SAFA Skysailor Magazine

44 SKY SAILOR March-April-May | AUTUMN 2025 exclude themselves from paragliding spaces to feel safe and comfortable flying e.g. by not flying at particular sites, not posting track logs, not making live tracking public (e.g. on high cloud), not posting intentions in chat groups, and leaving chat groups altogether. This has consequences for their safety, access to conveniences such as retrieves and lifts, and access to community. • Needing to ask for supervision, usually from men because there are few female SOs and SSOs, which is intimidating for some women. Inclusivity in Paragliding So what can we do about it? Not all of the barriers identified can be addressed by the paragliding community alone, and certainly not overnight, but there are several options for clubs, state associations and SAFA to consider starting or strengthening: Strategies and tools at the club level include: • Roster/regular supervision at different sites • Group messaging apps to support underrepresented groups of pilots • Reach out to lapsed license pilots • Mentoring • Special events • Regular club meet ups that are not weather-dependent • Introduction manual for new PG2s • Increase the number of SOs and SSOs (especially women) • Inclusive amenities at flying sites An example of a group that has support- ed the regular supervision of low-airtime pilots is the Eager Eaglets – an informal group connected via WhatsApp that allows pilots (whether visiting or local) to easily connect with other pilots who fly at Mystic