Today, fascinating new sports are drawing a whole new generation of air sports enthusiasts as the world of competitive air sports continues to change. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, often known as the World Air Sports Federation (FAI), plays a crucial role in inspiring individuals all over the world to take to the skies and in assisting those who have already experienced the thrill of air sports. This includes embracing these new disciplines.
The FAI
The FAI, which oversees criteria for human spaceflight, is the organization that governs air sports worldwide. With its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, it was established on October 14, 1905. In addition to spaceflights, it also keeps track of world records for ballooning, aeromodelling, and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones).
The FAI also manages intercontinental and international tournaments in air sports, as well as the World Air Games and FAI World Grand Prix.
FAI International Drones Conference and Expo is organized by FAI. This event provides a forum for groups, companies, and individuals to explore the current uses of drones and to provide a framework for how they will be employed and affect daily life in the future.
According to FAI organization, the purposes of the event “include showcasing air sports to the general public and attracting new participants, as well as promoting FAI events to other sports organizations and creating an attractive platform for TV, media and other external stakeholders.”
What is drone racing?
Drone racers maneuver through specially designed tracks while avoiding barriers and slicing through gates at breakneck speeds. It is one of the fastest-growing types of aircraft in use today due to its fascinating First-Person View (FPV) component, which allows viewers to feel the thrills and spills up close. The FAI has established a variety of drone sports competitions to keep itself at the center of the activity as the global governing body for all air sports. Both the illustrious FAI Drone Racing World Cup and the FAI World Drone Racing Championship are under this category.
Biggest drone racing competition
The FAI World Drone Racing Championship is the largest event of its type, providing a stage for the top pilots in the world to compete.
In 2023, the FAI World Drone Racing Championship is set in Korea. Before a three-year break brought on by the pandemic, the FAI Drone Racing World Championship’s first two rounds were placed in China’s Shenzhen (2018) and Ningbo (2019).
Drone Racing World Cup Rules
Two sets of competitions—the Challenger and Masters—serve as the foundation for the Drone Racing World Cup. Events for the Drone Racing World Cup will all be categorized as Second Category events.
Challenger World Cup Series
The Challenger World Cup Series will only accept Open International competitions. The Chairman of the Drone Sports Subcommittee makes the decisions about the Challenger World Cup Series tournaments. Every effort will be made to complete the selection for a given year prior to the end of the year before. The Drone Sports Subcommittee Chairman reserves the right to add an event after this time if it can be properly justified. Unless a nation spans more than three time zones, in which case one event may be chosen inside each of the country’s time zones, with a maximum of four events for the country on its own behalf. In such instances, a country may choose one event within each of its time zones.
A country may decide to host a Challenger World Cup tournament at a location in another country, provided that the organizing country registers the event on the FAI calendar and that country’s name appears in the event’s title. Whether or not the host country covers more than three time zones, each country may only host one event on behalf of another organizing country.
Masters World Cup Series
The FAI Executive Board will specify the make-up of the panel that will choose the competitions for the Masters World Cup Series. Wherever feasible, the choice of a certain year’s Masters World Cup tournament will be made prior to the conclusion of the year before.
Participants
Anyone who has a current FAI Sporting License or FAI Drone Permission is allowed to compete in Challenger World Cup competitions and earn points toward the World Cup ranking. Only those participants who are qualified based on their World Cup ranking can compete in the Masters World Cup events. A sliding 12-month period will be used to determine the current World Cup ranking.
Points Allocation
In any case, only if the contestants have traveled from at least two separate countries will points for the World Cup be awarded. For a country that spans more than three time zones, each additional time zone will be treated as an independent country. The number of points given to each contestant depends on where they finished in the event. If there is a tie for any position, the competitors who earned that position will split the points that would have been given to the positions covered had the tie been broken (round up the score to the nearest whole number of points).
The number (N) of participants who have actually flown in the event will determine how many points are given to each contestant. The following points are given to the contestants who have actually flown in the competition.
Classification
The points earned by each contestant in World Cup competitions are taken into account for determining the World Cup results. Only one World Cup tournament result from each competitor’s organizing nation may be taken into consideration for the World Cup ranking (more points for every organizing nation when a contestant has placed in two competitions.) One event may be considered for this organizing country inside each of the country’s time zones if the country spans more than three time zones.
The competitor’s overall World Cup score is the sum of their top three event results (in terms of points) across all World Cup competitions (Challenger and Masters).
The contender with the highest cumulative score for the relevant year wins the World Cup, and so on for the positions. If there is a tie for first, second, or third place, the competitors’ best fifth result, then, if required, their sixth best result, and so on, will be used to decide the winner. If this is ineffective in separating tied competitors, the winner will be the one with the highest total after taking into account each competitor’s best four results, which include the points they earned in each of the four events and the number of competitors who will have finished at least one flight in the competition.
World Cup Board
The Drone Sports Subcommittee Chairman shall designate a Board of three individuals to decide on any matter pertaining to the application of World Cup regulations throughout the year. A written submission of such a matter must be made to the Subcommittee Chairman. Any complaint or protest about a particular event must be addressed by the FAI Jury for that event; the World Cup Board is not authorized to do so.