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2nd FAI European Paramotor Slalom Championships
11. – 18. June 2016 held in Bornos/Spain
Jury report
Event Details:
Title : 2nd FAI European Paramotor Slalom Championships
Date : 11 June – 18 June 2016
Location : Bornos, Spain
Organising NAC : FAE
Number of flights :
Number of Tasks :
Number of competitors : 34
Event Personel
Organiser: Francisco Sanchez (ESP)
Event Director : Ramon Lopez (ESP)
Competition Director : Jose Ortega (FRA)
Chief Marshal : Francisco Setien (ESP)
Steward : Oscar Mistri (ITA)
Monitor : Michel Carnet (GBR)
FAI-Jury
President : Wolfgang Lintl (GER)
Member : Natalia Paska (POL)
Member : Richard Shaw (GBR)
Complaints and Protests
Number of Complaints : 0
Number of protests admitted : 0
Number withdrawn : 0
Number upheld : 0
Number rejected : 0
Amount of protest fees retained: 0 EUR
Venue
The competition was held at Bornos, Spain, a small Spanish lakeside village. The accomodation consisted of a campsite for competitors. The campsite had a small restaurant and bar plus camping areas for tents and motorhomes, wooden chalets were also available. Toilet and shower facilities were sufficient. Campsite security was good with gated access. Catering was available for competitors, and was provided for organisers and officials. The take off area consisted of marquees for every nation, 400 m away from the campsite, electric power was supplied by generator. The take off area was sufficient, hard grass adjacent to the lake side, the spectator area was separated from the take off deck with railings
The pilots equipment was stored under marquees at the take off deck and guarded night and day by a security service. The security was lacking initially with pilots entering and leaving the area without being challenged. This was highlighted to the organisers who rectified the situation. In the afternoon a small bar was open to sell drinks. The organisers provided two portaloos without hand washing facilities.
There was an accompanying emergency vehicle with 3 paramedics on the take off site throughout the event. Their services were only required for minor incidents.
This was the first International slalom competition over water, there were 2 military boats with accompanying divers. Their services were required 8 times, their response time was good. There was no major incidents, all pilots used floatation devices. Competition over water proved much safer than over land.
Accomodation
The officials were accomodated in a local hotel and a nearby flat. Transportation was needed, and was much improved as the week continued.
Services
Catering was provided on the campsite at a cost of 130€ for 2 meals a day (breakfast and lunch), over the week. Free wifi was provided on the campsite.
Competition staff
The competition staff were all Spanish. Everyone was professional and kept the competition flowing. More staff would have helped for scoring to reduce the workload for the Competition Director. The Event Director was Ramon Lopez and the Competition Director Jose Ortega, Chief Marshal was Francisco Setien, the Oganiser of the event was Francisco Sanchez (Paco), who was in charge of the logistics for the competition.
Briefings were given to team leaders sometimes on the campsite and sometimes on the take off deck, between tasks.
Although it is required at Sec.10 the briefings where not recorded, but at this championships it caused no problems.
Computer systems
For the competition a electronic timing system with laser cells on a floating pontoon was used. The printed times were transferred manually by the Director into a laptop and displayed on a TV-size screen. The timing gates were problematic after collision by pilots. There is room for improvement.
Competition System
Much of the competition was prepared in advance. The design of tasks and operational rules were published on the website and all participants got a sample set of the 200 slalom tasks. The tasks needed were randomly selected by the Director, assisted by the jury. From these the actual tasks were chosen.
The presentation of the chosen task was done by holding up the catalogue and pointing to the choosen task. This could be done more on the style of the WPSC last year.
The sequence of the tasks and the several final rounds were flown according to the local regulations.
During the week the competition for the 8 racing teams was held and finished.
The competition results were published on the competition website from a webmaster, not present at the venue. Some delays occurred. Some of the infastructure for scoring and printing was lacking. The instant results were shown on a TV-size screen at the beach. The workload for the Competition Director was high (briefing, checking the right turns of the task, receiving the results of the time taking device, transferring it to the Excel sheet, deciding about the task list etc.)
Participants
In PF1 there were 30 Pilots. In PL1 there were 7 pilots, 3 of whom also flew in the PF1 class making a total of 34 pilots competing.
Racing Teams consisted of 4 pilots, (3 plus 1 as reserve).
Running the tasks
The general briefing was performed on the Saturday after the event opening ceremony. The tasks were briefed before each competiton day and before a new task, to team leaders. Briefings were adequate for the pilots to understand the tasks.
Sometimes the sequence of tasks was interrupted due to problems with the pylons and pontoons.
Most of the time the tasks were flown between 7am and 12 noon. Later in the day was too windy to fly. Due to weather on Wednesday no flying took place.
On Friday the 17th all tasks were flown and the competition was finished. According to the official schedule the prize giving ceremony took place on Saturday evening. Due to the long distance some pilots have to travel back home, the time between the last task and the closing ceremony was too long.
Minor Problems
There was a lack of documentation for the jury at times. As in the past, the official FAI branding on the website and documentation was lacking at the beginning of the event.
Complaints and Protests
There was no special procedure introduced for complaints and protests. The Competiton Director was always available for complaints or any other enquiries. He also used communication per 'Whats app' to pass on information.
There were no complaints therefore no protests.
Media coverage
We did not see any advertising around the local area, although there was some media coverage on the local TV and in newspapers, local dignitaries were present at a seperate opening ceremony without the presence of the CIMA officials.
Ceremonies
The FAI flag and anthem were not available for use at the opening ceremony. It was just a simple march by the teams carrying country flags, and a short speech by the Competition Director and the Jury President.
FAI medals were awarded to the valid classes PF1 and PL1, National and racing teams.
The closing ceremony at Saturday evening was kept brief. Local dignities were present and had a short speech. FAI flag was seen and FAI hymne was playing at the beginning. The competition was officially closed by the jury president Wolfgang Lintl. Teams from Czech and UK had left the venue the day before.
Recommendations
CIMA should review the number of jury members present at slalom competitions. The experience from slalom competitions so far shows that there are only small numbers of complaints and protests, if any. CIMA also needs to review the position of steward at this type and size of competition, as Team Leaders can approach the Director directly with any problem.
Although the schedule fort he competition show that the last task will be flown on Friday and the price giving ceremony will take place on Saturday, the gap between these events had been too long. At least two teams left the venue due to their long way home.
Conclusion
From the jury point of view the best indicator of a good championship is the fact that
the jury did not have to make any difficult decisions. The organisers, the competitors, the vendors, and the the volunteers did a good job.
This report was agreed by all jury members
Bornos, 18. June 2016
(Wolfgang Lintl)
Jury President