Parachuting and skydiving competitions are starting back up in certain countries. France stages national championships in all the different disciplines over the course of little more than 30 days. Nationals in Accuracy and Freefall Style conclude today in Laval with a participation of 70+, Canopy Formation is next in Besancon.
Just as UEFA did with the premier competitions that it was able to salvage from SARS-CoV-2, the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League, the Fédération Française de Parachutisme (FFP) schedules all of its national championships during a relatively short period in the peak of summer. Seven title competitions are to be held between 7 August and 13 September. That this requires fairly complex logistics one can easily imagine, all the more so, after the championship locations – except for one – had to be changed on short notice.
One MAJOR event – the all-discipline (except Canopy Piloting) nationals scheduled to take place from 25 July to 2 August in Vichy – fell victim to the virus, as did the UEFA European Cup and the FAI Mondial.
FFP and the organizers taking on the national championships in the individual disciplines must be congratulated for their flexibility and initiative. The only concession to the virus: all events are held without spectators.
Highly doubtful whether too many other national governing bodies and their event hosts will be able to do the same with their championships. Norway and the the Czech Republic have done so in July, albeit on a much smaller scale.
A major non-competitive event takes place in Klatovy, in the Czech Republic, at this time.
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