Rules

The X-Lakes challenge is run ‘by the participants for the participants’ and a Task Committee will be brought together by the organisers in the days prior to the event. Richard Bungay of UK Airsports, experienced comp pilot and supporter of Steve Nash in the 2015 X-Alps, has kindly agreed to oversee support logistics and scoring.

A 1-day challenge runs in parallel to a main 2-day challenge event. The 1-day ‘Academy’ challenge is aimed to engage newcomers, and those that may not be in the ‘super fit’ category, to participate, enjoy the Lakes and to have some fun.

Participants should self-certify that they hold the BHPA ‘Pilot rating’ (or the International Pilot Proficiency Information (IPPI) level 4) in order to enter the two-day ‘Hardcore’ event. Decision making can be very challenging when fatigue kicks in!

The one-day, ‘Academy’ event is open to ‘Club Pilots’ with little or no cross-country experience. Site briefings and some route guidance is available for the one-day event but entrants should be competent on foot in the hills.

All X-Lakes participants are provided with waypoints for the Wainwright Peaks in advance and competitors are tracked, and then scored, using GPS tracking devices. Local mountain rescue services are made aware that the event is underway. Despite these measures, the decision to participate, run, walk or fly remains the sole responsibility of those who choose to enter the event.

At the discretion of the Task Committee, rules published in these pages may be adjusted/changed and will be notified as early as possible to all registered participants. On each day of the challenge the option exists for participants to leave their flying equipment behind if flying appears unlikely. A ‘penalty factor’ will then be applied to all points collected on that day reducing the value of the Peaks that have been ‘bagged’. The factor applied and reducing the value of peaks will be agreed by the Task committee on the eve of the Challenge and shared with participants at the obligatory task briefing.


No vehicular transport is allowed during the Challenge .


Briefings and start/finish times may have to be staggered to manage group sizes. Timings will be confirmed at the briefings.

Events:

  • 2-day “Hardcore” Challenge: This is an approximately 22-hour Challenge . Timings will be agreed by the Task Committee immediately prior to the Challenge but competitors should plan to start at 8am Friday morning and carry on until 4pm on Saturday, resting between 9pm and 7am on Friday night. The start and finish location will be defined but the route and flying choices are entirely the choice of the participant.
  • 1-day “Academy” Challenge: This is an approximately 8-hour Challenge . Timings will be agreed by the Task Committee immediately prior to the Challenge but competitors should plan to start at 8am Friday morning and carry on until 4pm on the same day. A route will be suggested, taking in a few key Wainwright peaks. Other peaks can be bagged to enhance the overall score.

All competitors will be welcomed to registration from 4pm on the afternoon prior to the events. An event briefing will take place at around 7:30pm. During the briefing the Task Committee and organisers will discuss local weather and possible route options. The technical support team will demonstrate the tracking systems and the safety support systems will be discussed. Pilots must share this information with their supporter.

Safety and Tracker: Competitors are required to report to collect their trackers at 6:30 on the Friday morning of the event. The task committee may elect to have a confirmatory briefing at 07:30 in which case all participants will be informed by SMS/group chat facility. Equipment will be spot-checked at this time. It is helpful if event supporters can also attend this briefing.

Social and Prize-giving: We aim to conclude the scoring of the two-day Challenge by 6pm on the Saturday. Prize-giving will follow and all the pilots and their supporters are invited to join the celebrations. Trophies are awarded for first place in each event and there will be a small selection of  prizes for competitors. A ‘Jo-median’ prize will also be provided for the person coming in the mid-field position in the two-day event to recognise the value of simply taking part in the X-Lakes challenge!

Scoring :

  1. Points for Peaks : ‘Wainwrights’ are Lake District peaks which stand at over 1,000 feet in height. They are subdivided into seven geographical regions. Each are described in different Wainwright guide books.
  2. Please refer to the Info map for a complete list of scores for the Fells.
    • 10 points will be awarded for every peak in the Eastern or Central fells.
    • 20 points will be awarded for all other Wainwright peaks.
    • All turn-points have a standard radius of 400 meters whether taken in the air or taken on foot.
      *Note: Radius is based on files shared via this website only*
  3. Distant peaks option: * removed *
  4. Furthest North, South East or West option : * removed *
  5. Tracklogs / Satellite tracking will be used to verify routes, flight and then for scoring. It is recommended that participants make back-up GPS tracklogs (IGC format) using their own instruments so that they can be submitted to supplement live tracking data acquired during the Challenge if technical problems occur and to help verify any disputes.
  1. Penalties for travelling light : On each competition day, competitors can elect to leave their flying kit behind for the whole day. By doing so, all points scored on that day will have a factorial value applied that reduces the value of the peaks bagged during that day (For instance: if the Task Committee deem that the factorial should be 0.8 for the day in question then a score of 100 points bagged in the day would be reduced to 80 points – a 20% penalty) Note, the event organisers reserve the right to remove this penalty if the Task Committee agree that no competitor should fly and that ALL participants should leave their flying kit and carry only the equipment needed for a safe day in the mountains.

2-Day Challenge Schedule :

  • Competitors are required to collect their trackers at 6.30am on the Friday of the event. The Task Committee may elect to have a safety briefing before the start, in which case all participants will be informed by SMS/group chat facility.
  • The Challenge will begin 8am. Any change to this plan will be shared by SMS/group chat facility.
  • A compulsory over-night rest period begins at 9.00pm on Friday. All competitors need to stop flying by 8pm  (obligatory land-by time) and report in their last position to the event organisers by 9pm. Competitors can start racing again from 7am on the next morning. They must start from within a 400m radius of the ending location registered at 9pm the previous evening.
  • Pilots should attempt to send a text message “OK” after their 9pm end-of-day, to help assure the organisers and their supporter of their safety.
  • During the night, the pilot can choose to either camp out, vol-biv style, or to spend the night in a hotel, house, van etc.
  • Competitors who carry all their own kit and whom spend the night out in the hills with no support will be deemed to be competing in the vol-biv competition. Pilots must self-declare if they are camping out, vol-biv style.
  • At 7am on the following day, the pilot must then report back to within 400 meters of the place they left on the previous day, where they can continue the Challenge. While they must start from within 400m of the spot they were at the previous evening, they must not start until 7am, but can choose to leave later.
  • During Challenge hours, the pilot can only elect to walk or fly. No other form of transport is allowed.
  • During the obligatory rest period, from 9pm Friday until 7am Saturday, the pilot can move using any form of transport.
  • The 2-day event finishes at 4.00pm on Saturday. Late finishers will be treated as follows:
    • 10 points will be deducted from the pilot score for each ten minutes of lateness. The 1st second past 4pm results in 10 points being deducted, 20 at 10 minutes and 1 second, up to 60 points at 4:50 and 1 second.
    • Over an hour late scores zero.
  • For the remaining points to be valid for scoring, all competitors must report back to the event HQ before 5pm on the Saturday at the latest.
  • In any case where a competitor cannot make it back by 5pm on Saturday they must call in and report back by this time. However, all their points will be forfeited.
  • Any competitor may quit the event any time. However, they must inform the event organisers of it and must return their tracker to the event HQ. Failure to report quitting or return their tracker could disbar the participant from future events!!

1-Day ‘Academy’ event schedule :

  • There will be a compulsory safety briefing at 7:30am on the Thursday evening and the race will begin at 8am on the Friday and finish at 4pm. 
  • Depending on wind conditions, pilots will be given a number of Wainwright turn-points to collect, either:
    • A circular route, starting and finishing at event HQ. 
    • A route starting at one location and finishing at another after bagging the nominated Wainwright peaks and possibly some others!

Equipment :

  • All entrants must be qualified to fly paragliders in the UK, with a recognised licence.
  • The X-Lakes Challenge is intended to be a cross-country flying event, therefore the use of paragliders with 16m2 or less (speed-gliding) is prohibited. It is also prohibited to fly with paragliders which have a wing loading greater than 6Kg/m2.
  • All flying equipment must be homologated and must comply with the latest edition of the following EN certification standards : 
  • Paraglider: EN 926-2 and 926-1 or LTF 91/09 (including CCC FAI class), having aspect ratio under 7,2.
  • Harness: EN 1651 with certified protection, or LTF 91/09
  • Emergency parachute: EN 12491 or LTF 91/09
  • Helmet: EN 966 or snowboarding EN 1077 class is accepted.
  • All competitors are required to carry the below minimum equipment to fly:
    • Glider
    • Harness including certified back protection
    • Emergency parachute
    • Helmet
    • Mobile telephone (and backup charging facilities)
    • 2m band Radio (1-day Challenge obligatory; 2-day optional). Radio channel will be decided during briefing
    • Backup GPS tracker device (in addition to the live tracker supplied by the event organisers)
    • Backup battery charging facility for the event tracker
  • Once the Challenge starts, a pilot cannot change their selected equipment.
  • Competitors must be appropriately kitted out for fell running/walking during the Challenge at all times. Special attention must be given to mapping or battery back-up for electronic navigation aids. A waterproof layer is strongly advised.
  • In case of bad weather/rain or poor flying conditions, the event will still take place. Competitors may elect to get into fell-running or walking mode for the day. They may opt to leave behind their flying kit and inform the event organisers about it at the start of each day. However, the competitor cannot then collect their wing during that day. A competitor can also choose to walk/run with their full flying kit but they must not fly in rain/marginal conditions. Note that competitors who choose to leave their flying gear behind may have a factorial penalty applied to their points collected during that day. The event organisers will notify competitors of what penalties are being applied when the competitor notifies them of their intentions. (Certain conditions will allow this penalty system to be lifted)
  • Competitors are very strongly encouraged to use supporters during the event. Even if it is a person nominated to follow the participant’s progress and be available to liaise with the organisers. They should be roughly aware of the pilot’s likely route choice.
    Pilots must inform the event organisers of the names and contact details of their supporter(s) before the compulsory safety briefing on the day of the event. Supporter(s) must try to remain accessible via mobile phone or satellite systems throughout the duration of the event.
  • Competitors need to be in charge of the tracking device(s) provided by event organisers.
  • As well as the live-tracking GPS device supplied by the event organisers, every competitor should carry their own GPS device to make a back-up recording of their track.
  • Mobile coverage on the Lakeland Fells is limited. A satellite beacon, such as an InReach or SPOT, is strongly recommended as a personal emergency SOS device.

Flying Rules :

  • All entrants hold final responsibility for their own safety, both flying and on the ground.
  • No scoring movements are allowed in the hours between 9pm and 7am
  • Cloud flying is not allowed and will be penalised. The type of penalty applied will be agreed by the Task Committee but might include disqualification.
  • All pilots need to follow Airlaw, UK flying code and rules of the Cumbria Soaring Club.
  • Tandem entries will only be allowed at the absolute discretion of the event organisers. They will be scored as if they were a single competitor.

Entry Fees:
Entry to either Challenge format takes the form of a charitable donation to Charitable causes and has a minimum cost of £60 per competitor for the 2-day event and £40 for the 1-day event. Payment only becomes due when your registration has been accepted and you have been successful in your entry.

The entry fee allows the organisers to arrange for each team’s safety to be protected through tracking technologies, to lay on food for pilots at the end of event festivities and to support the cost of the prizes and awards. Some funds may be carried forward for future events and any additional funds generated will be donated to charity.

The number of participants is limited for both events. Provided spaces remain available, persons can enter via the X-Lakes or Airtribune websites at any time up until around one week prior to the event.

Cancellation:
If entrants wish to cancel their entry, then there will be no refund of the charitable donation.

If the organisers have to cancel more than four weeks prior to the event, then all payments (less the PayPal booking fees) will be offered for refund although entrants may opt to allow their unused entry fee to go forward for donation to charity.

Both events will proceed regardless of the weather.

Further Notes : 
A useful map of the Wainwrights is available via this link


The famous British weather!

No backup weekend (for reasons of weather) is planned for this event and participants for the ‘Hardcore’ event and the ‘Academy’ event are invited to complete their challenge in the Lake District fells whatever the weather!