Anyone who plans to be in Lanzarote in the first week of December may find more than just sun in those brilliant blue skies as the participants in the Canaries XV Delta Wing Open gliding competition take to the skies in the hopes of soaring to success.

Sands Beach Resort are proud to be amongst the sponsors of this year’s competition final which will see pilots hanging in their cradles beneath their gliders like static-winged butterflies floating across Lanzarote’s extraordinary landscape. Each pilot will be competing to pick up a trophy and title in the Canaries Open and the Canary Islands Champion 2011 competitions which are being held in parallel over the 4th to the 10th December 2011.

Delta Wing gliders are so called after the shape of the wings which mirrors the Greek letter ‘delta’. Pilots are suspended beneath the hang glider in a cradle supported by an aluminium frame and usually they adopt a prone position to ride the updraughts and steer by pendulum movements which shift the centre of gravity.

Flying High in Lanzarote
Located within a sub-tropical high pressure belt and experiencing near-constant trade winds, Lanzarote is an ideal island for the use of hang gliders. Throw into the mix its semi-desert lack of rainfall which averages little over 200mm annually and a topography that means there are take off points on the island for just about any wind direction and you’ve got the perfect conditions for competition flying.

Access to taking off points is easy, take off will be on foot and the island is small enough that if your wind direction changes you can locate a fresh head wind within 20 minutes. All of which adds up to the prospect of an exciting competition for both pilots and spectators.

Entry to the XV Canaries Open
The International Canaries Open 2011 Championship is open to all pilots with the appropriate rating and federal license in force and you can register online here. The registration fee is 30 € for Canaries pilots and 60 € for everyone else. Trophies will be awarded to the winner of the Canarian category who will be awarded Canarian Champion 2011 and to 2nd and 3rd placed Canarios; to the winner and 2nd and 3rd places in the International category and to team/club, sport and female categories.

At registry pilots must provide:

• Sporting License.
• FAI sporting license
• At least 1 GPS, 3D GPS recommended for flight verification (also recommended a backup GPS) for registration.
• Pilot, team leader (if any) and driver mobile telephone numbers. Any other contact numbers available
• Receipt for payment of entry fees

Closing date for registration is 18.00 on the 3rd December 2011.

Entries and pilot briefings will be held at Sands Beach Resort on December 3rd at 14.00 and 15.00 respectively.

On Saturday the 5th of November, four hard men of the ring went head to head at the Annual Fight Night held in Dave Payne’s gym in Playa Bastian Costa Teguise not far from Sands Beach Resort.

Annual Fight Night featured a programme consisting of two thrilling battles. There was nothing to separate Bob Hoskins and David Timmo in the first whilst Brian Timmo Junior took the honours against Mark Preston in the second bout.

Although Annual Fight Night offers a hit for boxing fans on holiday or living in Lanzarote, one of the most interesting things about it is the gym where it’s held, or more accurately its inspirational owner, boxer Dave Payne.

At 71 he’s still a rock of a man and known and respected, apart from his boxing skills, for the work he does teaching young people on the island discipline and a code of conduct using boxing and training at his gym as tools.

Last year Dave was the subject of a mesmerising short film by the immensely talented photographer  and film-maker John Hicks. The Hardest Fight is just over three minutes long yet packs a punch as hard as one of Dave Payne’s bare knucklers.

Anyone from 14 years and up is welcome to train at Dave’s gym, whether professional or beginner, English or Spanish speaker. He’s open from 9am to 7pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and from 11am to 1pm on Saturdays.

If you want to find out more about the gym or this charismatic ‘film star’ boxer, call Dave on +34 639 987 629  or send an email to davepaynegym@hotmail.co.uk

Annual Fight Night Photos by James Mitchell

What are Sundays for? Washing the car, long lunches with the family, lazy afternoons on the beach? Not if you’re thinking of running in the Lanzarote International Marathon 2011 they’re not, they’re for getting into your stride with the Sands Beach Resort ‘Train With Us’ club.

Every Sunday morning from 9.30am to 12.30pm, the Train With Us team take visitors and residents through the techniques of running, including proper stretching and warm up routines, both in the gym and at the beach in Costa Teguise.

Presented by Canarian running champ Jose Carlos Hernandez and Sands Beach Resort’s Wellness Centre resident sports physiotherapist Juan Montero, the sessions are aimed at all ages and all abilities and are free to join. Although in Spanish, many of the instructions are decidedly visual in nature which, along with no shortage of helpful unofficial translators, ensures that everyone is able to understand and participate on an equal footing (no pun intended).

Aside from helping you to develop more efficient running styles and prevent injury, the sessions are great fun and a good way to ensure that when you take your place at the start line for any of the races lined up for the Lanzarote International Marathon on Sunday 4th December, you’ll see lots of familiar and friendly faces on the line next to you.

So tomorrow, leave the car wash sponge under the sink, defer the beach until the afternoon and head along to Sands Beach Resort to join the enthusiastic ‘Train With Us’ gang for some professional advice on your running techniques. Everyone’s welcome

You’ll find lots more of photographer James Mitchell‘s images of the Train With Us club here.