Two members of the Petersfield-based Sky Surfing Club (SSC) represented the British teams in the FAI World Hang Gliding Championships.

The championships were held in the small town of Kruševo, in North Macedonia.

The event combined the 23rd class one (flexwing) championship, the 14th women’s class one championship and the ninth class five (rigid wing) championship. Team Great Britain took the silver medal in class one after a thrilling final task in the competition.

The six-person team in Class one included SSC member Grant Crossingham – who is the current British champion. He placed fifth overall in the competition, just missing out on an individual medal. Fellow SSC member Tim King formed half of the two-person team in class five – although illness prevented him from participating in some of the competition tasks. This impacted team and individual results.

In the class one category there were more than 100 of the world’s top hang glider pilots from 22 countries. Each country could field a team of six pilots, with the top three scores counting each day.

Eight scoring tasks were flown during the competition. Crossingham said: “I managed to take a brilliant line on the final glide in task eight, overtaking perhaps 20 gliders to arrive second in goal on the day.

“We put in a great team performance. Personally, I blew the chance at an individual medal during the first three days, probably throwing away 300 points which would have put me much closer to gold.

“I should have had more flying practise before the competition. It is always very challenging competing against the best pilots in the world.”

Brian Parkins