XContest UK 2025

Welcome to The XContest UK!

This is a three flight XC league for paraglider and hang glider pilots in the UK. We want to promote the adventure of XC flying on our small islands and encourage you on, whatever you fly!

What’s the big idea?

A lot of thought has gone into this new format. Firstly, a three flight score helps make things more equal for those in areas where opportunities to score big days are rarer. Secondly, we’re leveling the playing field with a handicap system – meaning that EN A, B and C paraglider pilots can score more equally each day with higher performance flyers. Third, the multipliers for triangles and ‘free’ triangles encourage circuit flying on lightwind days, but equalise the challenges of such flights with the complexities of open distance flying. We think scoring should reflect the fact that there’s only been two 300 km straight line flights in the UK done by paraglider (Richard Carter and Hugh Miller), and two by hang glider (Carl Wallbank and Nev Almond).

Also, we’re keen to award prizes for the big milestones, to help celebrate your achievements. Fly your first 100 km straight line XC and you’ll be sent a Cross Country XContest 100 T-shirt. Go on to crack your first 200 points, and you’ll earn a Cross Country Speed Top (with gold sleeves).

Above all this is a pilot-represented league, run by a committee, who are here to listen to pilots’ views and shape the contest accordingly.

The XContest UK ends 30 September, and restarts on 1 October each year.

2024-09-06

Check out Hugh Miller and Mark Watts fantastic flight from BoPeep to the Isle of Wight!

2024-08-18

An interesting day at Worcester Beacon last Saturday! Conditions were tricky and quite a few pilots failed to go over the back. The day was quite unstable but finding good lines wasn't easy with very little sun until about 3pm. Although sometimes hard to identify under almost 100% cover, sucking clouds helped quite a bit. Despite that, the first small gaggle of 5 was up and away at 12pm, led by Benjamin Dry. In the following hour, 20 more climbed out and headed East. Big congratulations to those who covered distance of over 100km, especially Alex Coltman who was only 1.7km short of 200km mark, not a small feat! Huge thanks to Tim Pentreath for compiling the Sportstrack Live 3D! https://www.sportstracklive.com/en/scene/bfcccd1e-2795-463a-af9f-d8201a491131/ Pictures courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/xcjunkies.org and Tim Pentreath Sportstracklive compiled by https://www.facebook.com/tim.pentreath Check out daily UK flights @ https://www.xcontest.org/united-kingdom/flights/daily-score-pg/ Marcin Egiert XContestUK #xcontestuk #crosscountryflying

2024-06-13

2024-06-07

Jamie Goodreid arriving at Swanage 5th of June 2024.

2024-06-06

We all saw the bright red 5-star forecast for Wednesday, June 5th, and the anticipation was high! But as the day approached, the wind decided to change direction and strength, creating less-than-ideal conditions for popular XC sites in the southwest. Despite these challenges, some adventurous pilots started from Frocester at 10am. Turns out it was a rather difficult day with many well-known XC hounds bombing out before reaching the 100km mark. In the southeast, Devil's Dyke saw a few good flights, with pilots surfing the sea breeze convergence line to Margate. James Chancellor, followed by 5 more pilots, covered 130km in just over 4 hours, landing on the beach! However, the day's most remarkable achievement came from Jamie Goodreid and Andy Brown. They made history with the first-ever flight from Woolacombe on the North Coast of Devon to Swanage in Dorset! Not only did they have the best flights of the day, but they also broke the Woolacombe site record. Jamie even broke his personal best distance record. Huge congratulations to Jamie and Andy for their incredible flights and for setting new records! 🎉👏 Pictures courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/JamieGoodreid Check out daily UK flights @ https://www.xcontest.org/united-kingdom/flights/daily-score-pg/ Marcin Egiert XContestUK #xcontestuk #crosscountryflying

2024-05-25

In the spring of this year, we have not been blessed with an abundance of good flying days. However, when a day with a reasonable forecast emerges, enthusiasts eagerly gather, ready to take to the skies. Today, the 25th of May, proved to be one of those special days. The weather above the UK was interesting, with high pressure from Scandinavia bringing in cold air from the northeast and low pressure west of Ireland pushing warm, moist air from the Atlantic. This mix made for a good flying day in the southwest of the country, although it was likely to be cut short by high clouds. A SSE wind direction pointed towards Milk Hill/Golden Ball as an optimal takeoff spot. It turned out Golden Ball was a much better choice with a significant east element to the wind direction. The sky looked quite dramatic from the early hours, and everyone was eager to get going. Although initial indications hinted at a potential early start around 11 am, the formation of the most robust thermals was delayed until closer to noon when the first gaggle went over the back. Overall, the day was a little tricky; many pilots landed along the NW route towards Gloucester and Hereford. More than ten made it over the 100 km mark, with Marek Mogielnicki leading the pack and landing at 200 km. Coming back from the depths of the Welsh backcountry must have been an adventure on its own. Pictures courtesy of Aga Zaborowska & author Check out daily UK flights @ https://www.xcontest.org/united.../flights/daily-score-pg/ Marcin Egiert XContestUK #xcontestuk #crosscountryflying