Paramotor Magazine
October / November 2009, issue 15
The 2009 Paramotor World Championships threw up politics and passion in equal measure. We asked those who were there, ‘How was it for you?’
Who said it would be easy? The sixth FAI Paramotoring World Championships hit controversy from the word go.
First, the selection procedure: an impromptu bid from Lebanon won the day, promising big skies above the fertile fields of the Beqaa valley. Accepted and then, on second thoughts, rejected, the row left CIMA, the official body responsible for organising the World Championships, with egg on its face after belatedly realising that half the world’s governments advised against travel to the region for security reasons.
The Czech Republic then, seemed a safe bet, with its strong PPG scene, its airfield and its green and verdant rolling countryside. But then France, already in a pique over the decision not to stick with Lebanon, decided to boycott. A French colony until 1943 Lebanon this year hosted the Francophone Games – a sort of Olympic Games for French-speaking nations – and, sacre bleu, the French paramotor team wanted to be there too.
So boycott the World Championships they did…
Six pages on the World Championships, available by subscription at www.paramotormag.com
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