About the Naviter Open

The Naviter Open is a serious, but fun paragliding competition and flying event. Less about flying the latest hot-ships and more about achievable tasks. Less about stressful competition and more about fun flying in a stress-free environment. The Naviter Open capitalises on all we learnt in orgaising the GIN Wide Open, but taking it to the next level....

Having experienced the GIN Wide Open, most pilots wanted to return, particularly as every year we change venue, have new speakers and generally improve the event year-on-year.
Where possible, we prioritised applications from qualified pilots who have never competed before.  In fact, your chances of being accepted to more than TWO GIN Wide Open events has now become very low.
For pilots that have 2 or 3 competitions under their belt, but would still prefer to compete in the famous GWO style, with all the support, parties, fun and prizes, we created the Naviter Open.  It’s the perfect opportunity to meet up with old friends, fly achievable tasks all in the same friendly atmosphere for which the GIN Wide Open has become so well-known.

What is the difference between the two competitions?

There are more similarities than differences, but here are the main differences:

• There are more similarities than differences, but below are the main differences:

  General: The GIN Wide Open is aimed at pilots trying out competition flying for the first or second time.  Occasionally pilots have slightly more experience, but on average pilots have experience of 1 competition or less.  In contrast, most of the pilots participating in the Naviter Open will have some (though still not much!) competition experience.

  Officialdom: The GWO in future will not be FAI recognized. It will be run strictly as a 'fun' competition. In contrast, the Naviter Open will continue to be registered as a CAT 2 FAI competition and require a Sporting licence to be issued by your National Body. If you want to compete purely in a fun atmosphere then the GWO will offer less pressure and easier access, but if you want to learn all aspects of competing, whilst still maintaining almost as much fun, then the Naviter is the route to go.

  Tasks:  At the GWO, the aim is to get as many people in goal as possible.  In previous years, we’ve had up to 90% of the pilots in goal on a 50km task with many pilots breaking their personal best in the process.  Whilst the tasks at the Naviter Open might be slightly longer and slightly more challenging, our task setting will still be kind (we love having lots of happy pilots in goal!)

  There is much more information on our FAQ pages.

* The entry fee is set in EUR, but for ease of payment for British based pilots we will offer a GBP rate. This rate may change on occasion to equate to the current exchange rates.