Event Details
Welcome to the website for the 39th Irish Hot Air Balloon Championships.
The Irish National Hot Air Ballooning Championships are the longest running National Hot Air Ballooning Meet in the World. It is returning to Waterford City after a massively successful event last year. There were many happy moments during the championships last year and major credit is due to the people of Waterford City and County and South Kilkenny for the wonderful welcome afforded to the Balloonists and their crews.
The event takes place from 20th to 25th of September inclusive.
The base HQ for the event will be Woodlands Hotel on the Dunmore road and flights will take place in the vicinity of the city throughout the week, weather permitting.
It is expected that up to 40 hot air balloons from the England, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, France, Holland, Italy and the USA will attend. Details of these balloons and their pilots will soon be available in the Balloon Teams Gallery.
The event is kindly sponsored by Waterford City Council, Failte Ireland, Tower Hotel Group, Waterford Airport, Waterford Chamber of Commerce and Dawn Meats and supported by Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI), and Calor Gas, Port of Waterford.
Keverflow, (Granville Hotel, Mulligans, Tony Fitzgerald, Georges Court ) who sponsored the unique Night Glow last year have again generously agreed to sponsor the night glow and we hope it proves even more spectacular than last year.
The balloons flights will take place twice each day, weather permitting, at approximately 7.30am to 8.00 am in the morning and again at around 6pm in the evening. The status of these flights will be updated on the Latest News page throughout the event.
Information on each day's flights will be available on the Championships Hotline prior to each scheduled flight. Details of whether the flights are going ahead and their location will be announced on this number- 087 9300700.
The public are actively encouraged to come out and see the balloons as they launch. The balloons will make a spectacular display in the skies over Waterford so bring your camera.( The attraction of so many balloons flying can be mesmerizing so we issue a note of caution to be mindful of traffic and road users while enjoying the spectacle!)
It is not possible to provide flights to the public during the week however it is a fun, social event for everyone’s enjoyment so get your cameras ready and record your favorite shots for the album.
Now in its 39th year, the Irish Hot Air Ballooning Championships is the longest running national ballooning event anywhere in the World. Many of the participating teams return year-in year-out due to the attraction of this event.
Here is the schedule which will almost certainly change as weather patterns emerge.
Please check the Latest News page frequently for daily updates on the exact launch sites that will be used for the balloon launches.
Up-to-date information about the balloon launches can be found on our Latest News page or by calling the Championships Information Hot Line on 087 9300700.
During the week, a number of light-hearted competitions will take place to challenge the skill of the participating pilots. Here is a sample of those that could take place:
Hare and Hounds
This involves a single balloon flying away first (the 'hare') and the remaining balloons follow the hare balloon, who will be doing their best to find winds to make the task more difficult for the chasing pack. The winner will be the balloon that either lands nearest, or drops their 'marker' nearest the landed hare balloon.
Fly-in task
This will involve the nomination and placement of a target area. The balloon teams will then be sent off to find their own launch site locations a pre-specified distance(Usually 5 miles !) away from the target area. The pilots will then use their skill to fly towards the target area using the minimal steerage offered by winds at different heights.
Long Distance Competition
Throughout the week, a competition will be run where a prize is awarded to the balloon team that manages to fly the furthest throughout the week's event.