Virtual Air Sports in the FAI Sporting Code

[havet865]

The International Federation of Aeronautics (FAI) has announced that it will include e-sports in the General Section of its Sporting Code. The new rules, which will be effective from January 2023, define e-airsports as an activity or competition that is conducted using an electronic platform and can be organized by any FAI Air Sport Commission.

In addition, the FAI has agreed to allow e-sports events to be open to non-members, although World Championships will be restricted to members of national aeronautics organizations with a Sporting License. The International Gliding Commission (IGC) will have the authority to determine how participants are selected for World Championships and other events.

This decision reflects the growing popularity of e-sports, which have become a major part of the gaming industry in recent years.The inclusion of e-airsports in the FAI Sporting Code will provide a framework for organizing and governing these events, and will give e-airsports athletes the opportunity to compete at the highest level.

The FAI is the world's leading governing body for air sports, including gliding, hang gliding, paragliding, and aeromodelling. By embracing e-sports, the organization is showing its commitment to staying at the forefront of modern sporting trends. It is expected that the categories of Sporting Licenses will eventually be phased out in favor of a more inclusive system.


We are thrilled to see the inclusion of e-airsports in the General section of the Sporting Code. This has been a project that we have been working on for several months, and it is a testament to the dedication and commitment of the virtual gliding community.

The inclusion of e-sports in the FAI Sporting Code is a major step forward for our sport, and it showcases the bright future that lies ahead. We are excited to see what the future holds, and we are confident that this move will help to bring e-airsports to a wider audience and continue to grow the sport.

Following this news, we are excited to announce that we will be launching a new world event in the coming days, featuring 16 venues worldwide. Stay tuned for more details on this exciting development.

Download the Sporting Code here: https://www.fai.org/documents

[Paul_UK]

In addition, the FAI has agreed to allow e-sports events to be open to non-members, although World Championships will be restricted to members of national aeronautics organizations with a Sporting License. The International Gliding Commission (IGC) will have the authority to determine how participants are selected for World Championships and other events.

I'm not sure how I feel about this and I'm a RL glider pilot. I thought part of the point of an E-sport is to give access to a sport, in a simulated way, to those who may not be fortunate enough to be able to in real life. Would it not be better to have a rule book created for gliding tasks in a simulator that everyone can read, digest and on entering a comp tick a check box confirming they've read the rules etc. Then to enter a World Champ comp the pilots entered from each country should be those who have flown the best in qualifying rounds?

[havet865]

In addition, the FAI has agreed to allow e-sports events to be open to non-members, although World Championships will be restricted to members of national aeronautics organizations with a Sporting License. The International Gliding Commission (IGC) will have the authority to determine how participants are selected for World Championships and other events.

I'm not sure how I feel about this and I'm a RL glider pilot. I thought part of the point of an E-sport is to give access to a sport, in a simulated way, to those who may not be fortunate enough to be able to in real life. Would it not be better to have a rule book created for gliding tasks in a simulator that everyone can read, digest and on entering a comp tick a check box confirming they've read the rules etc. Then to enter a World Champ comp the pilots entered from each country should be those who have flown the best in qualifying rounds?

You are right Paul, that is what we aim for.
Nevertheless, we need to manage the license issue in the future to be able to get an official virtual WGC and include everyone, so it will not be this year but hopefully 2024. It's not my job but FAI & NACs job to find agreements around this issue.

We are launching a free event this week that will replicate a WGC and pilots will not require an FAI License.
The handbook will be released this week, with the announcement of our next event.

We would like to have a simpler way to explain and clarify rules, and I hope to release an annex of those rules later this month.
We all know that gliding rules are difficult to explain sometimes, so if someone has a talent to explain rules to beginners, we are more than happy to receive your help. We are talking about RT, AAT and VSGP rules here.

I am already in discussion with the beta team to implement basic competitions rules into tutorials (flight school) in Condor 3, so that beginners can learn how to safely start a race, how to fly with 30 gliders around, how to cross the finish line etc..
Everything takes time, but it's all step by step.

Thanks for your feedback,
Antoine

[Paul_UK]

Thanks for the response Antoine. It seems like things are going in the right direction then. I understand why FAI may be being a little cautious as the last thing we'd all want is a participant causing an incident by ignoring rules the RL pilots already know. That's partly why I suggested qualifying rounds as that'd weed out anyone who needs to be brought up to speed.

I am self taught on some things, like AAT. PureGlide made a rather good Youtube video on AAT style tasks and that combined with reading I now understand the concept. I have been talking to pilots in my Condor group and they have said using something like XCSoar or another flight computer in conjunction with Condor is very beneficial for AAT tasks. I assume that they'd be allowed to be used in FAI online competitions?

Training lessons in Condor or videos of Condor with info over the top come across as the best way to explain rules to folk. There'll always be paper documentation as contingency however actually flying and testing what you think you've just learnt is a sure way to know if you've figured it out right! My current life schedule doesn't see my get much free time these days. I manage to post out three tasks a week for VSC but I rarely get to fly them at the moment having a young family certainly changes the home dynamics!

All great work by you and the team here Antoine

I myself struggle a little when it's a busy start line. One thing to possibly bear in mind is not everyone has a head tracker or VR. I don't have either myself and because of that in a race series held by the group I fly with I had two mid-airs. I heard a glider approaching but I just couldn't pan the view quickly enough to see it / avoid. Luckily I was very fast pressing the 'plane recovery' button so lost minimal height. I think we had over 40 gliders going over the start line (Regatta) at once in one task. The first few thermals were extremely busy / chaotic.

As you say step by step

Cheers
Paul

[havet865]

Thanks for the response Antoine. It seems like things are going in the right direction then. I understand why FAI may be being a little cautious as the last thing we'd all want is a participant causing an incident by ignoring rules the RL pilots already know. That's partly why I suggested qualifying rounds as that'd weed out anyone who needs to be brought up to speed.

Indeed, qualifying rounds have always been in the loop and in our minds. We use the system for Virtual SGPs now, but we need to rules out the way to select pilots for a Virtual WGC.

In real life, two pilots are selected to compete to a WGC by their NACs through their gliding association, via a selective process (it's often a National championship that decide who is selected). In virtual, only a few NACs have been able to organise an official National event that can be used to qualify/select pilots to a WGC. One of the job of the Virtual Gliding Working Group this year (IGC President + two vice-presidents + pilot representative + myself) is to establish how to qualify pilots to a WGC. Do we need a selection process or not? Shall not everyone be invited to compete without being selected? Will NACs agree with our decision?

FAI works and is paid by NACs (National Aeroclubs) to rule events and develop all airsports worldwide. You can find more info about its missions on their website. Some decisions cannot be taken without the aggreement from all NACs. E-airsports being added in the sporting code is already a massive step forward to develop our sport. Other airsports don't have the opportunity to organize and broadcast races as we do.

I am self taught on some things, like AAT. PureGlide made a rather good Youtube video on AAT style tasks and that combined with reading I now understand the concept. I have been talking to pilots in my Condor group and they have said using something like XCSoar or another flight computer in conjunction with Condor is very beneficial for AAT tasks. I assume that they'd be allowed to be used in FAI online competitions?

Those tools are allowed indeed. SeeYou Navigator, XCSoar etc...

Training lessons in Condor or videos of Condor with info over the top come across as the best way to explain rules to folk. There'll always be paper documentation as contingency however actually flying and testing what you think you've just learnt is a sure way to know if you've figured it out right! My current life schedule doesn't see my get much free time these days. I manage to post out three tasks a week for VSC but I rarely get to fly them at the moment having a young family certainly changes the home dynamics!

Good luck with this, and thank you for the work your are doing with VSC.
I've been able to witness it through your discord channel, and it's great to see it!
Keep doing it as long as you can!

All great work by you and the team here Antoine

I myself struggle a little when it's a busy start line. One thing to possibly bear in mind is not everyone has a head tracker or VR. I don't have either myself and because of that in a race series held by the group I fly with I had two mid-airs. I heard a glider approaching but I just couldn't pan the view quickly enough to see it / avoid. Luckily I was very fast pressing the 'plane recovery' button so lost minimal height. I think we had over 40 gliders going over the start line (Regatta) at once in one task. The first few thermals were extremely busy / chaotic.

As you say step by step

Cheers
Paul

Thank you for your positive comments and feedbacks.
It goes to everyone involved in this great team.

I am absolutely conviced that VR is a big addition to Condor and Virtual Gliding.
I still fly on a regular computer screen so I know how difficult it is to fly without VR. That is why we kept allowing external views to be used in FAI contests so far. I reckon it is not easy to spot everyone around when flying with a simple joystick and a small screen. External view may help to reduce mid-air collision. We do allow the place recovery button without height gain as well, but indeed people need to be quick.

Nevertheless, the on-going FFVP eSport National event is not allowing external view, and we will be able to see how much of an impact it has when we allow/don't allow this external view. The feedback will be interesting.

Indeed, step by step is always the way to follow, especially when we start a project from the bottom.
Everything is not always perfect, but with proper feedback, we can always improve races event by event.

Have a nice day,
Antoine

[Kekelekou]

We all know that gliding rules are difficult to explain sometimes, so if someone has a talent to explain rules to beginners, we are more than happy to receive your help. We are talking about RT, AAT and VSGP rules here.

If you list the rules you want to be explained, I could give it a try!

[havet865]

If you list the rules you want to be explained, I could give it a try!

That would be helpful, thanks a lot!
I'll reach you in PM