Gliding had been a demonstration sport at the 1936 Summer Olympics and was due to become an official Olympic sport in the Helsinki Games in 1940. However, since the Second World War, gliding has not featured in the Olympics, and so the World Championships are the highest level in the sport. There are now contests for six classes of glider and so in recent years the Championships have been divided between two locations. The women's, junior, grand prix and aerobatic events are also held separately.
Each of the following entries give the year and location of the contest followed by the winner of each class, nationality and the glider used.
Sailplanes at the 1954 Championships with the three Schweizers of the USA team in the foreground
This was thought not to be a true world championship and was just an 'International Competition', but it has been acknowledged as the first World Gliding Championship.[by whom?][1]
Gliding Grand Prix, or Sailplane Grand Prix (SGP), is a newer type of gliding competition. It has simpler rules and a more spectacular appearance than conventional soaring competitions.[20]
The Women's World Gliding Championships (WWGC) is a women-only gliding competition. From 1979 to 1999 women's gliding competitions were held as International European Women's Gliding Championships.[21]
The Junior World Gliding Championships (JWGC) is a competition for glider pilots under the age of 26. From 1991 to 1997, international junior gliding competitions were held as European Junior Gliding Championships.
This section needs expansion with: 19th WGAC in Hungary in 2016 (results are missing). You can help by adding to it. (May 2023)
World Glider Aerobatic Championships take place each year[23] (every two years until 2011) since 1985 under the auspices of the FAI. They are administrated by the FAI Aerobatics Commission "Commission Internationale de Voltige Aerienne" (CIVA).[24] The 2001 championships were part of the World Air Games. Since 1994, European Glider Aerobatic Championships are held in the years between the World Championships. Since 2010, an additional event is organized in a slightly less demanding "Advanced" category – the World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (WAGAC). WAGAC is organized yearly, usually accompanying the WGAC.[25]
1st FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships, Mauterndorf, Austria, 26 August – 3 September 1985[26][27]
Germany: Michael Spitzer (MDM-1 Fox), Jochen Reuter (MDM-1 Fox), Sebastian Dirlam (MDM-1 Fox)
Sweden: Johan Gustafsson (Pilatus B4), Daniel Ahlin (MDM-1 Fox), Pekka Havbrandt (MDM-1 Fox)
Czech Republic: Petr Biskup (MDM-1 Fox), Miloš Ramert (MDM-1 Fox), Jan Rolinek (MDM-1 Fox)
14th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited) and 2nd FAI World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (Advanced), Toruń, Poland, 26 July 2011 – 7 August 2011[48][49]
Sweden: Daniel Ahlin (MDM-1 Fox), Johan Gustafsson (Pilatus B-4), Pekka Havbrandt (MDM-1 Fox)
15th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited) and 3rd FAI World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (Advanced), Dubnica, Slovakia, 9 August 2012 – 18 August 2012[50]
16th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited) and 4th World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (Advanced), Oripää Airfield, Oripää, Finland, 18–27 July 2013[51]
17th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited category) and 5th World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (Advanced category) Toruń Airfield, Toruń, Poland, July 22 – August 2, 2014.
Poland: Katarzyna Żmudzinska, Sławomir Talowski, Michał Klimaszewski
France: Romain Vienne, Benoit Madrenas, Ervin George
Germany: Markus Pönicke, Andreas Rodewald, Eberhard Holl
18th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited category) and 6th World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (Advanced category), August 5–15, 2015, Zbraslavice Airport, Czech Republic.[57]
Poland: Sławomir Talowski, Katarzyna Zmudziňska, Michał Andrzejewski
Czech Republic: Miroslav Černý, David Beneš, Martin Meloun
Switzerland: Jonas Langenegger, Manfred Echter, Martin Götz
20th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited category) and 8th World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (Advanced category), July 27 – August 5, 2017, Toruń, Poland.[62]
22nd FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited category) and 10th World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (Advanced category), July 18–26, 2019, Deva, Romania.[72]
France: Charlie Levy-Louapre, Thibaut Fromantin, Marc de Bouvier
Germany: Stefan Zistler, Mathias Mühlbacher, David Tempel
23rd FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited category) and 11th World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (Advanced category), July 29–August 6, 2021, Leszno, Poland.[77]
25th FAI World Glider Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited category) and 13th World Advanced Glider Aerobatic Championships (Advanced category), 27 July – 5 August, 2023, Toruń, Poland.[87]