A new ISC president and 2028 world championships in Prostějov: what the FAI commission decided in Riyadh

Delegates from 48 national federations, present in the room or represented by proxy, met in Riyadh on 24 and 25 January 2026. The plenary closed a week of open committee meetings that began on 21 January. The host was the Saudi Arabian Extreme Sports Federation, and Poland had its own delegate in the room.

A change at the top

In a secret ballot for ISC president, Canada's Rina Gallo received 26 votes and Spain's Alberto Martin Paracuellos, who was seeking another term, 22. Gallo made her first jump in 1987, holds FAI judge ratings in several disciplines and chaired the canopy formation committee for eight years. The other posts were filled by acclamation: Jim Rees (USA) as first vice-president, Omar Alhegelan (Saudi Arabia) and Ron Miasnikov (Israel) as vice-presidents, Natasha Higman as finance secretary and Vera Asquith as recording secretary.

Hosts through 2028

Most of the votes concerned event hosts. In ballots that were mostly secret, delegates awarded:

• Brazil the 2027 Mondial, joint World Cups in formation skydiving, artistic events, speed skydiving, wingsuit flying, style and accuracy and canopy formation (45 votes to 3)
• Prostějov in the Czech Republic the 2028 world championships in formation skydiving, artistic events, speed skydiving, canopy formation and style and accuracy (44 to 4)
• Taufkirchen, near Munich, the world indoor championships on 15–20 March 2027 (48 to 0)
• Denmark the 2027 canopy piloting World Cup and European championships, and France the 2028 canopy piloting world championships
• Germany the 2027 European speed skydiving championships in Neustadt-Glewe, and France the 2027 European style and accuracy championships in Vannes

One bid fell on a tie. The Czechs also wanted to stage the 2027 European formation skydiving and artistic events championships in Prostějov, but the vote finished 24 to 24, short of the required absolute majority. The US delegate had argued that a second event of that rank in the same year would draw competitors away from the Mondial in Brazil.

Poland's proposal rejected

Poland proposed running the indoor Dynamic Solo Speed event on cumulative time rather than as qualification rounds followed by a knockout tournament. The discipline committee and the competitors opposed it. According to the committee chair, the change would have added 45 per cent more rounds, required extra judges and lengthened the event by a day. The plenary rejected the proposal.

Records and participation

The FAI Secretary General's report shows 109 skydiving world and continental records ratified in 2025, against 143 the year before and 115 in 2023. Participation is falling: the outgoing president's report says 978 competitors took part in ISC events in 2025, 33 per cent fewer than expected. He named high entry fees and the cost of travel and accommodation as the likely reason, while stressing that this was an inference.

Rankings and tools

Delegates approved CHF 2,500 each for a world ranking in Indoor Para Skydiving, to be used from 2027, and for a wingsuit flying ranking list. Both are requests for development-reserve funds for 2027 and need the approval of the FAI General Conference. FAI currently keeps ranking lists in Parachute-Ski, canopy piloting and style and accuracy landing.

The commission also set up a working group to build a registration tool for first-category events and backed extending the judges' database to cover all other officials. The two Bureau projects have CHF 15,000 earmarked for 2027.

The 2029 World Games

FAI had put canopy piloting forward for The World Games 2029 in Karlsruhe, along with four other air-sport disciplines. No decision had been taken at the time of the meeting, so the ISC set up a temporary working group for the preparations; in September the IWGA confirmed a programme that includes skydiving. Skydiving was not on the programme of the 2025 World Games.