Event

The SHPF X-Scotia is a demanding two-day Hike & Fly paragliding race in Scotland. The race will take place on the 25th May 2024 at 08:00.

It is a ‘points for peaks’ format race where competitors will tag as many peaks as possible on foot or in the air, before returning to the central event base camp on Sunday afternoon. Different peaks will carry different point values according to their difficulty and distance from the event base.

It is an overnight ‘vol-biv’ style race where participants are encouraged to spend Saturday night in the mountains during a mandatory rest period. The following morning from 7am, competitors continue to tag peaks but must make it back to Base Camp before 5pm when the race ends. Late-finishers will be retrieved if necessary and points will be penalised.

All participants are invited to stay at base camp Sunday night for the prize giving and a BBQ social. Share your adventures with like minded pilots over food and beer.

Race Organisers

Following a successful race last year, the SHPF X-Scotia Hike & Fly race in 2024 will be organised by Neil Rollings, Scott Becker, David Drewette, Kyle Burnett, Mike Jardine, Andy Howson & Julio Lopez.

Race Dates

The race will be held on the last weekend in May 2024. Participants must arrive on or before Friday 24th for a mandatory safety briefing in the evening and an early start the next morning. After the race participants are invited to stay Sunday night for the social BBQ and with the event concluding Monday morning.

The following weekend will be reserved as a ‘back-up weekend’ in the event the race has to be postponed from the primary dates due to bad weather.

Location

In 2024 the X-Scotia Hike & Fly will be held in Kintail. The area offers outstanding mountain terrain for the race, both in the air and on the ground, as well as a high level of practicality for the race organisers.

To give us all  a good chance of having flyable weather for the event without the organisational burden of planning multiple locations, this year we will introduce a back-up weekend to improve our chances of good weather.

Base Camp

Located in Kintail, the race Base Camp will be a field with basic facilities. It will serve as both the start and finish point for the race as well as the hub for the weekend’s activities. Participants will arrive Friday afternoon, park vehicles and camp for the duration of the weekend until Monday morning. 

Food and drink will be available on Sunday evening for the social BBQ, however participants should come prepared with their own supplies for the remainder of the weekend.

Safety

Safety is the number one priority for the X-Scotia Hike & Fly. This event will be run in accordance with BHPA guidelines and insured by the BHPA insurance scheme. As a result of this, the minimum requirements to take part in the X-Scotia Hike & Fly 2024 will be a Pilot rating. For insurance reasons Club Pilot Ratings will not be sufficient to take part in the event! In addition to this, participants should have previous Hike & Fly experience and be able to operate confidently and autonomously in rugged mountain terrain.

Tracking

All participants will be issued with a Flymaster F6 tracker and will be monitored for the purposes of safety and scoring. Participants must also carry a satellite communication device (such as Garmin InReach or Spot GPS) and radio for communication in the event of an emergency as cell phone signal can be limited in the highlands.

Supporters

In the interests of safety, participants are encouraged to have one or more supporters. This can be someone offering the competitor full support ‘on the hill’ or simply a person designated to monitor their progress remotely. Remote supporters should have a general idea of a competitor’s planned route and be able to communicate with race organisers in the event of an emergency. More detail on this is available in the full Race Rules.

Weather

In the event of less than ideal weather, the event will still take place and the competitors will primarily race on the ground with the option to fly if and when possible over the 2 days. If the weather outlook is extremely poor such that it appears there is absolutely zero possibility to fly, the event will be postponed to the following weekend (the ‘back-up weekend’ 2nd – 4th of June).

Should the weather on the ‘back-up weekend’ be equally poor the event will be canceled and participants will be given a full refund of their entry fees.

Social BBQ

Following the end of the race on Sunday, a prize giving and social event will take place at Base Camp. Everyone is invited to stay, enjoy some food (TBC) and share their adventures over a beer with like minded people.

Commitment

Organising an event of this nature takes a significant amount of time and effort. All the race organisers volunteer their time, energy and resources to make this unique event possible. We do this to encourage the continued growth of Hike & Fly Racing in the stunning Scottish Highlands and give adventurous pilots a chance to compete in this fantastic mountain environment. 

As such we expect that pilots who apply for a place in this event are fully committed to turning up and racing, even if the forecast changes. Once the green light has been given this event will take place RAIN OR SHINE! The X-Scotia Hike & Fly is a HARDCORE MOUNTAIN HIKE & FLY ADVENTURE RACE. This means that if conditions aren’t suitable for flying participants will be expected to HIKE!

If you are not willing to embrace this challenge PLEASE DO NOT APPLY for a place in the 2024 race.