Competition hang gliding and paragliding is at the very heart of cross country flying. Fly comps and you’ll hone your skills and fly better, longer and further. Each issue we carry reports from the world’s best competitions, often written and photographed by pilots who were there, flying in the lead gaggle.

Cross Country is a media partner of three of the world’s leading XC competitions, including the Paragliding World Cup, the XC Open World Series and the online XContest. We also support up to 10 competitions a year, sponsoring prizes for all levels of competition – from the Ozone Chabre Open to National Championships around the world.

The Paragliding World Cup: The best of the best

Action from the Paragliding World Cup Superfinal

The best pilots in the world, the best sites in the world and the highest quality, toughest competitions in the world. If you’re flying Paragliding World Cup then you’re at the top of the sport. The ultimate testing ground for gliders. With five international legs and one Superfinal each year the World Cup Tour provides the best action on the comp scene today. Cross Country magazine has been an official media partner since 2011.

XC Open World Series: Fly as far as you can

The Hungarian XC Open … open distance cross country paragliding

Open to all cross country paragliding pilots the XC Open World Series is a grassroots success story. Competitors enjoy up to eight days of out-and-out open distance flying in four different contests across the world each year. Each year the flying takes in the best of Australia, Spain, Brazil and South Africa. If you want to fly among friends and just go for distance, then this is for you. Cross Country has been a media partner since 2008.

XContest.org: Log every flight

The XContest is an online worldwide XC league open to all pilots. It hosts several national leagues, including Austria, Holland, Mexico, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Hungary, Latvia and Slovakia. The competition is as fierce as you like – vie to be top of the table of over 6,000 hang glider and paraglider pilots or just compete against your friends or yourself. Cross Country magazine reports on the best flights from XContest in every issue and has been a media partner since 2008.

FAI World and Continental Championships

The 2009 Hang Gliding World Championships in Laragne, France

What the IOC is to the Olympics, the FAI is to sport flying. CIVL is the body that regulates many international hang gliding and paragliding competitions as well as approving world records. They write the rules for World, European and Asian championships (known as Category 1 comps – top level, national team comps that take place every two years) and also the circa 300 Category 2 (lesser level) competitions that take place each year (see the CIVL hang gliding calendar and the paragliding calendar for details.) They also maintain the World Rankings.

Cross Country mag is always there, reporting on the World and Continental Championships as well as important Cat 2 comps, and has good links with CIVL, making sure that we are always up to date with the latest comp news – as well as the politics going on at the top of the sport.