The Willi XC Challenge
28th Annual XC Flying Event, Golden, BC, Canada
July 27 - August 4, 2024
Willi 2024 Registration Is Officially Open!
Welcome! This is the official website and your definitive information source for The Willi XC Challenge – a hang gliding and paragliding event in Golden, BC, Canada. The 2024 edition of the Willi will take place at the fantastic Mount 7 flying site and Golden Riverside Campground from July 27 to August 4.
What’s New This Year For The Willi?
In an effort to provide greater clarity on rules and have expectations met, a number of changes have been made to the rules and messaging of the Willi XC. These updates can be found in this section and also in the About page - especially under Rules. Please read through these carefully before registering so that when we arrive we can all focus on having great flights and a great time of hanging out and building community!
Thanks to new ownership of the campground (and main LZ), 2024 will see a return of the Willi to the Golden Riverfront Campground, formerly Golden Eco Adventure Ranch. This will allow a centralized location for our meetings, daily events, and landings providing a greater community focus for our event; something that has always been a key element to the Willi.
The campground has generously donated the event pavilion for the awards dinner on Sunday, August 4 and we plan on having awesome door prizes, great food, drinks, and a great time to hang out while also recognizing this years winners. (Maybe even a band! Check back here for an announcement shortly)
The main LZ now has a landing fee of $10/day or $50/season. This additional fee is collected by the Golden Riverfront Campground (either at their office or online) and is used to help maintain the landing field, pilot washroom and other amenities for the pilot community. For paid registrants of the Willi XC they are offering a 15% discount to this fee.
While we want to keep the Willi as financially accessible as possible we have made a small increase to the registration cost. Early bird registration will be $140 if paid by June 15th and $180 if paid after. This will allow us to offset some of the ever increasing costs and also provide an event that we will be truly proud of. Please note also, we have decided to cap registration at 110 pilots and this will be on a first payed basis. While we love building the pilot community through the Willi our flying site can only comfortably accommodate so many pilots and we feel this number is a good compromise.
For more details and answers to your most common questions see About.
You can also follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWilliXCChallenge
Fantastic
Flying
The Willi is scheduled in the core of Golden's XC season, when our big air is at its best. 300+ kms of mountain range facing the prevailing wind, long flying days, and relatively easy valley retrieves provide ample opportunity to pursue your personal bests.
Rewarding
Competition
Multiple classes of competition ensure everyone is challenged to compete with their flying peers. Absent the "launch window" pressures of race comps, and with 9 days to fly your best 3 flights, even low-time pilots can enjoy earning their competition chops.
Focus on
Safety
There is no safer time to fly Golden. Daily briefings provide information you need to make responsible flying decisions. All pilots must fly with a SPOT or InReach tracking device so flights can be monitored continuously by our experienced safety staff.
Lots of
Fun!
The Willi isn't just about flying. Breakfast every day, BBQ's at night, and an amazing awards dinner and party to cap it off all provide ample opportunity to make new flying friends. And, we always look for a beer sponsor to make conversation more lively.