Glide on in to Reunion Island’s Paragliding World Cup Series

A HOLD REUNION_0
A HOLD REUNION_0
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Written by Linda Hohnholz

With sites of exceptional optimal wind conditions all year long, Reunion Island is world acclaimed by fans of free flight.

With sites of exceptional optimal wind conditions all year long, Reunion Island is world acclaimed by fans of free flight. The paragliding activity is a great tourist attraction for Reunion Island, and today the opening of the 24th edition of La Route des Tamarins Paragliding World Cup Series 2014 takes off. For the occasion, a press conference was held today on Monday, October 13, 2014, in Saint-Leu.

Saint-Leu is the mecca of free flying on Reunion Island, and is host to this World Cup Series from October 13-18, 2014. The event is organized by the League of Free Flight Reunion, the annual international competition positioned as a powerful vehicle to promote tourism, especially among participants who discover both the landscapes of Reunion Island from the sky and optimum flight conditions offered by the island.

During the press conference, which was held in the park in Saint-Leu, the league President, Dominique Durand, stressed the importance of democratizing the practice of free flight. For him, beyond the competition, the goal of the event is “to involve the population of Reunion in this elitist activity.” To do this, several raffles will progress during the World Cup Paragliding event, with the key being the tandem flights for the winners. This year’s poster style is designed with colorful native art and was created by artist-painter Saint Leusienne Emmanuelle Dupont.

The championship will see the contestants compete in all five rounds, during which they must remain in the air varying between 50- to 100-kilometer distances – a feat for non-motorized vehicles! Pilots must use the warm currents that behave like invisible elevators in the Reunion Islalnd sky. Takeoffs will take place at the sites of Colimaรงons 800 in Saint-Leu or Bellemรจne in St. Paul, depending on weather conditions. It will be a multicolored-sky that awaits the spectators, especially the motorists utilizing Tamarind Road who may witness a kind of ballet of organized colorful sails that fly in fast lanes to reach the coast of the island throughout the year. For competing drivers, the purpose of the maneuver is to rally the various airline tags and realize the tokens of a compliant route before landing on the sandy blond Kรฉlonia, which owes its name to the Observatory of Marine Turtles nearby. The criteria for the competition is the rapid completion of the course, the longest distance, and the fastest time on a course.

More than sixty international pilots from France, China, South Africa, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Germany, Slovenia, Poland, and Portugal are participating this year. For the first time, the competition will welcome a delegation of 16 Chinese pilots. Agnes Lavaud, board member of Reunion Island Tourism (IRT), said, “The meeting is now a Tourist Destination Allowed (DTA) for Chinese travelers […] China is a market [โ€ฆ] develop[ed] to the island’s tourism economy.” It is in this sense that the IRT has taken over the arrival of a Chinese journalist to publicize the event to the people of the Middle Kingdom. Sรฉbastien Coupy, stage winner in 2013 and Honorary Member of The Meeting, will also take part in the competition, along with a score of Reunion Island drivers.

All week long, many events will run through the park in Saint-Leu – meetings, trade shows, demonstrations, and more. It is a fantastic opportunity for event goers to discover paragliding activities with both feet firmly planted on the ground!

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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