The only thing better than driving through the picturesque locale of Bright is striving to win a national title while you’re flying through the skies above.

The first leg of the Australian Paragliding Championships was conducted in the air above Bright from 16-23 January, with the Bright Open bringing in a massive cohort of pilots both domestic and international.

Given the bushfire situation at the time, it was touch-and-go whether the event would go ahead, but competition director and president of North East Victorian Hang Gliding Club, Craig Collings, said they were fortunate conditions worked out well for them.

“We liaised with Bright police and early on it was too hard to make the call, obviously we don’t want to get in the way of emergency services and also the safety of the pilots is our primary concern,” he said.

“We liaised with police twice and on the second call things were looking much better and the forecast was looking a lot better so we made the late call to continue with the competition.

“We had 60 participants this year from as far away as China, some from New Zealand, Hong Kong, the UK - I think the Chinese pilots came over just for the comp, but some other pilots who are travelling decided to participate.

“It is a weather-dependant sport, like many sports, and competition was run over eight days, and we achieved five valid scoring days, which is pretty good.”

Competition consists of a race around a set course, marked with GPS coordinates, with pilots using only thermal updrafts generated from the sun and topography, and gliding, to wind their way through the endless sky.

“We had five tasks – a task is a race – and the race starts in the air,” Collings explained.

“So, it’s really a competition of who can use nature the best to race around the course.

“There’s no external power or force or anything put into the paraglider, it’s all run on thermals which are generated by the sun.

“We choose the site based on weather conditions on the day, and Mystic in the heart of Bright is suit for most weather conditions, so that’s our first choice.

“Access is easy and the launch is banked so we can get all the competitors into the air in a timely manner for the race.”

Australian number four and defending champion James Brewer took top spot at Bright, expertly piloting his Enzo 3 glider to a total of 3388 points, just 24 points ahead of second place Wally Arcidiacono.

Mathew Fiddes (3308) rounded out the podium, while Peter Slade netted fourth, including a perfect 1000 on the first task.

Kari Ellis was the best of the women, her 2866 netting her 12th overall.

While Brewer may have claimed the Bright Open, it’s far from winning the national title.

The championships are a two-leg competition, with the second and final series of flights set for 21-27 February for the Corryong PG Open.

“The way we determine the Australian Paragliding Champion is over two rounds – one round was held in Bright over eight days and the second round is coming up at the end of February in Corryong over eight days as well,” Collings said.

“It’s the combination of those two events which determines the Australian Champion.

“Australia’s best pilots were here in bright, and Australia’s best pilots head to Corryong where we’ll find out who’s the Australian champion.”