Women's World Hot Air Ballooning Champs takes flight in WA
The world's best female balloon pilots have been putting their skills to the test in the small Wheatbelt town of Northam. The sport's tight-knit community worked together to help 30 competitors from 13 countries take part in the Women's World ballooning championships.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00 As the sun rises in the Avon Valley, so too do the world's best female hot air balloon
00:10 pilots.
00:12 Rather than a race, it's a test of skill.
00:14 The first task will be a target that's laid out on the ground and the balloons have got
00:18 to fly as close as they can to that target and throw their little marker out.
00:22 The key is to keep an eye on the wind and use it to get these gentle giants to complete
00:26 missions, gaining points along the way.
00:29 I am the one at the controls.
00:32 I actually have a navigator or a co-pilot who's very integral in it, but it's also the
00:38 team on the ground.
00:39 We're constantly talking to each other about strategy.
00:43 Even though there's only one pilot on each ticket, it takes a whole team to get off the
00:48 ground and navigate the sky.
00:52 The Aussies have adopted New Zealand's only female pilot.
00:55 Swimming is super inclusive and a really supportive sport.
01:02 It can get a little bit cutthroat at times, but at the end of the day we're all competing
01:05 against ourselves as much as each other.
01:08 The combination of camaraderie and competition has these women hooked.
01:12 We're trying to get younger people involved with it.
01:15 It is an expensive hobby to have.
01:18 For me it's a hobby and not a livelihood.
01:21 Australia's Nicholas Scaife took out the top spot for the third time.
01:24 The UK's Stephanie Hemmings came in second and third place went to Sarne Haarhuis from
01:29 the Netherlands.
01:31 It's very unique and it's very simple and we can only go with the wind, which is just
01:36 a beautiful thing.
01:37 A beautiful thing taking women to spectacular heights.
01:40 [no audio]