An idyllic Costa Blanca town became the centre of paragliding in Spain at the beginning of May, as more than 60 pilots from 16 different countries participated in the Open International Spanish Accuracy and the Spanish Precision Paragliding Championship, launching from none other than the Cape of Santa Pola. The open competition, which featured a precision discipline involving flying to a 2-metre target, saw great participation from both the athletes and their supporters on a beautiful day on the coastline.

Soaring through the sky in the beginning of May

During the competition, which took place from May 1 to May 3, the pilots launched from the Gran Alacant runway at the top of the Cape of Santa Pola and competed to get the closest to a 2-metre diameter target, located next to the chapel of the Virgin of the Rosary. The view was spectacular, with the athletes taking flight between the Santa Pola mountain range and the blue of the Mediterranean Sea, and with the silhouette of the island of Tabarca in the background.

The participants completed twelve rounds with the goal of scoring the least amount of points (the centre of the target represented zero points, growing in number the farther from the target the pilots landed).

Athletes from many different countries including China, Brazil, England, and the United Arab Emirates

Participating athletes hailed from more than a dozen different countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Great Britain, Kosovo, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Belgium, Brazil, Portugal, Croatia, France, China, Germany, Tunisia and the Netherlands.

The competition is the FAI (the International Aeronautical Federation) open, and counts as part of the Spanish Championship, as well as various regional championships. In the end, the winners were awarded team trophies, as well as individual awards for both the male and female categories.

Paragliding on the Costa Blanca: Flying on the idyllic coastline

Paragliding is a popular sport on the Costa Blanca, and in Santa Pola in particular, with various programmes available for both newbies and seasoned pros. It is just one of the reasons sports tourism shines in this region of Spain, and with the large international presence and grandeur of the competition, Santa Pola is quickly becoming a national and international reference for these types of sports and pastimes.