A wonderful sport

The organizer has learned a lot since the 2024 European Championship. The event was excellently organized and executed from start to finish. Congratulations. From a sporting perspective, it was a huge success:

In the senior category, there were 45 competitors, 10 of whom were women. The participants came from Germany, France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, and Bulgaria. Of the 25 juniors, 7 were female. They came from Slovakia, Germany, Ukraine, and Romania.

The Swiss team had to contend with the loss of several models—all of which were later recovered. The short breaks between runs made lengthy recovery operations nearly impossible. A team of helpers could help resolve this issue.

If a youth development strategy were ever to be implemented, I would give the F1E class high priority: F1E is a beautiful and appealing class to watch, featuring simple technology, a connection to nature, and the all-important promotion of physical activity for young people (in contrast, for example, to the “sedentary” classes). ■

P.S. More impressive photos and complete standings can be found at:

<https://www.fai.org/news/>

*E. Giezendanner*

*Photos: Bernhard Schwendemann*

Intergenerational collaboration has always been a part of model flying.