Gliding had been ademonstration sport at the1936 Summer Olympics and was due to become an officialOlympic sport in theHelsinki Games in1940. However, since the Second World War, gliding has not featured in theOlympics, and so the World Championships are the highest level in the sport. There are now contests for sixclasses ofglider 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.
Sailplanes at the 1954 Championships with the three Schweizers of the USA team in the foreground
This was thought not to be a true world championship and was just an 'International Competition', but it has been acknowledged as the first World Gliding Championship.[by whom?][1]
TheFAI Sailplane Grand Prix (SGP) (Gliding Grand Prix) is a series of internationalgliding competitions created by theFédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) to make the sport of soaring more accessible and exciting for the public. Unlike traditional gliding championships, which often involve staggered starts, complex scoring, and long tasks that are difficult for spectators to follow, the SGP format features a simultaneous start, clearly defined racing rules, and a “first across the finish line wins” principle. This produces fast-paced, head-to-head racing that is easier to understand and more dramatic to watch.[22][23]
Each Grand Prix race typically covers 200–300 kilometres, lasts two to three hours, and is contested by up to 20 pilots flying high-performance sailplanes. Points are awarded to the leading finishers on each racing day, with the overall winner crowned at the end of the series. Through innovations such as real-time GPS tracking, livestreamed video, and on-board pilot commentary, the SGP has become one of the most spectator-friendly formats in competitive gliding.[24]
Since its launch in 2005, there have been12 SGP series, with the13th series scheduled to begin in 2026. Each series normally features around tenQualifying SGP events held at soaring sites across the globe. The top two pilots from each qualifying event advance to theWorld Final, where a field of 20 of the world’s best sailplane pilots compete head-to-head for the coveted title ofFAI Sailplane Grand Prix World Champion.[25]
The Women's World Gliding Championships (WWGC) is a women-only gliding competition. From 1979 to 1999 women's gliding competitions were held as InternationalEuropean Women's Gliding Championships.[26]
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 asEuropean Junior Gliding Championships.
This sectionneeds expansion with: 19th WGAC in Hungary in 2016 (results are missing). You can help byadding to it.(May 2023)
World GliderAerobatic Championships take place each year[29] (every two years until 2011) since 1985 under the auspices of theFAI. They are administrated by theFAI Aerobatics Commission "Commission Internationale de Voltige Aerienne" (CIVA).[30] The 2001 championships were part of theWorld 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.[31]
1st FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships,Mauterndorf, Austria, 26 August – 3 September 1985[32][33]
Germany: Michael Spitzer (MDM-1 Fox), Jochen Reuter (MDM-1 Fox), Sebastian Dirlam (MDM-1 Fox)
Sweden: Johan Gustafsson (Pilatus B4), Daniel Ahlin (MDM-1 Fox), Pekka Havbrandt (MDM-1 Fox)
Czech Republic: Petr Biskup (MDM-1 Fox), Miloš Ramert (MDM-1 Fox), Jan Rolinek (MDM-1 Fox)
14th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited) and 2nd FAI World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (Advanced),Toruń, Poland, 26 July 2011 – 7 August 2011[54][55]
Sweden: Daniel Ahlin (MDM-1 Fox), Johan Gustafsson (Pilatus B-4), Pekka Havbrandt (MDM-1 Fox)
15th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited) and 3rd FAI World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (Advanced),Dubnica, Slovakia, 9 August 2012 – 18 August 2012[56]
16th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited) and 4th World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (Advanced),Oripää Airfield,Oripää, Finland, 18–27 July 2013[57]
17th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited category) and 5th World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (Advanced category)Toruń Airfield,Toruń, Poland, July 22 – August 2, 2014.
Poland: Katarzyna Żmudzinska, Sławomir Talowski, Michał Klimaszewski
France: Romain Vienne, Benoit Madrenas, Ervin George
Germany: Markus Pönicke, Andreas Rodewald, Eberhard Holl
18th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited category) and 6th World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (Advanced category), August 5–15, 2015,Zbraslavice Airport,Czech Republic.[63]
Poland: Sławomir Talowski, Katarzyna Zmudziňska, Michał Andrzejewski
Czech Republic: Miroslav Černý, David Beneš, Martin Meloun
Switzerland: Jonas Langenegger, Manfred Echter, Martin Götz
20th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited category) and 8th World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (Advanced category), July 27 – August 5, 2017,Toruń, Poland.[68]
21st FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited category) and 9th World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (Advanced category), August 1 – 11, 2018,Zbraslavice Airport,Czech Republic.[73]
22nd FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited category) and 10th World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (Advanced category), July 18–26, 2019,Deva,Romania.[78]
France: Charlie Levy-Louapre, Thibaut Fromantin, Marc de Bouvier
Germany: Stefan Zistler, Mathias Mühlbacher, David Tempel
23rd FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited category) and 11th World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (Advanced category), July 29–August 6, 2021,Leszno,Poland.[83]
France: Charlie Levy-Louapre, Thibaut Fromantin, Frédéric Durand
Poland: Sławomir Cichoń, Wojciech Gałuszka, Michał Rumiński
24th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited category) and 12th World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (Advanced category), 18–26 August, 2022,Issoudun,France.[88]
25th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited category) and 13th World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (Advanced category), 27 July – 5 August, 2023,Toruń,Poland.[93]