Disciplines

Early paragliders had very poor performance and it was generally only possible to fly from the top of the hill to the bottom. As the paraglider technology developed more possibilities opened up: staying up for as long a time as possible (maximum duration), getting as high as possible (maximum altitude gain) and flying as far as possible (maximum distance). The sport has developed further and now has several sub-disciplines each with its own adherents and competition circuit.

Most pilots start with soaring and then on to cross country, vol-rando or accuracy. Experienced cross country pilots might then explore racing or vol-biv, whereas those who enjoy vol-rando might try para-alpinism. Acro paragliding is an emerging sport and very much the realm of extremely skilful pilots. Record hunting and adventure flying is for those at the top of their game.

Soaring

Flying for the simple pleasure of flying, anywhere from sand dunes to mountain ridges, usually at well understood flying sites.

Cross Country (XC)

Taking off and trying to fly as far as possible from the take off site. Good XC pilots are experts at finding and using different types of lift such as thermals and can fly 10-200km in a day depending on the landscape and weather conditions.

Racing

Typically flying defined tasks as a race against others. Competition pilots use special high-performance gliders that demand a high level of pilot skill to fly and can complete 30-100km races in one to three hours. The world's best racers compete in the Paragliding World Cup and the Paragliding World Championship.

Accuracy

Spot landings. The top pilots can reliably landing within ten centimetres of the target every single time.

Acro (Acrobatics)

Doing tricks such as loops and wingovers. In acro competitions pilots score points for the difficulty of the tricks they do and how well they are performed.

Vol-rando and Para-alpinism

Walking or climbing up a hill or mountain with a lightweight paraglider for the pleasure of the ascent and then descending using a paraglider. A complete set of paragliding equipment (wing, harness, helmet, etc.) typically weighs 15-20kg, the equivalent specialist lightweight kit can weigh as little as 5kg.

Vol-biv (Vol Bivouac)

Doing multiday trips combining paragliding, walking and camping. Vol-biv trips last from a couple of days to several weeks.

Record Hunting

Several world records are recognised, typically for flying as far as possible or completing a defined task as quickly as possible. Breaking a world or national record nowadays requires a huge amount of planning and preparation, pilot skill, the very best equipment - as well as a bit of luck on the day.

Adventure Flying

Exploring the corners of the world with a paraglider, demanding a high level of self-reliance and commitment. Adventure pilots fly where no-one else has done before and often where an unintended landing would be extremely serious due to inhospitable terrain or remoteness.