Abergavenny is set to host the 2025 UK Open and National Paragliding Accuracy Championships this month, with the competition taking place on June 21 and 22.

It’s set to be held at the Blorenge with several international pilots registered. As such, competitors not only have the chance to win UK National Awards but can also boost their world ranking position with the Air Sports Federation (FAI).

Pilots will - hopefully - find themselves landing in Castle Meadows, aiming for a target the size of a two pence piece.

William Lawrence has been setting up the weekend alongside his partner, and the pair settled on Wales instantly. He said Abergavenny is the ideal place to host this year’s competition.

“So the the the major considerations is enough space so the less experienced pilots can stay safe,” he said.

“Obviously, we want the best pilots to be doing what they do best but we have to allow for those who are newer to the sport and so Castle Meadows gives us plenty of run off.”

“I think it's 2018 is the last time we came to Wales, it's been a much longer time since we've done South Wales.”

Although being in a relatively urban environment for this kind of sport, everyone concerned hopes that staging the championships here can benefit the local community

“The main issue we have with a lot of our competitions they're in the middle of nowhere so any attempt to get local support helped by sponsorship or in this case charities, we can't bring value to them because we're in a field in the middle of nowhere so nobody's coming to see us,” William continued.

“So we've got the pub over the road, we've got shops, we've got local supermarkets, we can we're in a position that, one, it helps for us organising it but also it means that the local community can be a part of it because we're landing on their doorstep.”

The Abergavenny branch of the Royal British Legion will be in Castle Meadows over the weekend, raising money both for themselves and the Poppy Appeal.

However, with the surrounding environment also comes a series of challenges that the organisers don’t usually encounter, especially as they’ll be landing amongst a high population.

William was keen to stress that every possible measure is being taken to make sure the people and the environment are protected.

“We're now actually having to speak to the council to actually get the permission to finalize the permissions we need to actually be on-site,” he said.

“The biggest concern is just making sure that the public like I think like a dog running onto a landing site.”

“It's more people running on accident get bumped into by a judge who's looking at the pilot and not the person next to who's one up behind them.”

They have also partnered with massage therapist, From Head to Toe, to provide pilots and officials to get a sports massage at a discounted price throughout the weekend.