Second Arab paramotor championship kicks off in Duhok

DUHOK (Kurdistan 24) – On the evening of June 8, 14 paramotor pilots started competing in the second Arabic paramotor championship in Khanke area of Sumel in the Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province.

Monitored by judges, the paramotor pilots flew over the banks of the Mosul reservoir.

The paramator championship in Duhok is one of the three championships for air sports taking place in the Kurdistan Region. The other two are paragliding on Korek Mountain and skydiving in Erbil.

Saman Talabani, the technical manager of the paramotor championship, told Kurdistan 24 that the championship will last for three days and each pilot will have over three chances to demonstrate their skills.

Twelve countries are competing in the three air sport championships. Five teams are in Duhok for the paramotor championship. They are from Algeria, Qatar, Libya, Iraq, and the Kurdistan Region.

Talabani also explained that for paragliding and paramotor, there are many Kurdish pilots and who are very successful. That is largely because the Kurdistan Region has great topography and weather for such sports and many young enthusiasts.

According to Mohammed Abbas, one of the two pilots from Kurdistan Region who is competing along with Kurdish paramotor pilot Hazem Mohammed, it has taken a lot of effort to organize this event in the Kurdistan Region. He has done great so far. The competition, however, is fierce.

Mohammed Yafa’ee, a pilot from Qatar who has won several championships, expressed his gratitude for being well received in the Kurdistan Region, saying the region is very beautiful and he feels he is among brothers.

The first Arab air sports championship took place in Morocco in 2018 with Arab pilots from 12 countries.

Previously, on September, 2021, the competition that selected Iraq’s finalists to participate in the Arab air sports championship also took place in Duhok.