The 5th FAI Pan American Paragliding Championship has launched in Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais state of Brazil. 130 pilots from 10 nations are going to compete for the title of the champion. The youngest competitor is just 21 years old while the oldest one is 66. The nation that has the biggest number of pilots is Brazil, but Argentina and USA have presented also a significant number of participants. 

The 8th of April was an opening ceremony and a registration day, though some pilots managed to fly a training task in the morning.

At 18.00 there have been held a safety briefing led by the Meet director Vinicius Matuk. He reminded about of the difficulties of two turn points that border on the restricted airspace and warned pilots they may likely have to launch in zero wind conditions.

In an exclusive interview with CIVL Vinicius also told us that he expected excellent flying conditions, 7 flying days, and tasks up to 100 km that last about 2-2.5 hours. You can find the full version of the interview on CIVL Facebook.

The festive parade and the official opening ceremony were held in the evening. The Jury president Igor Erzen declared the championships to be open.