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Event info

The Annual National Paragliding Championships return to Bright in February 2024.
This is the Finals round of the championships where up to 100 Australian and international pilots will compete in cross country races over the mountains and majestic landscapes of the Ovens and Keiwa Valleys.

Expand page for more details

Flying site

Mystic

Mystic Hill is an excellent site which is often on because it faces the valley wind and cooks up some strong thermals. It is located 2 Km south of Bright just off the road to Wandiligong.

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  • 100 Pilots Confirmed
  • 100 Pilots total registered
  • 295 AUD Entry fee
Go to Pilot List
  • 100 Pilots max allowed
  • 11 Countries presented
  • ✅ All certified wings allowed
  • 🏆 FAI Status = CAT 2 🏅
  • left before start of event
  • Registration will open on
    31/08 08:00 (Australia/Melbourne)

  • 🚁

    The region supports helicopter rescues

    Helicopter rescue
  • 📱

    The region generally has good phone coverage

    Good phone coverage
  • 📻

    We will be monitoring radios for your safety whilst you fly

    Radio coverage
  • 💩

    There are toilets at, or near, the launch

    Toilets on takeoff
  • 📢

    The organisers are using Airtribune for registration, tracking, blogging and to publish scores

    Airtribune blogging
  • 🍺

    There will usually be goal beers for winners

    Goal beers
  • 🎉

    There will be an organised party during or after the event

    Party
  • 👕

    You will receive a tshirt or other welcome gift

    Free gift
  • 🅰

    This event awards PWCA letters

    PWCA Letters
  • ♻️

    The organisers support reducing the use of unnecessary plastic at the event. This includes NOT giving disposable water bottles

    Plastic reduction

Event info

The Annual National Paragliding Championships return to Bright in February 2024.
This is the Finals round of the championships where up to 100 Australian and international pilots will compete in cross country races over the mountains and majestic landscapes of the Ovens and Keiwa Valleys.
The Bright Open is a cross-country paragliding competition that will determine the Australian
National Champions M & F and class winners.

Flying site

Mystic

Mystic Hill is an excellent site which is often on because it faces the valley wind and cooks up some strong thermals. It is located 2 Km south of Bright just off the road to Wandiligong. One of the most popular Victorian Inland Sites which has hosted numerous state and national competitions as well as two Paragliding World Cup events.
Take off is unobstructed as all pine trees have been cut down over the entire face of the hill. It boasts the safest launch area (about 100m wide) of all the sites in this region. The site, and the landing area below, are privately owned but iare leased to the North East Victoria Hang Gliding Club (NEVHGC).

A Mystic flying pass must be purchased before using this site, and can only be obtained over the NEVHG club web site at www.nevhgc.net.

Detailed info here: http://vhpa.org.au/Sites/Mystic.html

Mystic Take off
N (valley wind)
797m / 2614ft ASL, 477m / 1564ft AGL
Launch: S36.75855, E146.96575

Gundowring

The hill was bought by committed pilot Bob Saville, who carved out the track and cleared the launch area to open it in 2009 as a free flying site for all. Bob has since sold the site but it’s new owners, Adam and Kristy, are also welcoming to SAFA members.

This site has huge potential with reliable valley winds and thermals. The hill has a very large W through to NW grassy launch
The access track is 4WD only and you should use low ratio when ascending to prevent damage to the track.

Gundowring Takeoff
640m / 2100ft ASL, 400m / 1310ft AGL
W-NW launch: S36.39551, E147.09023


Strictly no smoking whilst on the property. Please take all your rubbish home with you.

Driving on the property is at your own risk. Be careful if at any time you have to go off the cut track, there are many wombat holes on the property.

All the local land owners are happy for pilots to land on their property. Please show them the greatest respect, be polite and follow the normal country code.

Full site description is here; http://www.vhpa.org.au/Sites/Gundowring%20%28Savhill%29.html

Selection and entry fee

The competition is open to all pilots with a minimum of an Australian PG 4* rating or equivalent (IPPI 4)
* Pilots who are not PG 4 (or IPPI 4) may apply in writing to the competition organisers for an exception.

SAFA - MEMBERSHIP - All pilots must be members of the Sports Aviation Federation of Australia for the duration of the event. Please check your membership status BEFORE leaving home. Overseas visiting pilots to Australia will need to obtain a Visiting Pilot Membership
https://members.safa.asn.au/vpm-start.php
NEVHGC MEMBERSHIP - All pilots must be members of the local club (who pay for the launch and landing fields as well as the road to launch) for the duration of the event.
There is a 2 week membership or full year membership available.
https://nevhgc.tidyhq.com/public/membership_levels

IMPORTANT: ALL PILOTS MUST CARRY AND USE PERSONAL TRACKING. YOUR DEVICE URL WILL BE RECORDED PRIOR TO THE FIRST TASK. PILOTS WITHOUT PERSONAL TRACKING WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO COMPETE.
(It's the 21st century - if you're not flying with personal tracking - then you should be!)
Spot, Delorme, Garmin or skylines are all suitable tracking devices.

IMPORTANT - No transport is provided, we may use a site which requires 4WD with good ground clearance to access

Registration deadline for Priority places will be 30th September 2023

In accordance with FAI Cat 2 rules and SAFA competition rules, prior to the deadline
50 places are allocated to Australian pilots in order of their National ladder ranking
25 places are allocated to Overseas pilots in order of their WPRS rankings
10 places are allocated to female pilots (inclusive of those who qualify under the above categories)

These allocations are ONLY applicable to pilots who have correctly registered AND paid in full prior to the deadline.

After the deadline, remaining places will be allocated in order of completed registration and payment.

When all places have been confirmed you can join the waiting list by paying the entry fee. Places will be allocated in order of receipt of payment if and when other pilots drop out. Registering and Paying is the only way to secure a place in this event.

Entry Fee: $295 AUD, Late payment fee of $50 applies after the 02nd of January 2024
Payment should be made by bank transfer to;

Account name: Martin Joyce
BSB: 306 134
Account : 1138449

For International pilots, payment of the competition fees can be made via paypal;
Please make paypal payments to cemjoy@gmail.com
Please note that payment via paypal is $305. This covers paypal fees!

Documents required at registration

  • Issued by your local NAC on behalf of the FAI. You cannot normally compete in an FAI event without one. Contact your National Association (NAC)

    FAI Sporting Licence
  • The FAI IPPI card is an International card that states your skill level. It is issued by your National Association and matches the level or your flying Licence

    FAI IPPI Card
  • The organiser requires you to present your National flying licence.

    National Licence
  • You will need to sign an applicaton form at the venue. Usually the organiser will provide it on arrival.

    Signed Application form
  • You will need to sign a waiver or release document to show you understand the risks. Usually the organiser will provide it on arrival.

    Signed Waiver/Release form

Cancellation Policy

If a pilot wishes to cancel their confirmed place, prior to 2nd January 2024 they will receive a full refund. After this date refunds will only occur, at the discretion of the organiser, if another pilot on the waiting list is able to take the place.
Any pilots who remain on the waiting list after all places have been allocated will have their entry fees returned in full.:

If the Competition has to be cancelled (eg. due to Covid 19 restrictions), with unrecoverable financial commitments, a percentage of the entry fee will be retained to cover these costs.
The retention of funds will be capped at a maximum of 20% of entry fee.
Should this occur, a financial report covering these costs and recovered funds will be made available, upon request, no later than 30 days after the cancellation date.
We will be keeping a careful eye on Government restrictions and we will endeavour to inform registered pilots of any necessary news ASAP.

Prize fund and scoring categories

Trophies for Fun, Sport, Serial, Open and Female categories.

General schedule

9th February - Registration
10th February - Mandatory Briefing for all pilots
10th February to 16th Feb - A whole lot of racing!!!
16th Feb - Presentation Dinner

Daily schedule

09.00 Morning radio briefing to advise of chosen launch site and briefing time at site.
10.45 Pilots briefing; Previous task results, new task summary and relevant information.
12.00 Task window opens
15.00 Goal beers and back slapping
17.00 land by time
20.00 Provisional results
(All times are subject to change)

Accommodation and Activities

How to get here

Bright Brewery

Bright Brewery 121 great alpine road, Bright VIC 3741, Australia
Bright Australia

Plane

The nearest is Melbourne international airport (Tullamarine).
There is a shuttle bus that runs every 10 min from the airport to Melbourne Southern Cross train station.
Check fares and more: http://www.skybus.com.au/

Bus

The VLine bus service connects Bright with Wangaratta. Busses 2-3 times a day.
Check time table here http://www.vline.com.au/

Train

The nearest train stations are Wangaratta and Albury.

Via Wangaratta
There is a train to Wangaratta from Melbourne Southern Cross 3 times a days. It takes about 3 hours to Wangaratta and then you can change for a bus to Bright. Check time table here http://www.vline.com.au/

Via Albury
There is a train going to Albury from Melbourne Southern Cross 2-3 times a days. Check time table here http://www.vline.com.au/ The journey takes about 4 hours. it can be a direct train or with change at Seymour. There is no public bus from Albury only taxi or transfer.

Car

Bright is situated on the Great Alpine Road (B 500) about 75 kms from the Hume Highway (M31) which is the main road connecting Melbourne to Sydney. Bright is just over three hours drive from Melbourne, seven hours drive from Sydney, five hours drive from Canberra and twelve hours drive from Adelaide.

A great circular tour from Melbourne is to travel from Melbourne to Bairnsdale on the Princes Hwy then over the High Country on the Great Alpine Road and then back to Melbourne via the Hume Hwy.

If you are coming from Sydney or Canberra experience the stunning drive via the Snowy Mountains through Thredbo, Corryong to the Great Alpine Road and on to Bright.

BUT which ever way you come leave plenty of time to spend many days based in Bright and exploring the Ovens Valley and Alpine High Country.

NB Chains need to be carried on the Great Alpine Road between Harrietville and Omeo in the snow seasons and also should be carried between Thredbo and Khancoban in winter

Taxi

It is 115 km from Albury and if you arrived there you can take a taxi.
Taxi – based in Bright. Contact 0408 589 370

See other useful "How to get" tips at http://www.brightvictoria.com.au/getting-here.aspx

Downloads

Waypoint files

Organizers

Bright open 2024
Pioneer park
Bright
Victoria

Contacts

Socials

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