1. News (last Updated 6th April 2008)

March 2008

Our Chief observer, Rupert Stanley, has been honoured by the British Balloon and Airship Club at their Annual General Meeting.  Rupert was a worthy recipient of a BBAC Diploma for his services to Competition Ballooning.

March 2008

The Club is embarking on an important new initiative that is designed to encourage more new long-term members whilst still providing a worthwhile element of serious competition for established pilots.

We are changing Grand Prix 1 and 2 to be in a new 'GP-light' format, where more training will be the focus and where both new and established pilots will have the opportunity to push themselves without running the risk of compromising their chances of competing for the UK.  The events will be of a more social nature and will include worthwhile prizes, both cash prizes and hopefully items of ballooning equipment.

January 2008

The event diary for the new year is now published on the Diary page of our site.

November 2007 - UK Pilot takes Silver in Tochigi

David Bareford once again demonstrated his skill and experience with Japanese conditions to be placed 2nd in the 2007 Tochigi Hot Air Balloon Championship.  Apart from reinforcing his reputation as one of the world's top pilots he also bagged a handy Yen 1,000,000.  Marcus Green netted Yen 100,000 for an excellent 9th place out of the 32 competitors. The event follows on from the hugely successful World Honda Grand Prix event which had been held for several years at Motegi Twin-ring.  The Tochigi area is known for its stunning scenery and challenging winds.  The full results and other information can be downloaded from: http://www.exem-balloon.com/tochigi2007hp/

September 23rd 2007 - UK Pilot wins Worlds test event in Austria

Richard Parry took first place in the 2007 OMV Challenge event in Hofkirchen, Styria, Austria.  The contest was held as a testing event for the World Championship which is being held in the same location this time next year.  Accordingly it attracted a strong field of 41 pilots from across the World, and so we are particularly pleased that Richard took first place.  Joe Heartsill from the USA came 2nd and Shawn Mackinga from Switzerland claimed bronze.  The full results can be downloaded from here: http://omv07.webernet.lu

September 16th 2007 - Inter-regional Championship result confirmed

The 2007 Inter-regional Championship was decided at the Pidley Grand Prix.  Competitors formed into teams of three pilots each representing their BBAC region.  The final result was:

1. West Midlands One : 13733 points

2. Western Region : 12469 points

3. East Midlands Region : 6690 points

September 8th 2007 - BBC News covers Grand Prix 3 LIVE
BBC News 24 journalist, Nick Higham, attended our third Grand Prix of the season (at Pidley, Cambs.) along with a satellite link truck to enable live broadcasting of the event. Conditions were perfect and the coverage superb with live aerial slots plus both recorded and live interviews with key individuals running throughout the day from 06.50. It was a fantastic opportunity to showcase our sport and provided spectacular  footage of our competitors' balloons, both sponsored and private.
The increased interest in competition ballooning which is now being shown by media organisations highlights just how good our sport is as a promotional tool for companies with an eye to the advantages of sponsorship. For further information about how your organisation could benefit from involvement in our events, contact Neil Gabriel mailto:chairman@ballooncomps.org.uk

The results from this event are posted below.

September 2007 - British Team attracts intense media interest at the European Championship
Lindsay Muir, Britain's top female competition pilot, was one of three pilots chosen as the subject of a documentary on the competition. The programme was broadcast on 29 August on the German channel MDR. A number of British pilots were interviewed for a programme which will be broadcast on Eurosport in the autumn, focussing on aerial competitions. Mike Howard flew with a miniaturised camera in his basket to get a unique perspective on the activities of a competition pilot in a major competition.  Neil Gabriel flew a reporter from a German radio station and talked through aspects of competition ballooning. The team also featured in the German press in the run-up to the event.

August 2007 - British Team strong in European Championship
Six British pilots and their support teams attended the 15th European hot-air balloon Championship held in Magdeburg, Germany. It was the largest ever European Championship event with 83 competitors from across the region, so the Team was happy to see the UK's Mike Howard in 6th place, missing a place on the podium by only 500 points. David Bareford took 16th place, Marcus Green 24th, Lindsay Muir 27th, Neil Gabriel 44th and Rick Vale 47th. The strong showing in the top half of the ranking will give the UK additional invitations to the next European Championship to be held in the Loire Valley, France, in August 2009.

July 23rd 2007 - Nationals succumbs to regional flooding
At the eleventh hour, severe flooding across the South Shropshire region has forced the cancellation of the 2007 National Championship.  This is the first time in the competition's 32-year history that weather has forced the cancellation of the event even before competitors have arrived at the competition centre.  Competition organiser Neil Gabriel commented "Once it became apparent that local people were in such difficulties it was obvious that it would be better for us to keep away while the clear-up operation is under way. We're certainly disappointed but sometimes you just have to make tough calls for everyone's benefit.  We'll be back in Ludlow though, hopefully next summer."

June 2007 - Nationals starts media frenzy
As the dates for this year's National Championship fast approach, the media have been getting in on the act.  There has been strong demand for press releases following articles on the BBC News website and a live interview on BBC Radio Shropshire by our Chairman, Neil Gabriel.
You can see the BBC News article by clicking here 

March 2007 - Honours for distinguished service
Nigel Tasker has been honoured by the FAI and the Royal Aero Club for his unique contribution to the early development of competition ballooning.  Nigel was instrumental in designing the task rules by which every balloon competes.  These rules proved so successful that they were adopted as a world-wide standard and in recognition of this Nigel has been awarded the FAI Airsport Medal and the Royal Aero Club Bronze Medal. 
After a break of several years, Nigel Tasker is once again in the hot-seat as he will be directing the 2007 British National Hot-air balloon championship which is being held in Ludlow at the end of July. 

Competition ballooning on Radio 2
The Competitions Club secured a spot in Jonny’s Sports Locker on the Chris Evans Show on 24 November 2006.  One of our members gave an interview to promote the attractions of competition ballooning to a wider audience. 

Nationals in the news
The British National Championships received good press coverage this year with a newspaper article in the Cambs Times and interviews on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, BBC Radio Peterborough and the local Classic Gold station.  In addition, a segment of the television programme, the Great British Summer, was filmed at the Nationals.

The success stories from the British Nationals 2006
Mike Howard was crowned British Champion again following three fast flights at the British Nationals in Pidley.  Eight tasks were flown over the course of the week, resulting in Mike Howard winning overall, David Bareford taking second place and Neil Gabriel finishing third.  Other awards went to:

• Tom Smith - best newcomer
• Rachel Pointer - best observer
• Team Muir - best crew
• Sara Williams - Best Supporting Lady (a new award in memory of Janet Medcalf)
• Richard Parry - Tomo’s Joker
• Team Rogue  – Norman’s Urn (most comedy provided).
• David Medcalf - the wooden spoon

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2. Results

Visit this page frequently to see the lastest scores from our Grand Prix events and National Championships.

2007 Grand Prix 3 final results. Pidley 8-9 September 2007

2007 European Championship

2006 UK Pilot Rankings

2006 Grand Prix series overall scores

2006 British National Hot-Air Balloon Championships. Pidley 28th Aug- 2nd Sept 2006

2006 Grand Prix 1 results. Holt Heath 13/14 May 06

2006 Grand Prix 2 results. Stanford Hall 1-2 July 2006

2006 Grand Prix 3 results. Dursley 5/6 August 2006

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