Although surfing as a whole isn’t considered an extreme sport, certain types of surfing—such as big wave and sky surfing—are. Petersfield, England, sky surfers recently visited the Great British Aerotow Revival (GBAR) at Northamptonshire’s Deenethorpe Airfield. Impressing everyone at the competition by covering more than 143 miles (230 km) despite high winds is no easy feat.

As news of the sky surfing group’s impressive performance spread, the Farnham Herald posted it to their social media page.

Sky surfing stars carrying the competition

Petersfield’s Sky Surfing Club sent six expert hang glider pilots to the Great British Aerotow Revival to show off their skills. The competition consisted of four primary tasks for classes 1 and 5. In class five, or rigid wing, the competition included Tim King, Neville Almond, and Neil Atkinson. Class one (flexwing) was represented on the team by Grant Crossingham and Justin Needham. Over the course of seven days, competitors in each class completed four major assignments for the GBAR competition. All told, participants covered over 230 kilometers (over 143 miles), making this an impressive feat.

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Class one winner Grant Crossingham said to Farnham Herald that it was a “well organized and efficiently run” event. When asked to explain his most recent victory, Crossingham said, “completing the 60km task in less than one hour, 30 minutes.” When compared to the next closest pilot, the skysurfer was five minutes ahead of him. Overall, the Sky Surfing Club brought home a lot of prizes and provided spectators with a true gliding competition experience.

Who was the previous year’s champion?

In 2022, when Johnny Carr was 72 years old, he won a national hang gliding tournament. Carr’s maiden flight took off from the skies above Steyning, England, in 1974, and over 50 years later, at the Great British Aerotow Revival in 2022, he took first place.

Gliders can be launched using the aerotowing method, in which an ultralight aircraft tows the glider into the air. While being carried by an airplane makes it seem simple, the real challenge comes from the impact of the wind on the rider. Not everyone can bear the power of the wind, but Carr was able to do so at such a ripe old age. A former hang gliding champion, the old athlete told The Argus, “All the top hang glider pilots attended the competition and I’ve won the competition.” This victory was especially meaningful to him, and the seasoned athlete’s happiness was astronomical.

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