The 9th FAI World Cup of Canopy Flying wrapped up earlier this month, taking place from November 27th to December 1st, 2017 at Skydive Dubai. The annual event brought together 94 total competitors from 25 nations. For many competitors, it was their first time competing in an international championship.
The competition was made up of three events over the week it took place: Distance, Speed, and Zone Accuracy, with three rounds each.
The first leg of the competition took place on November 28th, with athletes competing for speed. Nicholas Batsch (USA) took first place in the competition, with 287.514 points. Curt Bartholomew (USA) took a close second with 285.717 points, and Cedric Veiga Rios (France) placed third with 279.086 points.
Distance was up next on November 29th. Cedric Veiga Rios (France) turned it around and took first in the second segment of the competition with 292.845 points. Nicholas Batsch (USA) trailed behind with 278.1 points, and Cornelia Mihai (UAE) took third with 267.368 points.
Zone Accuracy wrapped up the official competition on November 30th. Curt Bartholomew (USA) came in first with 296 points, followed by Nicholas Batsch (USA) with 288 points and Abdulbari Qubaisi (UAE) with 269.857 points.
On December 1st, prior to closing ceremonies, competitors had the option to participate in two rounds of freestyle competition, which did not contribute to their overall scores. Curt Bartholomew (USA) took first with 198.423 points. An incredibly close second place went to Nicholas Batsch (USA) with 197.072 points, and Matteo Pagani (Russia) took third with 190.54 points.
The first three placings in each event were awarded medals, and overall first, second and third place won $10,000, $7,000 and $5,000 USD, respectively. Nicholas Batsch (USA) took first place in the overall competition with a total of 853.614 points. 804.518 points put Cornelia Mihai (UAE) in second, and Mohammed Baker (UAE) clinched third with a total of 794.033 points.
The United Arab Emirates placed first in the teams calculations with 2391.064 total points. The United States took second with 2311.528 total points, and third went to France with 2118.313 total points.
Next year’s competition has not been scheduled at this time.
