2023 Nova Paragliding Grand Prix
1. Introduction
1.1. Nova Paragliding Grand Prix competition is run according to the FAI Sporting Code. It is apilot’s responsibility to be aware of the rules in General Section and Section 7 of the FAI sportingcode and abide by them. References to section 7 refer to the edition dated 1st May 2022. Theseadditions supersede section 7.
1.2. The purpose of the competition is to provide good and satisfying contest flying in orderto determine the winners in each class and to reinforce friendship amongst pilots andnations. The event is for pilots interested in competing and improving their skills atparagliding.
1.3. The competition is open to all pilots with an IPPI 5 card.
1.4. All pilots fly under their own responsibility. It is each pilot’s responsibility to take allnecessary actions to maintain their own safety during the competitions and to ensure that they
do not act in any way that might endanger any other pilots during the competition.
It is a condition of entry to Nova Paragliding Grand Prix competitions for all pilots to accept
without restriction to hold the organisers and associates blameless and waive all claims to anycompensation.
1.5. All pilots must know and abide by Local Regulations.

1.6. The organiser shall provide a safe and fair contest.

2. Entry requirements
2.1. Every pilot who wants to take part in the competition must complete the online entry form
and pay the entry fee. Only after the entry fee payment registration process is complete.
2.2. Every pilot must register personally at the headquarters at announced registration period
and present the following documents:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.

Valid FAI sporting licence is highly recommended,
IPPI card at level 5,
Proof of third party liability insurance – in English,
Proof of medical/travel insurance (covering hospital expenses, rescue and repatriation) – inEnglish. Without these documents the pilot will not be permitted to compete.
mobile phone,
2M Radio,
Recently repacked reserve parachute,Helmet, certified for paragliding use,
Harness with certified back protection.

2.3. At registration in the Headquarters a pilot must sign a release of Liability Waiver.
2.4. A competing pilot must be equipped with a fully operational paraglider, harness with backprotection, helmet, reserve parachute and radio. All of the above mentioned equipment isprovided by the pilots themselves.
2.5. Open class gliders, without any certification, CCC and EN D gliders are not permitted.
2.6. The organisers reserve the right to refuse entry to any pilot.
2.7. The maximum number of pilots participating in the competition is set at the Meet Director’s
discretion and announced on the competition website. The MD may admit more competitors thanit was first announced (but not exceeding the 150 pilot limit).
2.8. Pilots who arrive late for registration should contact the organisation to ensure that theirplace remains available. Pilots who fail to advise of late arrival and fail to register before thestart of the competition can be replaced by late entry pilots meeting the participant
requirements.
2.9.

Cancellation of a registration.

Any pilot who cancels their registration will be given refunds as follows:
a.

b.
c.

If a pilot wishes to cancel participation or give a place to another person it is possible until 40
days before the start of the competition. In case of cancellation or replacement we will
charge 30€ (admin costs).
39 days and less before the start of the competition no refunds will be granted unlesscompetition is cancelled.
in case of cancellation of the event, the Organiser will refund the entry fee reduced by €30(admin costs)

3. Paraglider classes and classification
3.1. Ranking categories – OVERALL, FEMALE, CONSTRUCTORS.
3.2. The Grand Prix Ranking points in OVERALL categories are granted as follows:

3.2.1.Pilots from places 61 – 120 get 0 (zero) Grand Prix Ranking points.
3.3. CONSTRUCTOR ranking is a sum of all Grand Prix points (overall category) gained by the highest
scoring 3 pilots flying a given manufacturer's wings in all competitions in a given season.

4. Committees
4.1.

Before the first task the following committees may be designated by the MD:

4.1.1. Safety committee, consisting of 3 pilots
4.1.2. Protest committee, consisting of 3 pilots of different nationalities. If one of themembers of the committee is involved in a protest, they must be substituted at thediscretion of the Meet Director. Committee’s decisions are final.

5. Flying and safety regulations
5.1.

All pilots must read and abide safety rules as in section 7 of the FAI sporting code.

5.2. Each pilot is required to conform to the aviation law and rules of the country in which thecompetition takes place.
5.3. Each day the Meet Director will confirm the turning direction within a given area and/or time.
5.4. A pilot witnessing any situation which might influence the safety of the competition must try toinform the organiser and the competing pilots.
5.5. All manoeuvres which might endanger the safety of others are strictly forbidden. Aerobatics,
dangerous flying conduct, infringement of rules and unsporting behaviour will be penalised and may
cause disqualification.
5.6. A pilot may not fly unless he/she is fit. Any injury, drugs or medication taken which might affectthe competitor’s performance in the air, must be reported to the Meet Director before flying.
5.7. It is strictly forbidden to fly under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. A pilot must undergo
an anti-doping control at the request of the Meet Director.
5.8.

At any time the organiser can stop a task in case of hazardous conditions.

5.9.

The Meet Director has the right to ban all flying on a day when the task was cancelled.

5.10. If any pilot fails to report within the report deadline time, the organiser will start a rescue
action.
5.11. In case a pilot fails to inform the organiser about a safe landing, he/she will have to cover thecosts of the rescue action.
5.12. All pilots must pack their gliders immediately after landing: a glider lying open on the groundmeans “I need help!”
5.13. Rescue action and medical costs will be covered by the pilot and their insurance.

6. Briefings
6.1. All information concerning the competition and tasks will be announced at briefings and/or
displayed on the official information board.
6.2. Types of briefing
6.2.1. General briefing – takes place before the first task. It covers general organisational andsafety issues. All competitors must be present personally at the general briefing.
6.2.2. Information briefing – held at the headquarter or other appointed place. Pilots shouldbe either present personally or get informed through their team leader.
6.2.3. Task briefing – held at the take-off in the presence of all pilots, presents the details of
the task, weather information and general organisational matters.
6.3. It’s the pilots responsibility to remain informed through the briefing or by consulting the official
task board.

6.4. All technical data specified during the task briefing will be put on the task board.
6.5. All briefings will be conducted in English.
6.6. All pilots must collect their tracker before the flight. If they don’t do that, they cannot fly thetask.

7. Start of a task
7.1.

Launching is allowed only during the window open period.

7.2.

The take-off areas will be defined by the Launch Marshall at the task briefing.

7.3. The Meet Director or the Launch Marshall may temporarily close the window if conditions
become dangerous. The window will be extended by the time the take-off was closed, without,
however, exceeding the deadline for window extension.
7.4.

Each individual pilot is responsible for their own decision to take off.

7.5. In the case of a major problem forcing re-landing immediately after launching, a pilot may takeoff again after gaining permission from the Launch Marshall. The pilot’s take-off time remains, in anycase, the one of the earliest start.

8. Communication and external aid
8.1.

All pilots should be equipped with a 2 m radio and a mobile phone.

8.2.

All other equipment that might increase pilot’s safety is also recommended.

8.3. The Organiser will announce an official safety frequency, which all pilots must listen tothroughout the task. On this frequency communication is only allowed if concerning safety issues.
8.4.

The Organiser will also announce a retrieval frequency.

8.5. All pilots must inform the Organiser via their means of communication about any issue
concerning safety, including consequences of landing away from the designated goal of other pilots.
8.6.

Tasks should be played among individual pilots, without any external aid.

8.7. Any help in navigation or thermal location by any non-competing aircraft, including competing
gliders not in the act of carrying out the task is prohibited.

9. Landing
9.1. The latest time for landing at goal will be announced at the task briefing. Pilots who land in goal
after the deadline will score only the distance flown until the deadline.
9.2. At the task briefing the Meet Director may also announce a landing deadline when all pilots
must have landed. If a safe landing area cannot be reached at that time the pilot is allowed to landas soon as possible.

9.3. A pilot must report back as soon as possible after landing. The procedure for this will beannounced at the safety briefing. The latest time for report back will be announced at the task
briefing.
9.4. After landing every pilot has the responsibility to return their tracker, either at the Headquarters
or at goal.

10.Assistance to a pilot in danger
10.1. A pilot witnessing any kind of accident or receiving a help call must try to inform the organiser
or other people as soon as possible, giving the nature and location of the accident and description of
the pilot/ glider in trouble.
10.2. During the rescue action all pilots shall retain only the necessary communication on the radio.
10.3. A pilot who lands or limits his flight to assist another pilot in distress will be compensated taskpoints. The compensation will be decided on by the Meet Director.

11.Penalties
11.1. For infringements of or non-compliance with the Local regulations or the FAI sporting code apilot may be penalised. Each time the penalty is imposed by the Meet Director, except the penalties
stated in S7A 6.3, which will be applied accordingly.
11.2. If a task is cancelled, the penalty will be decided by the Meet Director.

12.Complaints and protests
12.1. Complaints and protest must be made in writing and delivered to the competition HQ. They
shall refer to specific rules in the Local regulations and/or FAI sporting code.
12.2. The time limit of a complaint is 1 hour 30 minutes after the publication of the provisional task
results, except after the last task, in which case the time limit is 30 minutes.
12.3. If the pilot is not satisfied with the outcome, he/she may make a protest. The time limit of acomplaint is 2 hours after announcement of the decision regarding the complaint, except after thelast task, in which case the time limit is 30 minutes.
12.4. The protest fee is 50 euro, which will be refunded if the protest is upheld.
12.5. Complaints are dealt with by the Meet Director and protests are dealt with by the Protest
committee.

13.Scoring and results
13.1. Flight verification rules are set down in S7A chapter 4.
13.2. Tasks will be scored using the TBS formula. All parameters will be announced before thefirst task and will remain unchanged until the end of the competition.
13.3. Competition scoring categories – OVERALL, FEMALE, EN-B
13.4. The competition tasks will be scored according to the Time-Based Scoring system.

13.5. There will be no FTV rules applied (FTV – 0%).
13.6. The results will be displayed on the information board as soon as possible after
downloading all track-logs.