KEEN to keep celebrating international women’s sport?
The fifth FAI Women’s World Hot Air Ballooning Championship will launch this weekend from September 2-9 in Northam.
As teams begin arriving in Perth to begin preparations, three WA hot air balloons fired up in Perth to create a warm welcome and mark the countdown to the women’s championship, the first time it has been held outside of the northern hemisphere.
Northam is WA’s home of hot air ballooning and will host 30 pilots from 13 nations, with five Australian pilots including past dual world champion Nicola Scaife, and represents the largest number of balloons that have flown in a competition event in Western Australia.
This is the first women’s world championship held in five years.
It was last held in Poland and the event scheduled for 2020 was cancelled due to Covid so there’s great excitement from teams representing Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, UK, and USA.
The women’s world championship presents an opportunity to see Northam and Ballardong Nyoongar Boodja at its best with the sky full of colour as 30 balloons float majestically across the rolling hills over vivid canola fields.
The event kicks off with the Northam Festival of Ballooning and opening ceremony on Saturday, September 2 with live music, balloon demos and international food.
It is free to attend and thousands of spectators are anticipated across the event week.
