On Friday, January 26, the LAA ČR and the Czech Modellers' Association Sportsman of the Year ceremony was held in the conference room of the Air Traffic Control in Jenč. The event was supported by the participation of members of the Parliament of the Czech Republic - Karel Sládeček (chairman of the subcommittee for aviation and cosmonautics), Stanislav Berkovec and Josef Flek; the director of the Institute of Civil Aviation David Jágr, the director of the Institute for Professional Investigation of the Causes of Air Accidents Vladimír Plos and the general director of the Air Traffic Control Jan Klas. In the picture with the moderator of the event Miroslav Oros.
The representatives of the organizing organizations were given space after the opening words of the host. President of LAA CR Aleš Trtil presented the new form of Pilot magazine. The old and new versions are in the hands of Jan Žemlička, chairman of the Czech Modelers' Association:
The second block of announcements belonged to the athletes of the Light Aircraft Association of the Czech Republic.
The best paragliders were awarded:
- Owned by Kricnar – for 2nd place in the category of nations of the WC, 4th place of the WC overall, 8th place of PGAWC Kazakhstan, 1st place of the MCR, 1st place of the CR league overall
- Vlastimil Vachtl for 2nd place in the WC nations category, 9th place in the WC overall, 10th place in the PGAWC Turkey
- Petr Kostrhun for 1st place German Open, 3rd place PWC Turkey, 8th place PWC Spain, 4th place in the category of nations of the WC
This was followed by the awarding of the best hang-gliding pilots:
- Dan Vyhnalík for 1st place in the ranking of the Czech Republic, the best Czech rogalist of 2023 in the Czech Republic, 14th place in the WC
- Robert Kulhanek for 2nd place in the ranking of the Czech Republic, 18th place at the World Championships
- Jiří Gut for 1st place Xcontest ZL Cup 2023
The third announced category was the best pilots of ultralight aircraft:
- Marek Velat for 1st place of the Czech Republic in ultralight flying in the category of single-seat aircraft Strunkovice, world champion in air rally, France Macon
- Lukáš Běhounek and Radim Čeněk for 1st place, the winning crew of the Czech Republic in ultralight flying in the category of two-seat aircraft Strunkovice, Lukáš Běhounek, the winner in landings at the World Rally Championship, France, Macon
- Peter Hynek for LA 1st place of the MČR in ultralight flying in the category of single-seat rogal Strunkovice
And the best motorized paraglider pilots couldn't miss either:
- Milan Klement, Luboš Halama and Aleš Threw for 1st place in the team relay at the Polish Championship (FAI2)
- Jakub Sedivý for 1st place at the MČR in classical disciplines
- Jiří Švuger for the greatest progress in flying
At the end, MAREK VELÁT was declared Sportsman of the Light Aircraft Association of the Czech Republic.
Athletes of the LAA ČR were selected from the nominated athletes by the Council of the LAA ČR. Three selected athletes - Marek Velát, Vlastimil Kricnar and Milan Klement will be awarded as part of the Best Air Athlete of the Czech Republic gala evening, which will take place on February 24 and will be broadcast by Czech Television. 2 pilots of the Aeroclub of the Czech Republic, LAA of the Czech Republic and the Club of Aircraft Modelers are nominated. We will keep our fingers crossed for our representatives for the best possible placement.