MONTEGRAPPA TROPHY 2023 LOCAL RULES

Introduction

The competition “Montegrappa Trophy 2023” is a FAI category 2 paragliding event, from 5th to 10th April 2023, in Romano d’Ezzelino (Italy), sanctioned by Aero Club d’Italia. The main organisers are “Aero Club Blue Phoenix Parapendio”, Via Granezza 11, 36016 Thiene (VI) Italy, and “ASD Volo Libero Montegrappa”, Piazza al Paradiso, 31030 Semonzo di Borso del Grappa (TV) Italy.

 

Daily schedule

Wednesday, 05th April

16:00 to 22:00 Registration (at HQ)

Thursday, 06th April

08:00 Mandatory safety and general briefing (at HQ)
08:30 to 9:30 Transport to take-off (leaving from HQ)
10:30 Task Committee and Safety Committee briefing (at take-off)
11:00 Weather briefing and Pilots briefing (at take-off)
11:30 to 19:00 Task
20:00 Provisional ranking

from Friday, 07th April to Sunday, 09th April

08:30 to 9:30 Transport to take-off
10:30 Task Committee and Safety Committee briefing (at take-off)
11:00 Weather briefing and Task briefing (at take-off)
11.30-19,00 Task
20:00 Provisional ranking

Monday, 10th April

08:30-9:30 Transport to take-off
10:30 Task Committee and Safety Committee briefing (at take-off)
11:00 Weather briefing and Task briefing (at take-off)
11:30 to 17:30 Task
19:00 Final rankings and prize-giving ceremony

Schedule may change depending on weather conditions or organizational needs. Any change will be published on the official board at the HQ and on the official social channels.

Scoring categories

OVERALL class (B, C, D and CCC certified gliders)
SERIAL class (B, C, D certified gliders)*
SPORT class (B, C certified gliders)*
WOMEN class (B, C, D and CCC certified gliders)**

(*) With at least 10 participants; (**) With at least 5 participants.

The competition will be considered valid with at least one completed task. Rankings will be processed using FS Comp (fs.fai.org), using the CIVL scoring formula. The GPS must record both the barometric and GPS flight altitude. For the scoring procedure, tracks will be downloaded from the Livetracking system. Other devices may be used as backup. The organisation will provide cables for Flymaster, Brauniger (Compeo, Compeo+), Compass, Garmin and Digifly. If a different GPS is used, the pilot must provide a suitable cable. The MapDatum will be WGS84 and the waypoints will be in UTM format.

 

Selection

Maximum number of participants admitted to the competition 150
Pilots selected according to the FAI ranking system (1st January 2023) 80
Pilots selected according to the Italian Overall Ranking (31st October 2022)* 60
Wild cards assigned by the organiser 7
Wild cards assigned by the Italian Team Leader 3
Places reserved to women 10

 

(*) In compliance with the Italian National Sporting Code 2020 (app. B.3), in the first selection round, 40% of the available places will be guaranteed to Italian pilots, according to the Italian Overall Ranking (reference date 31st October 2022). If an Italian pilot renounces or does not pay the entry fee within the established deadline, his/her place will be reassigned to another pilot selected according to the FAI ranking system.

In case of equal rankings, pre-registration order is considered.

 

Pre-registration

Pre-registration is processed through the https://airtribune.com web site, from 14th January 2023 to 5th February 2023. Only pre-registered pilots with a valid FAI licence will be accepted.

Confirmation and entry fee

The list of confirmed pilots will be published within 8th February 2023. Confirmation will be sent to pilots by email and the list of selected pilots published in the https://airtribune.com web site. Registration to the competition becomes effective only after the entry fee payment, which must be executed by bank transfer within 6 days from the confirmation received by email. The entry fee is 280 €. Bank payments are accepted, while Paypal and cash payments are not accepted. The payment receipt must be sent to the following email address: para@trofeomontegrappa.it. An additional fee of 50 € will be charged in case of late payment. Pilots who won’t pay within the payment deadline, will be moved at the bottom of the selection list. Organisers have the right to not accept the registration of pilots considered not eligible for safety reasons or in case the compliance with legal requirements cannot be verified.

 

Registration

The registration fulfilments will take place at the headquarters (via Benedetto Marcello, 36060 Romano d’Ezzelino (VI), Italy) on 5th April, from 16:00 to 22:00 (in case of delay, please call +393515030862). The following valid documents must be submitted upon registration at the HQ:

  • FAI sporting licence
  • Pilot national flight licence
  • Signed assumption of risk
  • Passport or other photo ID
  • Third party liability insurance covering paragliding (in compliance with FAI rules)
  • Medical and rescue insurance covering paragliding

Requirements

Equipment must be compliant to FAI Sporting Code, S7A Cross Country. For further details, pilots may consult the FAI web site http://www.fai.org/civl-documents. The following equipment is required:

  • paraglider (EN 926/2, EN926/1) flown within the certified weight range
    • proof of airworthiness (technical check if glider is older than 2 years)
  • helmet (EN 966 or EN 1077)
  • harness (EN 1651)
  • rescue parachute
  • LPD/VHF radio
  • mobile phone enabled to voice and data traffic in Italy

All athletes can be subject to anti-doping control. In case of any infringement of these rules, the competitor shall be disqualified and excluded from the competition.

Services included in the entry fee

  • 14 days validity Flycard (from 2nd to 16th April 2023)
  • ID card with safety & contact information
  • Services included each competition day:
    • Transport to take off and retrieval
    • Lunch pack
    • Weather briefing
    • Tracker
    • Live tracking (Airtribune is our platform of choice)
    • Medics at take-off and landing
    • Ambulance and helicopter rescue (30 to 60 minutes attendance time)
  • Gadgets
  • Complimentary dinner
  • Closing ceremony
  • Award and prizes
    • Winners must be present at the awards ceremony to collect the prize. Proxies are not accepted. Prizes not claimed will remain at the organisation.

Live tracking

The organiser will provide a Live Tracking Device (LTD: device for real time tracking) to all pilots. It must be used in each task to increase safety, achieve significant media impact and improve the retrieve service. The devices will be also used as primary source for scoring. The organisation will be responsible for charging all LTDs and delivering them to the pilots each flying day. Pilots must ensure to have their own LTD before take-off: failing to pick it up or returning it to the organisation before the beginning of the task will be interpreted as the pilot’s refusal to accept the task. The pilot that for whatever reason won’t fly the assigned task has to return the LTD to the organisation directly at the take-off. After receiving the LTD, pilots will be responsible for its proper use and maintenance, making sure that it is turned on during the flight and returning it to the organisation at the end of each task (report back). Instructions on the use of the devices will be given during the briefing. In case of loss or damage of the LTD, pilots will be requested to pay the full compensation of damages, amounting to 300 €.

Complaints and protests

Complaints will be dealt with as per the FAI Sporting Code, Section 7 and its sub-categories. Any complaints must be written in English and submitted to the Meet Director before 9:00 a.m. on the day following publication of the provisional results or within 30 minutes from the publication of the final general results. A deposit of 50 € is requested to present the complaint. If it is rejected, the deposit will not be returned.

Cancellation and refund

Paid entry fees will not be returned for any other claim. In case of no valid tasks, the organisation will return part of the entry fee to each confirmed pilot in the group (minimum amount 50 € – maximum amount 150 €, depending on the expenses afforded by the organiser).

References

The main reference is the official competition web site: https://www.trofeomontegrappa.it. Montegrappa Trophy runs according to the “FAI Sporting Code, General Section e Section 7A – Cross Country – Edition 2022” which can be found on FAI website: https://www.fai.org/civl-documents. “Regolamento sportivo nazionale parapendio – Cross Country e Regolamento Tecnico Specialità” available on the website: https://www.aeci.it/regolamenti-tecnici-vdsvl-294.

Liability

Pilots participate to the competition at their own risk. The organiser isn’t responsible for the pilots or any other third party. The transfer to take-off and the retrieval service are at pilots’ own risk. It is the responsibility of each competing pilot to ensure that he has valid insurance cover public liability risk, personal accident, hospitalization, repatriation.