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Event info
Welcome to the 8th British Winter Open. The purpose of the event is for pilots to maintain their flying skills in the winter period and to meet friends in a fun, social environment.
The British Winter Open will be held in Panchgani, India from Tuesday 23 February 2027 to Tuesday 2 March 2027.
Flying site
One of the top paragliding sites in India, Panchgani (पंचगणि) is a famous hill station and municipal council in Satara district in Maharashtra province. Panchgani is nestled at middle of five hills in the Sahyādri mountain ranges, also there are five villages around the Panchgani are Dandeghar, Khingar, Godwali, Amral and Taighat.
Expand page for more details- left before start of event
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Live trackers supplied
The organiser will supply Live trackers to you, for safety and scoring
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No Helicopter rescue
There are no helicopters in this region.
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Medic on takeoff
There will be medical rescue services at launch
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Good phone coverage
The region generally has good phone coverage
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Radio coverage
We will be monitoring radios for your safety whilst you fly
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Live trackers mandatory
Live Tracking is MANDATORY in this event to score. The organiser will provide the trackers.
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Launch Transport
There will be vehicles supplied to take you to launch
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Retrieve included
There will be retrieve vehicles available to return pilots to HQ
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Tracklogs managed
The organisers will download the tracklogs at HQ for scoring
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Airtribune blogging
The organisers are using Airtribune for registration, tracking, blogging and to publish scores
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Lunch packs
There will be daily lunch packs for pilots
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ID Cards
The organisers will give you an ID card with all the essential items listed
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Food
There will be a social evening with food
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🎉
Party
There will be an organised party during or after the event
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Free gift
You will receive a tshirt or other welcome gift
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PWCA Letters
This event awards PWCA letters
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♻️
Plastic reduction
The organisers support reducing the use of unnecessary plastic at the event. This includes NOT giving disposable water bottles
Prize funds and scoring categories
- OVERALL |
- FEMALE |
- SERIAL |
- SPORTS |
- REYNOLDS |
- BRITISH OVERALL |
- BRITISH FEMALE |
- BRITISH SPORTS |
Contacts
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Event Queries
- Registration Administrator
- admin@pgcomps.org.uk
Event info
Welcome to the 8th British Winter Open. The purpose of the event is for pilots to maintain their flying skills in the winter period and to meet friends in a fun, social environment.
The British Winter Open will be held in Panchgani, India from Tuesday 23 February 2027 to Tuesday 2 March 2027.. Registration (and practice) will be on 23 February. The event is directly after the PWC being held in the same venue. One day has been allowed between the events for pilots to recover, if flying both events, and to ensure no conflicts exist on suitable accommodation in the region.
Panchgani is a world class paragliding competition venue, having hosted National and World Cup events. The Winter Open will be a PWC qualifier and offer PWC letters.
The event will have a mix of CCC & Sports wings and will be run in a manner suitable for both.
Generally pilots as a minimum must have:
• Made a 50km flight to goal in a FAI competition in the last 2 years
OR
• Made a 100km XC flight in the past 2 years
OR
• Participated in a British Open in the past and achieved a significant result and be a current pilot
If in doubt, please contact the organisation with full declaration of your experience for acceptance.
What do you get?
The entry fee includes all the usual aspect, plus a few extras for this year!
- Seven high quality tasks of up to and above 100km
- A full tracking system for safety and scoring (The tracking system will be a local system, not the Flymaster trackers)
- T-shirt or other souvenir
- A lunch pack
- Retrieves
- Party
- PWCA letters
IMPORTANT
Please be aware of the following:
• The tracking system being used will be a local Meshtastic system. It will ensure the organisers can track your location throughout your flight
• Flymaster trackers may be given, but it is not assured. They will be issued mainly for the purposes of scoring.
• GPS devices in India are not allowed unless they are phone based (ie, the device has an EMEI number). Attending with GPS devices is at your own risk. We encourage you to bring a phone based device as your instrument, running software such as XCtrack or Naviter Navigator. In particular we recommend you do not bring FLARM, Garmin In-reach or Spot devices as they may cause you problems at the airport customs. Devices such as an Oudie N, even though it has an EMEI number, may not be obvious as an allowed device to customs.
• You may be asked to install a phone app to improve the tracking experience at the event.
• Tracklogs for scoring may be taken from your device. Please ensure you have any suitable USB cables you may need.
Flying site
Selection and entry fee
Your registration requires approval that you meet the minimum Pilot Entry Requirements for the British Paragliding Open Competitions 2026. Full details about the registration process and eligibility criteria is as follows:
7.3 Entry Requirements General
All Pilots must hold the following
BHPA P or AP rating or International license with IPPI card level 4 or 5
One of the following:
o British FAI Sporting Licence (Championships and Open Series)
o International FAI Sporting Licence (Open)
GPS device* which records a 3D track log, 3D track logs are mandatory.
7.4 Entry Requirements: Championships & Open events
Generally pilots as a minimum must have:-
Made a 50km flight to goal in a FAI competition in the last 2 years OR
Made a 100km XC flight in the past 2 years
If in doubt please contact the organisation with full declaration of your experience for acceptance.
*A phone based app is recommended for this event.
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Approved pilots will be invited to pay. Your place at a competition is not confirmed until we have received your payment for the competition. Any payment offers may be withdrawn at any time. The Pilot Lists show the current status of your registration.
- Eligible BHPA members with a British Sporting Licence will be offered places before other nations, in the order of registration*
- Other nationalities will receive payment offers around 14 days later #
- 15% (20 places) are reserved for female pilots until 45 days before the start of the event.
- Up to 10 places are reserved for wildcards
- The organisers reserve the right to vary the above method at their discretion at all times
# Selection is at the discretion of the organiser.
2027 Selection
For 2027 selection will be based on WPRS.
Pilots ranked in the top 100 WPRS will receive their offers later than lesser ranked pilots.
There will be no registrations at the venue on registration day. Please do not come to registration hoping for a place. After several years of abuse of officials the panel has decided to end this method of access to the event.
IMPORTANT: When you register for a competition, if you do not enter your ‘correct’ CIVL number then you will not be ranked correctly. Your CIVL number you can look up with the link on the Registration page. Also when you register you will be required to enter your ‘FAI Sporting Licence Nationality’. This is not another nationality you happen to hold, nor is it where you were born, or where you currently live, but is the country that issued your Sporting Licence (‘United Kingdom’ for BHPA issued licences).
Payment
The entry fee for 2027 will be £320 GBP/370€
Fees and dates will be strictly adhered to. Payments are made on our website via PayPal with a Credit Card, Debit Card, or using your own PayPal account. PayPal uses data encryption for the protection of your card details. The pilot entry fee includes the fee charged by PayPal for administering your online payment. We do NOT accept cheques or American Express. If you wish to pay for more than one person’s entry fee on-line you must do so logged-in as each pilot.
Last minute registrations
As stated above, we no longer accept and/or process registrations at the venue.
Documents required at registration
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FAI Sporting Licence
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)
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FAI IPPI Card
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
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National Licence
The organiser requires you to present your National flying licence.
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Signed Application form
You will need to sign an applicaton form at the venue. Usually the organiser will provide it on arrival.
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Signed Waiver/Release 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.
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Identification documents needed
You will need to provide photo ID on arrival. This could be Passport, Driving Licence or National ID, for example.
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Liability Insurance
You must provide the organiser with a copy of your liability (3rd party) insurance documents
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Rescue/Medical Insurance
You must provide the organiser with a copy of your medical, rescue and repatriation insurance. You can purchase Global Rescue cover from Airtribune
Cancellation Policy
Any pilot who cancels their registration will be given a refund as follows (based on Full Entry Fee):
• Cancellation date more than 60 days before competition start date: 75% refund
• Cancellation date between 60 and 30 days before competition start date: 40% refund
• Cancellation date less than 30 days before competition start date: 0% refund
Any pilot proving (with medical certificate) incapacity to compete through illness should contact the organiser as soon as possible. Any refund, if appropriate, will be decided by the Organisation however a pilot is expected to claim on their travel insurance in the first instance. Refunds will NOT be issued to ill/injured pilots cancelling within 7 days of the start of a competition regardless of personal circumstances. In all circumstances, please first contact your travel insurance provider for advice on any compensation due.
Cancellation of the Competition by the Organisation
In the event the organisers deem it necessary to cancel, relocate, or reschedule the competition, you will be entitled to a partial refund:
- Up to 30 days before the first official event day: 100% less a £50/60€ admin charge
- Between 30 and 7 days before the first official event day: 75% refund
- Less than 7 days before the first official event day: a lesser percentage to be determined. This lesser percentage will be the balance of funds once any costs incurred by the local organiser have been deducted.
After the start of the competition, any refunds will be at the sole discretion of the organisers.
The organisers will not be liable for any costs incurred by anyone attending, or intending to attend the event, or any consequential losses arising from the cancellation, relocation, or rescheduling of the event.
Prize fund and scoring categories
Overall Class
Female Class
Sports Class
British Overall
British Female
British Sports
Reynolds Class
There will NOT be any cash prizes. There may be some small gifts from some of our sponsors.
*Classes may be withdrawn if there are less than 5 pilots in a class
General schedule
REGISTRATION
14:00 - 18:00 Official Registration and Equipment Inspection.
19:00 - Mandatory Safety Briefing
Wednesday, Feb 24 to Tuesday, Mar 02 , 2027
Competition flying days.
Tuesday, Mar 02 , 2027
19:00 -Prize giving, celebration meal and closing ceremony
ALL TIMES MAY BE ALTERED. BE SURE TO JOIN THE OFFICIAL WHASTAPP GROUPS FOR THE FINAL TIMINGS.
Daily schedule
08:00 - Transport to take-off
09:30 - Meet Director / Task and Safety Committee meetings
10:00 - Pilots briefing / Previous task official results / Task definition
10:30 - Take-off window opens
16:30 - Scoring office opens
20:00 - Provisional results
*** Daily schedule can change, depending of the weather conditions.
Accommodation and Activities
How to get here
Ravine Hotel
Panchgani India
Plane
The nearest international airports - Mumbai (4 hrs drive).
Web: http://www.csia.in/
Panchgani is located at about 255 km from Mumbai.
Bus
There are both private and public bus transport to Panchgani or Mahabaleshwar from Bombay and Pune.
Website: http://www.redbus.in
Train
Take a train to the nearest big city - Pune. It takes about 3,5 hours.
Web: http://www.indianrail.gov.in/know_Station_Code.html
From Pune take a bus. Panchgani is 120 km from Pune.
Car
Car rental at the airport: http://www.csia.in/tofrom/taxi-car-rentals.aspx
Taxi
Taxi at the airport: http://www.csia.in/tofrom/taxi-car-rentals.aspx
Downloads
Waypoint files
Organizers
BHPA Ltd
8 Merus Court, Meridian Business Park, Leicester, LE19 1RJ, United Kingdom
Contacts
-
Event Queries
- Registration Administrator
- admin@pgcomps.org.uk
