Remembering Alan Hills

It is with heavy hearts that we bring sad news to our free flying community that legendry Instructor Alan Hills died peacefully last night after suffering a brain haemorrhage, he was 64. There's a message for all of us there- make every day count. But most of us know that; we are pilots. We can take comfort that Al lived his life to the full, touching many lives in the New Zealand paragliding community. Time now for us to think of Belinda his wife, and support each other. It is testimony to Al that there is such a wide community of amazing people around him. We are so lucky to be part of that network, which stretches worldwide. If we reflect on the NZHGPA today, you realise that our dedication to the joy of free flight comes with a unique blend of friendships, individual talents, experience and personalities. If there is any one individual who could be said to be responsible for helping to build the culture of who we are today, it would be this gentleman. For three and a half decades Alan has been introducing people to the world of flight, and most would say they were stamped with a little of his enthusiasm and ethos as they joined our special community. The empty space he leaves behind will not be fully realised for quite some time. Fly high Alan. We will remember you (Family friend Russ Read)

Blake Round has been awarded the Jill Borst Memorial trophy, for his significant contribution to the New Zealand paragliding community. The list of work is extensive from Club Safety Officer, NZHGPA Exec member, Training Manager, and raising the bar for TOW, Acro and Speed Flying disciplines in NZ. Normally awarded at the NZ Nationals, it was instead presented via zoom at the NZHGPA Exec meeting to a big round of applause. On behalf of the flying community, thank you Blake for your tireless energy and devotion to the sport of free flight – Congratulations. Jill Borst Memorial Trophy and past recipients from 2005 at; https://jbmt.homestead.com/ 👏👏👏👏

Trophy Winners NZ PG 2022

New Zealand PG Awards 2022 

In accordance with a recent memo that, owing to the absence of a PG Open this year due to extenuating circumstances, it was decided that the NZ PG awards for 2022 would be decided according to the NZPRS rankings as at 1st March, 2022.

This year then the awards and trophies are:

    National Champion     Louis Tapper

   Womens Champion    Nina Harrap 

( 'Though Jessica Green is the top ranked female, she is not eligible for the 'award' ‘cos she’s not a kiwi. We certainly acknowledge her performance)

     Serial Class  Aaron Chesterman
  Sports Class Mal Haskins
  Fun Class    Nina Harrap ( Jessica not eligible)

       Jill Borst Blake Round 

   Leo Geary        Jesse Dhue 

Congratulations to all those pilots

  

New FAI / CiVL pilot ranking and Registration Portal

 

NZ PG open Corryong 2022 Cancelled

 NZ PG Open 2022

CANCELLED.

Due to NZ Covid restrictions and rising Omicrin cases worldwide, the NZ PG Open 2022 being held in Corryong , Australia in February has been cancelled as the NZ PG Open for 2022. The competition organiser, Dave Gibbs, is continuing to host a Cat 2 event in it's place. Modified details can be found on Airtribune under  "Not the NZ PG Open 2022"