World Gliding Championships

The World Gliding Championships (WGC) is a gliding competition held every two years or so by the FAI Gliding Commission. The dates are not always exactly two years apart, often because the contests are sometimes held in the summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

History

Gliding had been a demonstration sport at the 1936 Summer Olympics and was due to become an official Olympic sport in the Helsinki Games in 1940. However, since the Second World War, gliding has not featured in the Olympics, and so the World Championships are the highest level in the sport. There are now contests for six classes of glider and so in recent years the Championships have been divided between two locations. The women's, junior, grand prix and aerobatic events are also held separately.

Each of the following entries give the year and location of the contest followed by the winner of each class, nationality and the glider used.

A list of future events is available here

World Grand Prix Gliding Championships

Gliding Grand Prix, or Sailplane Grand Prix (SGP), is a newer type of gliding competition. It has simpler rules and a more spectacular appearance than conventional soaring competitions.

Women's World Gliding Championships

The Women's World Gliding Championships (WWGC) is a women-only gliding competition. From 1979 to 1999 women's gliding competitions were held as International European Women's Gliding Championships.

Junior World Gliding Championships

The Junior World Gliding Championships (JWGC) is a competition for glider pilots under the age of 26. From 1991 to 1997, international junior gliding competitions were held as European Junior Gliding Championships.

FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships

World Glider Aerobatic Championships take place each year (every two years until 2011) since 1985 under the auspices of the FAI. They are administrated by the FAI Aerobatics Commission "Commission Internationale de Voltige Aerienne" (CIVA). The 2001 championships were part of the World Air Games. Since 1994, European Glider Aerobatic Championships are held in the years between the World Championships. Since 2010, an additional event is organized in a slightly less demanding "Advanced" category – the World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (WAGAC). WAGAC is organized yearly, usually accompanying the WGAC.

* 1st FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships, Mauterndorf, Austria, 26 August – 3 September 1985
** individual results:
**# Jerzy Makula (Poland) glider: Kobuz 3
**# Ludwig Fuß (Federal Republic of Germany), glider: Lo 100
**# Marek Szufa (Poland) glider: Kobuz 3
** team winners:
**# : Jerzy Makula ( Kobuz 3), Marek Szufa ( Kobuz 3), Marian Bednorz
**# : Ludwig Fuß ( Lo 100), Helmut Laurson (Lo 100a), Josef Eberl (Lo 100)
**# : Siegfried Duchkowitsch, Reinhard Haggenmüller, Otto Salzinger
* 2nd FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships, Bielsko-Biała, Poland, 1–15 August 1987
** individual results:
**# Jerzy Makula (Poland), glider: Kobuz 3
**# Andrzej Tomkowicz (Poland), glider: Kobuz 3
**# Nancy Blank (United States of America) glider: Kobuz 3
** team winners:
**# : Jerzy Makula ( Kobuz 3), Andrzej Tomkowicz ( Kobuz 3), ...
**#
**#
* 3rd FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships, Hockenheim, Federal Republic of Germany, 15–26 August 1989
** individual results:
**# Jerzy Makula (Poland), glider: Kobuz 3
**# Andrzej Jozef Solski (Poland), glider: Kobuz 3
**# Hubert Jänsch (Federal Republic of Germany), glider: Lo 100
** team winners:
**# : Jerzy Makula ( Kobuz 3), Jozef Solski ( Kobuz 3), ...
**# : Hubert Jänsch ( Lo 100), ...
**# : Walter Martig (LO 100), Peter Gafner (LO 100), Franz Studer (LO 100)
* 4th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships, Zielona Góra, Poland, 18–31 August 1991
** individual results:
**# Jerzy Makula (Poland), glider: Swift S-1
**# Tadeusz Mezyk (Poland), glider: Swift S-1
**# Marek Hernik (Poland), glider: Swift S-1
** team winners:
**# : Jerzy Makula (Swift S-1), Tadeusz Mezyk (Swift S-1), Marek Hernik (Swift S-1)
**# : Martin Scheuermann ( Mü 28), Hubert Jänsch ( Lo 100), Konrad Huber ( Lo 100)
**# : Stephen Coan (Windex 1200), Charles Kalko ( Celstar GA-1), Chris Smisson ( Celstar GA-1)
* 5th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships, Venlo, the Netherlands, 15–28 August 1993
** individual results:
**# Jerzy Makula (Poland)
**# Adam Michałowski (Poland)
**# Tadeusz Mezyk (Poland)
** team winners:
**# : Jerzy Makula, Adam Michałowski, Tadeusz Mezyk
**# : Sándor Katona, Var, France, 11–23 September 1995
** individual results:
**# Mikhail Mamistov (Russia), glider: Swift S-1
**# Jerzy Makula (Poland), glider: MDM-1 Fox
**# Sergey Rakhmanin (Russia), glider: Swift S-1
** team winners:
**# : Mikhail Mamistov (Swift S-1), Sergey Rakhmanin (Swift S-1), Victor Tchmal (Swift S-1)
**# : Jerzy Makula (MDM-1 Fox), Andrzej Tomkowicz (Swift S-1), Marek Hernik (MDM-1 Fox)
**# : Daniel Serres (Swift S-1), Etienne Meyrous (Swift S-1), Pierre Albertini (Swift S-1)
* 7th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships, Antalya, Turkey, 9–21 September 1997
** individual results:
**# Mikhail Mamistov (Russia)
**# Sergei Krikalev (Russia) – cosmonaut
**# Georgij Kaminski (Russia)
** team winners:
**# : Mikhail Mamistov, Sergei Krikalev, Georgij Kaminski
* 8th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships, Niederöblarn, Austria, 15–28 August 1999
** individual results:
**# Jerzy Makula (Poland), glider: MDM-1 Fox
**# Henry Bohlig (Germany), glider: Swift S-1
**# Krzystof Brzakalik (Poland), glider: Swift S-1
** team winners:
**# : Jerzy Makula (MDM-1 Fox), Krzysztof Brząkalik (Swift S-1), Adam Michałowski (Swift S-1)
**# : Henry Bohlig (Swift S-1), Helmut Lindner (Swift S-1), Detlef Eilers (Swift S-1)
**# : Valentin Barabanov (Swift S-1), Georgij Kaminski (Swift S-1), Alexandr Panfierov (Swift S-1)
* 9th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships and 2nd World Air Games Glider Aerobatics Championships, Palma del Río, Córdoba, Spain, 19 June – 1 July 2001
** individual results:
**# Alexandr Panfierov (Russia)
**# Jerzy Makula (Poland)
**# Adam Michałowski (Poland)
** team winners:
**# : Jerzy Makula, Adam Michałowski, Małgorzata Margańska
**# : Alexandr Panfierov, Valentin Barabanov, Georgij Kaminski
**# : Ferenc Tóth, János Szilágyi, Sándor Katona