Gaming for the Paragliding World Cup

Scotty Marion was relatively unknown in the paragliding championship circle before flying his Gin Boomerang to the US National Paragliding Championship in July of 2001. Since then, he has flown to four impressive Paragliding World Cup finishes in the international arena; 1st in Mexico, 11th in Italy, 3rd place finish in France, and a 2nd place finish in Turkey.

Marion is currently ranked #2 in the world by the Paragliding World Cup Association. This is a first for Marion to be in a position to fly for the championship. With 1 more event remaining, Marion will have to out tact his European competitors if he is to accomplish what no other western hemisphere paragliding pilot has been able to do...capture the PWC Championship.

The PWC events consists of five competitions per year with this year's venues being held in Europe, Asia, and South America. The origins of the Paragliding World Cup dates back to 1998 when Peter Lythi of Switzerland flew to the first PWC Gold. The next two years also saw Swiss pilots becoming PWC Champion. Last year, Patrick Berod managed to eclipse the Swiss pilots' streak with a PWC Championship for France.

Marion is not a new comer to international competition. He has been flying the PWC since 2000. Although relatively experienced in the competitions outside the United States, 2002 is the first year that Marion has gamed his piloting skills to the top of international field. Last year, Marion competed in two of the five events of the PWC and placed in 66th overall. In 2000, he placed in a respectable 19th position for the year while competing in all five PWC competition events. Photo: Scotty Marion, center, accepting his 1st place cup in Mexico.

With his eye on the championship, Scotty Marion is scheduled to compete later this month when the competition switches to the far east from September 29th to October 5th, in Korea.

Check back in with Airsports Net during the next few weeks as we keep you updated on his endeavors to take it all.

Related Articles:
PWC Turkey
PWC Mexico
Pilot Profile: Scotty Marion