The Red Bull X-Alps (“Event”) is an adventure competition for selected international athletes.
The Event starts with the Latest Check-In Date and ends with the Race End. See section “Dates”.
This Event is run by zooom productions GmbH (”Organizer”) whose registered office is located at Felderstraße 12, 5330 Fuschl am See and with the support of the cooperation partners such as Red Bull GmbH whose registered office is located at Am Brunnen 1, 5330 Fuschl am See and its affiliates (“Red Bull”), agencies and service providers.
The Event consists of:
The Race Committee (“Race Committee”) consists of:
The Safety Director is Jürgen Wietrzyk.
The Race Doctor will be announced by the Race Committee before the Prologue.
The “Race Organization” is the Race Committee, Race Doctor, Safety Director and the Organizer with all its affiliates, agencies and service providers.
The location of the Race Office will be announced by the Race Committee.
All decisions regarding the organization and running of the Event are made by the Race Committee.
The Race Committee determines the selection of Teams (see section “General”).
The Event itself or parts of it (i.e. Prologue, Race) can only be cancelled by the Race Committee.
The Race Committee has the right to change any rules and specifications before and during the race without any notice.
Any questions or enquiries for the Race Committee before the race start must be made to info@redbullxalps.com and during the race to the Race Director via race@redbullxalps.com.
All participating Teams accept the Terms of Participation during application.
In the event of any conflict between these Terms of Participation and the Rulebook, the Terms in the Rulebook shall prevail.
A Team consists of one athlete and one supporter.
The number of participants for the Event is limited to a maximum of 33 teams.
Only supporters with a valid official paragliding license, sufficient skills and equipment in compliance with the legal requirements are allowed to fly.
Additionally the mandatory insurances as listed in the Terms of Participation for Athletes apply to Supporters who want to fly during the Event as well.
The equipment and piloting skill of both Athlete and Supporter will be checked by the Race Committee prior to the Race.
The Supporter cannot be replaced during the race or quit unless due to sickness, injury, or exceptional circumstances. If this happens, the Race Committee must be informed. The Race Committee must approve any change of supporters beforehand.
Athletes or Supporters, who do not arrive and check-in at the Race Office by the last check-in date will not be permitted to start the race. In the event of unforeseen circumstances, the Race Director must be informed immediately.
See section “Dates” for the last check-in date.
All Athletes may be requested to be available during the week leading up to the event. See section “Dates”, the schedule in the Race Office or the hand out.
All race briefings are mandatory for Athletes and Supporter. See section “Dates”, the schedule in the Race Office, or the hand out.
During the Prologue or Race, the Athlete has to pass Turnpoints (“Turnpoints” or “TPs”) in the order and type determined by the Race Committee. See section “Prologue Route” and “Race Route”.
During the Prologue or Race, the Athlete must fly their paraglider solo, hike, and carry the Mandatory Equipment (see section “Equipment”) without any form of physical assistance at any time. Any other transportation assistance, including any kind of motorized flying vehicles, from any third parties is strictly prohibited.
Snowshoes are allowed for walking over snow. Skis are forbidden. It´s also forbidden to use modified snowshoes, which allow any kind of downhill-sliding. Snow covered terrain, where the use of snowshoes is required, has to be judged properly regarding the risk of avalanches. Entering any kind of snow covered areas with the risk of avalanches requires athletes to be accompanied by an UIAGM Mountain Guide and the following additional mandatory equipment: Avalanche transceiver, avalanche shovel, avalanche probe, and proper mountaineering boots.
Besides avalanche danger, the danger of sliding, which can cause injury or death, is real. It is therefore highly recommended to use mountaineering boots, crampons and ice axe in steep snow! If an athlete enters a potentially dangerous high alpine situation, the safety director must be informed by the athlete or supporter of the plan, route, equipment and status. If the athlete or supporter can not assure the safety director of the safety of the athlete, then the race organisation will initiate the rescue of the athlete, which will result in the imidiate disqualification of the athlete from the race!
Athletes are obliged to check the potential risk of avalanche and slide danger before they enter snow covered areas as a responsibility to themselfs. It is highly recommend to hire an UIAGM mountain guide in dangerous high alpine terrain beyond areas of avalanche danger!
During the Prologue or Race the Athlete is not permitted to use any tunnel connection between different valleys and no highway or motorway tunnels.
The Supporter can use any means of transportation except for any kind of motorized flying vehicles.
The Supporter has to be available 24/7 to the Race Committee, Race Organization and for media requests. If needed the Supporter has to travel towards the Race Organization for collections or help with other handovers.
Athletes and Supporters are responsible for installing race-relevant Event apps onto their phones – as listed in the section "Equipment".
The Athlete is responsible that his Primary Tracking Device, Secondary Tracking Device and GPS Logger, as listed in the section “Equipment”, are always properly maintained, charged, and switched on during the mandatory time frames during the Prologue and Race. See section “Documentation”, “Prologue” and “Race”.
Each Team must be prepared for spot checks by the Race Committee or Race Organization during the Event. These spot checks will inspect the Teams’ equipment and their method of transportation or movement.
The Athlete can at any time during the Event be obliged by the Race Committee to take a doping test. The Race Committee will refer to the newest prohibited list published by the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA), which is available to view on www.wada-ama.org. Tests will be carried out by the Race Organization.
Any Athlete or Supporter can quit the Event at any time, after informing the Race Committee.
The Race Doctor has the authority to stop an Athlete in a medical situation and call a timeout from continuing further until the situation can be assessed and a final decision made in cooperation with the Race Committee.
In addition to the official rules of the Event, any Athlete or Supporter found to be in violation of local, regional, or national laws and regulations as defined by national parks, local authorities, or government organizations, is to be held solely responsible. Those who do not abide by the relevant regulations will be personally liable for any fines, punishments, or repercussions of any form which may result from their actions.
Officially provided clothing (at least the official T-shirt) must be worn on all official dates as well as at the start of the Prologue and Race, certain Turnpoints and at the finish of the Race.
July 1, 2022 12:00pm CEST until August 31, 2020 6:00pm – Application phase
October 10 to October 14, 2022 - Athletes announcement
March 20, 2023 - latest date for Athletes to send a full list of equipment as in 4.4 as well as certificates of the used paraglider and harness as in 4.3
March 15, 2023 - Route announcement
June 09, 2023: Start Athletes arrival, interviews, photo shoots and filming
June 12, 2023 11:00am CEST: Latest Check-In date for teams at the race office (start race period)
June 15, 2023 10:00am CEST – Start of Prologue
June 15, 2023 - Opening Ceremony
June 17, 2023 - Official press conference at Hangar-7, Salzburg
June 18, 2021 - Start of Red Bull X-Alps 2023 Race at 11:30 am CEST
Race finish: The race finishes at 11:30am CEST on June 30th, 2023. The time 11:30am refers to the latest landing or arrival on the float.
Award ceremony: The award ceremony will take place on Friday, June 30th, 2023 at 06:00 pm.
On June 21, 23, 25, 27 amd 29, the team ranked in last place will be eliminated at 06:00 am CEST.
Paragliders with 16m² (laid out surface) or less, or of a surface loading exceeding 6kg/m², (so called speed gliders) are prohibited.
All flying equipment has to be certified and fulfill the latest edition of the following certification standards:
Athletes and Supporters who plan to paraglide must provide documentation that the equipment fulfills the requested standards at the equipment check. The certification of the paraglider and harness has to be finished by the certification institute by March 20, 2023 at the latest.
A complete list of the equipment that will be used in the Prologue and Race has to be provided by each Team latest by March 20, 2023.
Equipment to be supplied by the Athlete (“Personal Equipment”)
The following equipment is provided by the Race Organization (“Official Equipment”)
The mandatory equipment to be carried by the Athlete during the Prologue or Race (“Mandatory Equipment”)
Official Equipment has to be returned to the Race Organization after the Event, including packaging and all accessories. Only complete returns can be accepted. Incomplete sets will be charged to the team.
If Official Equipment gets damaged by accident the Race Organization has to be informed to exchange it with a new one.
If Official Equipment gets lost or stolen the costs for a new device will be charged in full to the Team.
No item listed as Mandatory Equipment can be exchanged during the race. The only exception is if the equipment gets damaged, stolen or lost, in which case the Race Committee must be informed immediately.
In case an Athlete provides a back-up glider/harness: Switching to the back-up glider/harness or switching back to the main glider/harness must be confirmed by the Race Committee first.
All Teams must have the Mandatory Equipment checked and approved by the Race Director before the start of the Prologue.
We highly recommend that Athletes take the following equipment on all trails or flights that lead into high alpine areas and away from official roads: Wind- and waterproof jacket and pants, hat, gloves, sufficient warm layers (top and bottom), mountaineering boots, emergency food & water, headlamp, backup powerbank, whistle, silver blanket, first aid kit.
Every Athlete has to make sure that he/she is wearing appropriate lighting or reflectors to be easily visible from the front as well as from the back when walking on public roads. This applies to poor visibility conditions of any type (at night, in rain, in fog) in order to be visible to other road users.
Athletes are not allowed to fly between 09:00pm and 06:00am CEST.
The route flown has to be tracked by the Primary Tracking Device, the Secondary Tracking Device, and the GPS Logger. See section “Documentation”.
Athletes are obliged to respect VFR (Visual Flight Rules) regulations. Any Athlete violating VFR rules takes full responsibility for the legal consequences.
Athletes are obliged to respect forbidden zones defined by the Race Committee.
The exact notification of the forbidden zones will take place at the Race briefings.
The Race Committee will supply all Teams with electronic maps of the forbidden zones.
Planned and organized team flying by pilots not participating in the event, including supporters, is forbidden. Athletes violating this rule will be reported to the Race Committee. The violation of this rule may lead to disqualification. Flights are allowed as long as they don't give flying advantage to the athlete.
Launching is to be done without any assistance. Holding the paraglider or the athlete is allowed only for safety reasons on structural parts belonging to the normal flight equipment and must only be held by hand. E.g. no type of winch towing is allowed.
Supporters are not allowed to take off from the first official launch site until all Athletes have left the airspace.
Overloading of the paragliders is not allowed (takeoff weight has to be within the certified maximum loading of the paraglider).
The maximum take off weight must not exceed 80% of the certified maximum load of the rescue system.
The flight to the float is limited to Athletes and Supporters only.
For flights over wide water areas a life jacket (100N conform to DIN EN ISO 12402-4) is mandatory.
Speedarms must be worn on every flight.
The Primary Tracking Device and the Secondary Tracking Device sends information to the website, where the Athletes' current position will be displayed (“Live Track Log”)
The Live Track Log serves as a route confirmation for the Athletes and the Race Committee.
The GPS Logger records the Athletes’ movement (“Backup Track Log”).
The Backup Track Log must show a sample interval of 1 second recording all movements on ground and in the air.
The Backup Track Log must be running on MAP DATUM: WGS 84.
The Backup Track Log must be stored in IGC file format with a G-record.
Athletes should take into account that the recording must also be done on the ground, not only during flight.
An Athlete’s altitude is verified by the GPS height recorded in the Live Track Log.
The Backup Track Log will be used to verify a violation and then this GPS height will be used as evidence.
An Athlete has to be able to document his route by presenting a complete and clean Backup Track Log. The Race Committee understands “a complete and clean Backup Track Log” as follows:
The Race Committee reserves the right to inspect any Athletes’ Backup Track Log at any time.
The Race Committee will analyze each athlete's route every day, based on the Live Track Log.
In case a track log is found to have infringed any of the Rules, the Athlete has to deliver his Backup Track Log within six hours of the Race Committee’s request.
Detection of airspace violations:
If a tracking point of the Backup Track Log is within a forbidden airspace, this is considered a violation of airspace.
If the observed line of two consecutive GPS tracking points intersects a no-fly zone, this is considered a violation of airspace.
In case of any abnormality in the Live Track Log of an Athlete, a special icon will appear on the website.
Every Team is strongly advised to practice using the Primary Tracking Device, Secondary Tracking Device and GPS logger under race conditions before the Prologue and Race commences in order to avoid any technical issues or difficulties during the event itself.
Athletes who fail to comply with any of these rules will be subject to a penalty, as assessed by and at the discretion of the Race Committee.
Penalties shall range from a minimum of 1 hour and no maximum, with disqualification the final option.
Penalties are subject to a final decision by the Race Committee.
Athletes with penalty times have to prolong their next Rest Period by the duration of their penalty time. In case the athlete reaches 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 is longer than the remaining duration of the Race, the Athlete will be ranked according to his location backtracked by the remaining penalty time.
The Race Committee reserves the right to give penalties and disqualify an Athlete who acts irresponsibly towards their own safety, towards others or towards the sport, the Event Organization or related sponsors.
Prologue Route to be announced on March 15, 2023.
The Prologue is mandatory for all Athletes.
The three fastest Athletes of the Prologue will each be rewarded with an additional “Night Pass”.
Athletes who fail to finish the Prologue will get a penalty of 24 hours.
The Athlete has to pass the Turnpoints in the order and type announced by the Race Committee (“Race Route”)
The organization reserves the right to change the route or parts of the route.
Route announcement refer to Rule 3.4
The Athletes have to make an uninterrupted rest stop from 10:30pm until 05:00am (“Rest Period”).
During Rest Periods the Athlete is not permitted to move away from his stop position (position where the Rest Period began) by more than 250m (see section “Documentation”).
The exception is when Athletes reach the last Turnpoint and wait to fly to the landing float. In this case the rule is not applicable, but Athletes must switch off their tracking device and have clearance from the Race Committee.
Every Athlete can ignore the Rest Period once in the race by using the Night Pass. The first three winners of the Prologue each gain an additional Night Pass and therefore can ignore the rest period twice.
Usage of the Night Pass has to be announced to the Race Committee by 8:00 pm CEST on the same day the Night Pass will be used.
All Night Passes expire 24 hours after the first athlete reaches the goal. At this point the mandatory rest period must be observed for all remaining athletes, and Night Passes can not be used, even if one has been drawn. If an athlete declares a Night Pass the same or the next day after the first athlete finishes, it is valid only for 24hrs from the time of the official finish*. After 24 hours, the athlete must stop and observe the mandatory rest period as usual.
Delayed Start on day two of the Race:
The Primary Tracking Device, Secondary Tracking Device and GPS Logger can be switched off during the Rest Period, except when the Athlete has pulled the Night Pass.
Switching off the Primary Tracking Device, Secondary Tracking Device or GPS Logger while racing will be highly penalized up to disqualification. See section “Documentation”.
An authorized UIAGM mountain guide must accompany teams for dangerous hiking and climbing sections on glaciers or extreme alpine terrain. In case the athlete or supporter is a certified UIAGM mountain guide, no additional mountain guide is needed. The license has to be presented to the Race Committee during pre-week check-in. Glaciers with crevasses may only be crossed by a rope team, not by a single person, even if the athlete or supporter is a UIAGM guide.
Teams must report to the Safety Director before appointing a guide and attempting a difficult section. The Safety Director must approve the appointment and give permission for the team and guide to continue. The Race Committee will determine the most obvious of these difficult sections prior to the race start. If a team approaches any other difficult section, the Race Committee can insist on athletes being accompanied by a mountain guide before continuing.
48 hours after the first Rest Period ends the team ranked in last place will be eliminated. Thereafter the last team will be cut from the race every 48 hours at 06:00am CEST. This rule applies only to athletes who have not voluntarily quit the race.
The landing float is the official finish line.
A Team is seen as having completed the Race as soon as the Athlete has reached the landing float.
A final results table will be put together as soon as the Race is over. Athletes are judged according to the time it took them to reach the last Turnpoint via all Turnpoints. Athletes with more correctly passed Turnpoints are ranked better.
All Athletes with the same amount of Turnpoints passed are ranked according to their remaining straight-line distance from their final position to the goal, via all remaining Turnpoints.
All Teams, including withdrawn Athletes, are expected to attend the prize-giving ceremony and party.
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