‘Paragliding results will not be counted’
RESULTS of a Paragliding Accurancy World Cup competition held in Tatlısu last weekend will not count towards the six-leg event because of complaints from the Greek Cypriots, the World Air Sports Federation (FAI) has said.
The FAI said the event had been due to take place in Mersin, Turkey, but had been “relocated in Kyrenia, Cyprus, without the consent of the [Greek Cypriot-run] Cyprus NAC [Air Sports Federation] or FAI being informed”.
After a “very strong protest” from the NAC, calling for “the results to be ‘desanctioned’”, the FAI had
“agreed to it, as Cyprus per international law is one area”. “The Northern part of Cyprus is only recognised by Turkey, and events cannot take place there without support by the Cyprus NAC,” said a statement on the FAI website.
It added that the hanggliding and paragliding commission connected to FAI, CIVL, “wonder why the event was relocated in this manner and why the local NAC was not consulted”, and concluded: “CIVL, in agreement with FAI, will not process the event result [for its world rankings].”
The news shocked organiser of last weekend’s weather-marred competition, with tournament director Hakan Cuma saying the FAI had been “utterly wrong to mix sports and politics”.
“Sport is universal. Sport is about leaving politics to one side and for humanity to embrace [each other],” he said. Mr Cuma said world cup events were staged by individual organisations, which then asked the FIA to rank and register the points.
He added: “If we had ‘consulted’ any Greek Cypriot authority they would have stopped the event.
“This once again shows how insincere they are towards reconciliation and peace.”
Zeki Ziya, head of the TRNC Air Sports Federation which organised the competition, said: “Sports and politics cannot be mixed. We will be in consultation with the respective authorities and will approach the FIA to request an explanation for this outcome before deciding what to do next.”