RACE RULES

Personal responsibility

Participation in the ALPSTEIN CROSSING Hike&Fly Team Race is at the risk of each participant. By signing the conditions of participation on the day of the race, the participant expressly waives all claims of any kind arising from damage, injury or consequential damage.

Liability

The participating athlete is responsible for any kind of self-caused damage at any places, starting and landing areas. Property damage as well as personal injury in connection with the performance of ALPSTEIN CROSSING will not be covered by the organization and will be explicitly borne by the participating athlete.

Environment

The legal requirements of the Swiss Civil Aviation BAZL must be observed during the race. A currently valid gliding map incl. the applicable regulations from DABS/NOTAM with corresponding flight limitations and animal protection zones can be viewed at the race office. Explicit reference is made to the current situation before the race by means of an appropriate briefing.

Image rights

Published pictures, videos or similar of the participating athletes, which were created during the event and published on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or similar, must have the reference “ALPSTEIN CROSSING” or #alpsteincrossing. Pictures and videos with the reference “ALPSTEIN CROSSING” or #alpsteincrossing may be used by the organizer on their platforms without permission from the owner.

Adjustments Race Rules

The Race Committee reserves the right to make any changes to the Race Rules, but will proactively publish changes via the website.

Registration

ALPSTEIN CROSSING is a team event. A maximum of 120 participants, i.e. 40 teams, will be admitted to the race. Participation must be completed on the website and received by ALPSTEIN CROSSING no later than August 31. Registrations will be considered in chronological order. Registration for ALPSTEIN CROSSING can only be done via the corresponding website. Other channels such as phone, email or similar will not be allowed. The official registration is valid only after verification of the data as well as an official confirmation of the organizer.

The 10 first-place teams from the previous year automatically register for the next year. A new registration is not necessary. The teams will be informed accordingly.

Team

A team must meet the number of 3 Team Members. Registration of a team of less or more than 3 members is not allowed. A team name of your choice must be defined for a team. Team name and team members must be entered in the team registration.

Team change

A change of the Team Members is generally allowed until the closure of the My Portal. Changing the team chef is not allowed. This means that a change of the team leader will result in the resignation of the entire team. See point Cancellation of registration.

To administratively simplify a last-minute change before the race, an additional optional substitute member can be specified. This is optional and only comes into effect in the event of a cancellation at short notice before the race.

Starting fee

The starting fee per athlete is fixed at CHF 100.00. The starting fee per team (CHF 300.00) is due for the regular registration before the race and will be collected by the organizer after the registration.

Cancellation of registration

A team can withdraw from the race. Cancellation must be reported at any time to the race management or to registration@alpstein-crossing.ch. A cancellation can be made free of charge up to one month before the race. Starting fees cannot be refunded for withdrawals after July 31. The starting fees will then be charged to the team.

If ALPSTEIN CROSSING is cancelled due to force major, the organization reserves the right to withhold CHF 30.00 of the paid entry fee per team. In case of cancellation, CHF 210.00 will be refunded to the team accordingly. In case of cancellation, the team will be refunded CHF 270.00 accordingly.

Pilots license

Only paraglider pilots who have a valid hang glider license are allowed to participate. All those who have reached the age of 18 are eligible to start. For younger participants (absolute minimum age is 16 years) a declaration of consent of the legal guardian(s) is necessary and must be presented at the latest when signing the conditions of participation or issuing the start number.

Unfortunately, student pilots will not be admitted to the race.

Insurance

Each participant must have an insurance certificate (liability) with a guaranteed sum of at least. CHF 1,000,000.00 per damage event and must be presented on the day of the race at the latest when signing the conditions of participation or issuing the starting numbers.

Equipment

Each participant must present the equipment to the race office for inspection before the start of the race. No start number will be issued without equipment check. All equipment must have subsequent seals of approval and be within the pilot’s appropriate weight range.

• The participant must wear a hard-shell safety helmet (a helmet tested according to the EN966 standard is recommended).
• The harness must be ENapproved and must be in approved condition. The harness must be equipped with an original protector according to LTF. Approval of the protector only according to EN standard is not sufficient!
• Only EN and LTF approved paragliders (up to max. EN D and LTF 2-3) may be flown at ALPSTEIN CROSSING. Paragliders must be flown within the approved weight range. The pilots’ take-off weight is checked immediately before take-off at the equipment check. The paragliders must be in approved condition (speed bar travel, trim, risers). The registration of the paragliders must be completed by August 31st at the latest and the data must be published on the website of the respective registration office. If the certification is not completed and published in time, the paraglider may not be flown at ALPSTEIN CROSSING. Every pilot has to take care himself that his paraglider is in certified condition. In particular, the organizer will ensure that the original trim, accelerator travel and riser have not been tampered with to gain a racing advantage.
• A working rescue system must be carried and will be checked at the race office during the equipment check. The deployment and function of the rescue (emergency parachute) must not be hindered or made impossible by modifications to the harness. The pilot must not exceed the maximum certified weight for the rescue system.
• The organizer has to be informed by e-mail until August 31st which paraglider will be flown at the ALPSTEIN CROSSING. For this purpose, the creator, paraglider type, size of the paraglider and the harness used must be disclosed. The information must already be announced on the website when registering for the race.
• Each athlete may use only one (1) paraglider for the race. Changing the paraglider is not allowed during the race.
• The personal paraglider must be carried or flown by the athlete at all times during the race. The athlete is not allowed to transfer his personal glider to another team member or to be deposited on the race track.

Health

Each participant confirms that he/she is in good physical condition for the race by signing the conditions of participation on race day.

Summary

To participate in ALPSTEIN CROSSING the following conditions are necessary.

• Valid identity card (checked by the organizer)
• Hang glider pass (controlled by the organizer)
• Insurance certificate (controlled by the organizer)
• Controlled equipment (controlled by the organizer)
• Valid start number (issued by the organizer)
• Participation in briefing for flight limitations and current weather (conducted by the organizer)
• Signed conditions of participation (controlled by the organizer)

The organizer reserves the right to exclude registrations, admissions from the race on race day without giving any reason.

Start and finish

The race takes place in the Appenzeller Alpstein. The start and finish are in Weissbad Appenzell (Homebase). The complete race distance is about 50 km running distance and 30 km flying distance (as the crow flies). The following turnpoints and routes are to be completed as a team.

Changes turnpoints

The turnpoints can be changed by the organizer until the race day resp. 24h before the race day can be changed. Turnpoints may be cancelled or relocated due to the current flight restriction and weather situation. The regular valid turnpoints for the ALPSTEIN CROSSING will be announced at the race briefing by the Race Director.

Running track

For the running routes the official roads, sidewalks, footpaths, hiking trails and pathsmust be used explicitly. The use of and compliance with the official and regular network of trails will be checked by the organizer during the race or controlled via the tracking system.

Starting places

Only the specified starting positions may be used. Off-field landings and take-offs outside the turnpoint zones are prohibited. Tip: If, for example, it is not possible to take off from the Hoher Kasten (too much wind), it is still possible to take off from the Ruhesitz turnpoint. No points will be deducted.

Points

There is one (1) homebase (start and finish), and nine (9) turnpoints. In principle, a Turnpoint must be reached on foot from Homebase. From the turnpoint to the homebase is basically flown. Reached points for a turnpoint have to be brought back to homebase on a direct way. (sequential) A time stamp must be made on the turnpoint by the athlete. The team with the most points wins. In case of a tie, the faster team wins. In case of equal score and equal time, the race committee will decide. Only when the athlete has arrived at homebase and again a valid timestamp has been made at the finish line, the turnpoint is considered to be fulfilled and flows according the points into the scoring. Routes flown on foot as well as by paraglider will be scored with points. The table below shows the scoring of each section.

Punkte Sammlung

The collection of turnpoints must be achieved as a team. So the team shares the turnpoints (one turnpoint per team member). The turnpoints may only be approached by one team member, i.e. the team members may not approach the same turnpoint together. After time stamping on the turnpoint, you must fly on a direct route to home base. So no turnpoint top landings will be necessary. It is notallowed to collect all turnpoints first and then fly them to homebase, but each turnpoint separately.

Rounds

Each turnpoint may be reached only once (1x) per round and team. If every turnpoint was reached in the first round, the team may start over. So, if a round is completely brought to the homebase, a maximum of 90 points can be scored. With the last turnpoint of the round, the complete team must be in the homebase. Only when the last turnpoint has been flown into the homebase and the corresponding timestamp has been given, the team may start a new round.

Time limit

The race lasts 8 hours. So the team has 8 hours to collect as many points as possible.

Start 09:00

Ende 17:00

If the athlete is not in the homebase at the end of the race, the current turnpoint is considered not fulfilled and no points are scored for it. Also, if the athlete has completed the timestamp on the turnpoint, the points for the run will be dropped.

Point deductions

• The Race Committee reserves the right to make point deductions for failure to follow the regular trail network at its sole discretion. Around the turnpoints there is an exception of a radius of 100m to get to the corresponding starting place resp. turnpoint to get there.
• Top landings on the turnpoints are prohibited! The organizer reserves the right to make point deductions for failure to make top landings at its sole discretion.
• In general, the Race Committee reserves the right to deduct points in the individual and team classification for violations of the Race Rules in self-measurement and without justification.

Winning and award ceremony

The team can only win as a whole. The ALPSTEIN CROSSING race is a non-profit event and accordingly does not pay out any prize money. The team wins the recognition of the other teams and masses of fame and glory. 🙂 At the award ceremony the best 3 teams will be honored as well as the best individual score resp. the most remarkable achievement of any kind. 🙂

Utilities

Participation in the race is exclusively by human muscle power. For this reason, the use of any kind of equipment or outside assistance is prohibited and will be punished by disqualification.

Fairness

At the starting places, consideration will be given to starting participants and help will be provided in case of starting difficulties!

Time measurement

Tracking System

FixControl is also used for GPS tracking during the race. During the race, the app must be run constantly. The use of the app will be explained at the Race Briefing at the latest.

The athlete is of course allowed to use his own devices like GPS, vario, watch etc. for the race at his own discretion.

Any protests and complaints against the result, the scoring and point deductions must be submitted in writing to the race office at Homebase no later than 18:00. The Race Committee will make a final oral decision on the protest no later than 18:30. No further appeal is allowed against the final decision of the Race Committee.

Members race committee

Alex Koller, Sandro Keller, Sandro Schärer, Sam Hochstrasser

• Current information and race news are published exclusively on the website.
• The schedule of the corresponding briefings, the race day and other procedures up to the award ceremony and afterparty will be published separately.