Global Rescue XRedRocks 2025 September 24-27
Competition Rules Version 2024.3 (EN)
Rules are subject to change before the start of the race AND during the race. Download the FAI Cat 2 local rules and regulations here.
1. Overview
1.1 Global Rescue XRedRocks 2025 is an adventure and paragliding competition for selected athletes.
1.2 The task is to reach the control and turn-points defined by the Race Committee every day for four days as quickly as possible traveling only by paraglider or on foot.
1.3 The rankings in all divisions will be defined by:
Placing at goal, or placing furthest along course line. If no participant reaches goal, 1st place will be designated to whomever covers the most distance on any given day of the race. 1st place receives one point. 2nd place receives 2 points, etc. The participant with the fewest points at the end of day 3 will win the race. Ties are allowed in the final standings. If two or more athletes tie for first place, the prize money will be divided evenly between them. Prize money in the PRO DIVISION will be announced before the start of the race. There is no prize money in the Adventure or Challenge Divisions. Ties are also allowed on each day (see section 5.16 below).
1.4 All decisions regarding the organization and running of the Global Rescue XRedRocks 2025 are made by the Race Committee.
1.5 Any questions or queries for the Race Committee before the race start must be addressed here.
2. Conditions for Participation
2.1 Only athletes selected by the Race Committee are allowed to take part in Global Rescue XRedRocks.
2.2 Some support might be offered by the race organization. Any other support, including pre-stashing equipment or any supplies (ie food and water), is not allowed. Athletes are not allowed to receive any organized outside support of any kind. Getting water or food or medical support from houses/stores/people along the route is allowed.
2.3 PRO division participants must be highly qualified and experienced in paragliding and mountain travel. ADVENTURE division participants must have cross country skills and the ability to make independent decisions in a complex outdoor environment. CHALLENGE division participants must be fit and very capable of launching and landing safely and making good decisions in a high mountain environment.
2.4 Only Athletes with a valid official paragliding license may take part.
2.5 Every participant must have 3 types of insurance:
- 3rd party liability insurance – being a current USHPA member, or international equivalent meets this requirement
- Rescue insurance that covers search and rescue during a paragliding event. Examples of appropriate coverage are GEOS high risk benefit for your In-Reach device
- Traditional health insurance with no free flight exceptions
We highly suggest Helicopter rescue and evacuation coverage. For example, Utah Heli Rescue membership.
2.6 The race organization will provide a separate participant disclaimer that outlines the mandatory services to be signed and confirmed by the participant. WITHOUT SIGNING THE DISCLAIMER, THE ATHLETE WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE COMPETITION.
2.7 By signing these rules, the athlete confirms his or her physical fitness to participate and not having any condition or disease that may cause physical harm.
2.8 Athletes must be self-sufficient during the competition, from food provisions to every other need they have, except for the materials and support provided by the organization for the race.
3. Selection
3.1 The number of participants is limited to a maximum of 30 participants in the PRO division and 30 participants in the ADVENTURE division, and an additional 5 spots will be reserved for International participants. All participants will be chosen via the selection criteria listed on the application. There is no cap on CHALLENGE participants.
4. Race-Schedule (note there are 4 possible race days. Pro Division athletes race every day. Adventure and Challenge will only be scored 3 days. Athletes in these divisions are welcome to race all 4 days, but the lowest score will be dropped, so we encourage taking one of the days off to rest.)
4.1 September 23rd, 2025 at 1800: Mandatory Race briefing and registration at the South Sevier High School, Monroe.
4.2 September 24th, 2025 0730 weather briefing: race start 0800; September 24th 2024 2000, first day race ends. [WEATHER PERMITTING]
4.3 September 25th, 2024 0730 weather briefing: race start 0800; September 25th 2024 2000, second day race ends. [WEATHER PERMITTING]
4.4 September 26th, 2024 0730 weather briefing: race start 0800; September 26th 2024 2000, third day race ends. [WEATHER PERMITTING]
4.5 September 27th, 2024 0730 weather briefing: race start 0800; September 27th 2024 2000, fourth day race ends. [WEATHER PERMITTING]
4.6 All athletes are expected to attend the prize-giving ceremony and party, which will take place on September 27th 2025 at 1900 or as soon as scoring is completed and verified.
4.7 The race can only be cancelled by the Race Committee. In case of a previous cancellation the registration fee will not be returned.
5. General Conditions
5.1 During the race, the athletes must fly their certified paraglider or hike without any form of physical assistance, carrying the mandatory equipment (cf. 7.3). Any other transportation assistance, including any kind of motorized vehicles, from any third parties is strictly prohibited. It is possible if the task committee views a race day as exceptionally dangerous to fly a task will be set that could be completed 100% on foot and the mandatory flying gear will not be required. Only an InReach and the tracker are required equipment on these “non flying” days. If a ground task like this is set it will be announced by 2000 the evening before.
5.2 The athletes must make an uninterrupted rest stop between 2030 and 0730. Each day athletes must start from the designated start of the task on that day. All four tasks for the race will be announced 48 hours before the race start by the task committee on our Official Telegram Group channel. Tasks may be changed due to safety concerns. During the rest, the participants can spend the night anywhere. All participants who do not make goal by the task stop time on a given day will be retrieved and brought back to headquarters.
5.3 The athletes are responsible for switching on and properly maintaining their track logs and a valid IGC file or GPX file (flying and walking) and InReach satellite trackers at all times. It can only be switched off during the rest period between 2030 and 0730 or if the athlete ends their day early. If an athlete decides to end a task early, they must send an LOK message from the point where they stop racing and turn off their GPX/IGC tracker so it does not include any recording during retrieve. Switching off the InReach will be heavily penalized and could lead to disqualification. Each participant must upload a CONTINUOUS track file (IGC or GPX) for each day. We cannot process multiple files (ie one for walking and one for flying). There will be NO exceptions to this rule. If a continuous track log is not uploaded to the scorekeeper, that day will not be scored.
5.3.1 Participants in the Adventure or Challenge Division will have their lowest score dropped. Ie they may choose to not race one day (due to weather conditions, or needing a rest, etc) and this will not affect their ranking. All participants are welcome to race every day.
5.4 In case of an accident or a serious health problem the athlete must contact the Race Committee as soon as possible. If there is any doubt PRESS THE SOS ON YOUR INREACH!
5.5 Each athlete must be prepared for spot checks by the Race Committee during the race. These spot checks will inspect the athlete’s equipment and their method of transportation or movement.
5.6 Any athlete may quit the race at any time, after informing the Race Committee.
5.7 The Race Committee has the right to change any rules before and during the race.
5.8 Athletes who fail to comply with any of these regulations will be subject to a penalty, as assessed by and at the discretion of the Race Committee. Penalties shall start from a minimum of 1 hour but with no maximum and with disqualification being an option.
5.9 Athletes with penalty times will have to prolong their next rest for the duration of their penalty time. Should athletes reach the Goal before their next rest time, the outstanding penalty time will be added to their overall time.
If an Athlete receives a time penalty which extends beyond the remaining race duration, the athlete will be ranked by subtracting the remaining penalty time from his final time and calculating his location at that time.
5.10 The Race Committee reserves the right to give penalties and disqualify any athletes who act irresponsibly towards their own safety, towards others or towards the sport, the event organisation or related sponsors.
5.11 The Race Committee has the authority to stop an athlete for medical reasons until the situation can be assessed and a final decision is made by the Race Committee. The Race Committee has the authority to stop the race at any time for safety reasons, including cancelling a task. Cancelling a task will be covered in the race briefing.
5.12 In addition to the official rules of the Global Rescue XRedRocks, any athlete in violation of local, regional or national laws and regulations as defined by national parks, airspace authority, local authorities or government organizations, shall be held solely responsible. Those who do not abide by the relevant regulations will be personally liable for any fines, sanctions, or repercussions of any form, which duly result from their actions.
5.13 In case of an accident, any help given by the athletes will be highly appreciated and rewarded for doing so. The position awarded to the athletes who assist is at the discretion of the scorekeeper and race committee, who will attempt to ensure that those athletes are not disadvantaged in the final rankings.
5.14 Athletes must fly in aerological conditions adapted to their level of pilotage and fatigue. They are responsible for their decisions and undertake not to put themselves in a vulnerable position physically.
5.15 All athletes must be helpful and show respect towards the media, trying to facilitate their work as much as possible, for the sake of promoting the race.
5.16 Ties are allowed in the rankings for a single task, but there is no minimum time or distance difference that will trigger a tie. If two or more athletes want to receive the same score on a given task, they must finish together and state their intention to tie to the scorekeeper AND race director. In the interest of good sportsmanship, it is highly recommended that they all send these messages before stopping their tracks and sending LOK messages or crossing the goal line/cylinder. Ties will be scored by adding the points of those positions and dividing by the number of people in the tie. Eg: If two people tie in 5th position we add 5 and 6 and divide by 2 = 5.5. Another example- if three people tie in 3rd, we add 3 + 4 + 5 = 12 / 3 = 4 points for each person.
5.17 Walking on an Interstate is strictly forbidden.
6. Flight Rules
6.1 Athletes are not allowed to fly between sunset and sunrise.
6.2 All athletes are obliged to respect VFR (Visual Flight Rules) regulations. Any athlete violating VFR rules takes full responsibility for the legal consequences. CLOUD FLYING IS NOT ALLOWED AND WILL BE PENALIZED. Flying in prohibited air space is not allowed and will be penalized. Flying after the mandatory land-by time is NOT ALLOWED and will be penalized.
6.3 All athletes are also obliged to respect the prohibited zones, as defined by the Global Rescue XRedRocks organization (certain private land, etc.). An athlete’s altitude is verified by the GPS height recorded by live tracking. If possible, a backup track (IGC) is used to verify any violations and then this GPS height will be used as evidence.
The route flown will be tracked by submitted IGC or GPX file at the end of each day. Certain waypoints that require top landing must be verified by photo or an InReach message. Precise notification of the prohibited zones will take place at the briefing before the race start.
7. Equipment
7.1 Global Rescue XRedRocks 2025 is a paragliding cross country event, therefore the use of paragliders with 16m2 or less (laid out surface) or of a surface load exceeding 6kg/m2 (so called speedgliders) are prohibited.
7.2 All flying equipment must be certified and fulfill the latest criteria for the following certification standards:
Paraglider: EN 926-2 and 926-1
Harness: EN 1651 with certified protection
Rescue parachute: EN 12491 (all up weight MUST be within the rated weight range of the reserve)
Helmet: EN 966 (this rule is suggested, but will not be reinforced- all helmets should be suited to paragliding- ie climbing helmets are NOT suitable, but typically snowboard/skiing helmets are)
7.3 Athletes must always carry or fly with their mandatory equipment unless a ground task is set by the task committee in which no flying will be allowed (see 5.1 above). Spot checks can be carried out at any time by the Race Committee. Any athlete who fails to carry the mandatory equipment at all times will be disqualified. The Global Rescue XRedRocks 2025 mandatory equipment, to be supplied by the athlete, consists of:
- Paraglider
- Harness including a back protector
- Emergency parachute
- A 10’000 mAh Battery fully charged at race start (or several with a total of 10’000 mAh)
- Helmet (no climbing helmets allowed unless they are EN 966 certified)
- inReach with no more than 10 minute tracking (2 minute tracking is preferred) and unlimited messaging enabled. SPOT devices are not sufficient.
- A backup GPS device recording all movements of the athlete on ground and in the air is mandatory
Any GPS device can be used with a sample interval of 1 second. It must put out an IGC or GPX file with GPS altitude. - Mobile smartphone (may also serve as the GPS backup) with enough battery
- A light or high visibility reflector for road safety after sunset
- Flymaster satellite Tracker (supplied)
7.4 No item on the Global Rescue XRedRocks 2025 mandatory equipment list (cf. 7.3) may be exchanged during the race. The only exception is if the equipment is damaged or stolen, in which case the Race Committee must be informed immediately.
7.5 All athletes must have their equipment, including rescue systems, checked and approved by the Race Director before the race start.
7.6 Overloading of the paraglider and the rescue system is not allowed (takeoff weight must be within the certified maximum load of the paraglider used and rescue system).
8. Route
8.1 Each pilot must pass the official turnpoints that will be given during the briefing for all Divisions. Turnpoints will be chosen according to the weather conditions and all tasks will be announced 48 hours before the race start for all three days of the race (subject to change).
9. Route Documentation
9.1 XCDemon sends information to the website where the athlete’s current position will be displayed. The online data serves as route confirmation for the athletes and the Race Committee.
9.2 The Race Committee reserves the right to inspect any pilot’s backup track log.
9.3 The Race Committee understands “a complete and clean track log” as being as follows:
- The track log must not have any missing track points for more than 5 minutes.
- The flight track log must show that no airspace violations have been made. If log points close to the prohibited zones are missing and airspace violation is suspected, the backup track log must clearly show that airspace has not been violated.
- All GPS backups must be running on MAP DATUM: WGS 84
10. Route Evaluation
10.1 Every Athlete must be able to present a complete track log.
10.2 The routes will be evaluated on a daily basis. The Race Committee will analyse each athlete’s route every day, based on the online track log. If a track log is found to have infringed any of the XRedRocks rules, the athlete must hand in his backup track log within 24 hours of the Race Committee’s request.
With his signature of the athlete accepts these rules without restriction:
Last Name: ___________________________ First Name: __________________________
Signature: ___________________________ Date: __________________________
Download Waypoints
Waypoint IDs have the following meanings:
A – airport
G – goal field
F – flat, landable, but not launchable
L – landing zone
M – mountaineering, no trail but not very technical (minimum radius to tag without leaving a road/trail is included in the description)
O – official
L – official landing
P – peak/high point, reachable by road or trail (most have easy looking launch options at the point or nearby)
S – service (gas station, campground, etc. potable water should be available)
T – takeoff (official)
W – water source (reservoir/lake filtering/treatment required)
X – not reachable easily on foot (minimum radius to nearest road/trail is specified in the description)
IMPORTANT!:
Join the XRedRocks Official Telegram Announcement Channel
Join the XRedRocks Telegram Chat Group
Any pilot who cancels their registration will be given a refund as follows:
– Cancellation date more than 60 days before competition start date: 50% refund
– Cancellation date between 60 and 30 days before competition start date: 30% refund
– Cancellation date less than 30 days before competition start date: 0% refund
Inability to attend due to Covid related travel reasons is not a reason for a refund of an amount greater than the above percentages and stated times. Please ensure you have adequate travel insurance to cover any last minute cancellations.
Cancellation of a Competition by the Organization ie Covid19 interference etc:
In the event the organizers deem it necessary to cancel, relocate, or reschedule the competition you will be entitled to a partial refund. This will be on the scale as follows:
– Up to 45 days before the first official event day: 100% less a $50 admin charge
– 45 to 0 days before the first official event day: An amount equivalent to the amount paid less the amount spent by the organisation in preparations up to that time.
After the start of the competition any refunds will be at the sole discretion of the organizers.
The organizers will not be liable for any costs incurred by anyone attending, or intending to attend the event, or any consequential losses arising from the cancellation, relocation, or rescheduling of the event.