Cross Country are media partners with
Paragliding World Cup Association
The PWCA is the number one paragliding competition circuit in the sport, and runs a series of high-level races around the world each year. Through live-tracking and online video spectators can join in the week-long comps wherever they are.
XC Open World Series
Unlike traditional competition formats the XC-Open encourages all levels of pilots to fly as far as they can for as long as they can. Open XC distance is scored daily. The series sees competitions held in classic cross country venues like Manilla in Australia and Sopot in Bulgaria.
World XContest
One of the first truly international online paragliding and hang gliding online contests in the sport. We have supported XContest as media partner since its inception. Over 5,000 pilots log their XC flights on this database. An invaluable resource for planning flights and new adventures too.
Coupe Icare
We have been a regular at the world’s largest free flight festival, the Coupe Icare, for years and are regularly privileged to be tasked with judging the best stand in the trade tents, and to serve on the jury of the film festival for the Critics’ Prize.
Paramotor Magazine
Produced by the same team as Cross Country magazine, with Marcus King at the editorial helm, Paramotor Magazine is an international magazine dedicated to our powered paragliding brothers and sisters.
Other national, regional and local events we support include:
British Paragliding Open
We have a long tradition of supporting the British Open, one of the premier flying competitions on the scene and regularly feature the British Champions in the pages of Cross Country. Some of the prizes are also sponsored by the magazine.
Ulster Paragliding Open
Baking sunshine and booming thermals aren’t why we support the Ulster Open, it’s the promise of Guinness and beautiful scenery, plus some flying if we’re lucky.
Women’s International Paragliding Open
We have been a media supporter of this competition since it was started in 2010. The emphasis is on fun, learning and mentoring in a relaxed, low-pressure environment.
Kendal Mountain Festival
We’ve been a keen supporter of the Free Flight Night at Kendal Mountain Festival since it started in 2010. Kendal Mountain Festival is the biggest mountain festival in the world, bigger even than its sister festival Banff. The Free Flight Night sees pilot speakers mixed with free flight films to create a unique evening in the heart of England’s Lake District. Always sold out.
Ozone Chabre Open
This fun comp is aimed at helping pilots take their first steps into competition in a friendly and fun atmosphere. Mentoring, daily de-briefs and guest lectures, not to mention the chance to win a free Ozone paraglider in the competition raffle, make this unique among comps. Many well known pilots have flown the Chabre Open, their stepping stone to greater things.
Sweden’s Hike and Fly
We supported the inaugural Are Hike and Fly in 2012, a 12-hour endurance race that sees pilots run and fly as far as they can – and back again. We plan to support them in future years too.
St Hil Air Tour
We’re a media supporter of this ‘mini X-Alps’ in France, which sees 30 teams hike and fly a 250km course rom St Hilaire du Touvet to Annecy and back each year. It’s open to mortals but you’ve still got to be tough, which is why Cross County’s Charlie King found herself doing it in 2011.
We support the following magazines by supplying occasional articles and photographs that have previously been published in Cross Country:
SkySailor
Australia’s free flight magazine.
Vario
Poland’s free flight magazine
Aerospace Knowledge
China’s biggest aviation magazine
Become a partner
We get a lot of requests to help provide prizes and other freebies for competitions and events. We are not in a position to help out everybody, but if you have a proposal and are an organiser with a track record please get in touch with the editor at editor@xccontent.local.