The Paragliding World Cup (or PWC for short) is a cross country flying competition for paraglider pilots, organized by the Paragliding World Cup Association (PWCA), based in Marlens, France. Each year, the Paragliding World Cup Tour visits 5-6 different locations worldwide. At each event several tasks are flown to establish the overall classification.
The goal of each competition task is to fly round a predetermined course with a start, some turn points (usually 4-6) and a finish line. Slightly simplified, the winner is the fastest pilot round the course, or the pilot who flew furthest if no one completes the course. Pilots carry a GPS receiver to record their flight track, which is afterwards used to verify that they correctly followed the course and determine timings.
Since 2009, there is one event at the end of every year called "PWC Superfinal". The best pilots selected from the events all over the year compete to select the overall winner of the year. Before 2009 the total winner was determined by adding the results of all worldcups of the year.
