gliding Sprints in some way resemble other race to goal competitions in that it incorporates a launch window, a start cylinder, multiple turn points, a goal, and of course a very complicated scoring scheme. However, AAA Sprints differ from almost every other competition in that it has been designed to promote a wide variety of pilot skills for those who have little to no competition experience. The Utah Sprints also differ from other competitions in that this event has been designed to be spectator friendly (most of the event will be visible from the ground).

The event will be scored in the same manner that the US Paragliding and Hang Gliding Nationals are scored. All scoring parameters will be announced at the beginning of the event and explained in this Pilot Handbook. The AAA Sprints will resemble other race to goal competitions in that each task shall be comprised of multiple turn points. However, the tasks will be set to ensure a high percentage of pilots make goal. The course will be set to challenge most novice to intermediate pilots yet provide a structure for expanding skills (flying in gaggles, use of the speed bar, flying with a GPS, race theory/strategy, etc.).

Finally, the AAA Sprints differ from most other competitions in that pilot development workshops will be conducted prior to each task. These workshops will have an agenda that covers topics critical to race to goal competition flying (e.g. ensuring you are familiar with basic race strategy, use of the GPS, flying in gaggles, previous day analysis, viewing and analyzing the three dimensional playbacks of track logs, individual coaching, and so on). These workshops will help reduce the tension newer pilots often experience when first entering higher levels of competition.

The Utah Sprints will be administered by a Meet Organizer, Race Director, a Task Committee, a Safety Committee, and a Scoring Committee.