The 2026 Swiss National Gliding Championships were held at Schänis from 4 to 12 June, with fifteen pilots competing in the handicapped class across six tasks. The week produced a range of conditions — from a difficult opening day with high outlanding rates to a big cross-country day that effectively decided the overall standings. Here is a day-by-day account of how the competition unfolded.
Difficult Day
The opening contest day sent pilots on a 2-hour assigned area task via Rieden and Spaichingen Bahnhof, with a nominal distance around 199 km. Conditions were evidently difficult: the day factor came out at just 0.536 and the maximum points available were reduced to 580. Only six pilots completed the task, and several others landed away from the airfield — Ueli Mösching (ASW 27B), Jörg Bächtiger (Discus 2cT), Beat Gassmann (Duo XLT), Thomas Sutterlin (ASH 25) and the Hauser & Hauser crew (ASG32Mi2P) all received disqualifications for off-field landings, while Mark Käppeli did not fly.
Gabriel Rossier (ASH 31) took the day win at 91 kph, covering 182 km in just under two hours. Julius Lübstorf (LS 3 neo) came second at 73 kph, followed by Jurg Haas (JS-3 18m) at 81 kph in third — though Haas spent nearly 40 minutes more in the air than Rossier, suggesting he found better air later in the window. Reiner Michael (JS-3 18m) and Leon Blum (ASW 24 B WL) rounded out the top five finishers. The restricted flying by many pilots meant the day handed out points carefully and left the overall standings quite open.
Task 3 — Friday, 6 June
Friday brought another 2-hour task, this time a more complex route via Rieden, Arth, Appenzell and Rapperswil before returning to Schänis — an area over the pre-Alps and Appenzell region with sector distances totalling around 180 km. The day factor dropped further to 0.750, with only 612 maximum points on offer, reflecting again that the conditions were not straightforward.
Gabriel Rossier won the day a second time, this time at 93 kph, completing 191 km to score 459 points. Thomas Sutterlin placed second at 83 kph with 168 km covered, recovering well from his Task 2 outlanding penalty. Yves Müller (ASG 29 18m) was third at 79 kph. Jurg Haas managed fourth, while Raffaele Sandrini (Discus 2cT) and Barbara Kuttel (LS 8) both completed the task to take fifth and sixth respectively. A significant portion of the field did not finish — Reiner Michael, Remy Hirt, Ueli Mösching, Julius Lübstorf, the Hauser & Hauser team and Beat Gassmann all fell short of the turnpoints — which gave those who did complete the course a useful advantage.
Bigger Task
Sunday produced the most complete flying of the week up to that point. The 3-hour task sent gliders north across the Swabian Alb via Rieden, Spaichingen Bahnhof and Ehingen Bahnhof, a sector route with distances averaging around 308 km. A full day factor of 1.000 and 1,000 maximum points indicated the task committee considered conditions genuinely good.
Reiner Michael took a convincing day win at 103 kph, covering 354 km in 3 hours 25 minutes for the full 1,000 points. It was a strong performance on the longer, flatter cross-country terrain north of the Alps. Leon Blum came second at 89 kph, showing that the lower-handicapped ASW 24 B WL performed well in the conditions. Jurg Haas was third at 98 kph, covering the most distance of anyone at 369 km. Julius Lübstorf had a fine day in fourth at 86 kph — notable given he flies the LS 3 neo with the lowest handicap in the field at 106.5. Yves Müller and Jörg Bächtiger followed in fifth and sixth.
Task 5 — Sunday, 8 June
After two non-flying days, Sunday 8 June delivered the biggest task of the contest: a 3-hour route via Durschlegi, Bivio and Nesselwang, with sector distances averaging around 343 km — taking gliders deep into Graubünden and then across to the Allgäu before returning to Schänis.
Jurg Haas won convincingly at 116 kph, covering 381 km in 3 hours 17 minutes for 1,000 points. It was the fastest speed recorded by any pilot in the entire competition. Reiner Michael was second at 114 kph, a close result that underlined his consistent performance throughout the week. Gabriel Rossier slotted into third at 111 kph, his best placing in the longer tasks. Leon Blum again performed above expectations in fourth at 100 kph, the ASW 24 B WL coping well with the demanding route. Remy Hirt was fifth at 108 kph.
The day produced some notable attrition: Yves Müller landed short of the finish and took 403 points, Beat Gassmann also failed to complete the task, and the Hauser & Hauser crew managed only 37 km before landing — their worst result of the contest. This day, more than any other, shaped the final standings.
Task 6 — Thursday, 11 June
The final scored day was a shorter 2-hour task via Rueti, Langenthal and Lenzburg back to Schänis, covering around 187 km on the nominal distance. The day factor came in at 0.833 with a maximum of 649 points, reflecting conditions that were reasonable but not as strong as the previous task day.
Raffaele Sandrini won the day at 86 kph, his best result of the week, covering 181 km for 533 points. Reiner Michael placed second at 89 kph, and Remy Hirt third at 89 kph — the two JS-3 and JS3 RES gliders were closely matched on the day. Jörg Bächtiger was fourth at 81 kph, having completed 164 km. Jurg Haas finished fifth at 84 kph.
Two pilots were disqualified: Thomas Sutterlin finished the course at 92 kph — the fastest speed of the day — but received a day disqualification for a second off-field landing. Ueli Mösching also landed away and was disqualified again. Gabriel Rossier flew 203 km but did not reach the finish, taking 320 points for distance, which proved enough to hold sixth overall. Several other pilots — Lübstorf, Käppeli, Blum and the Hauser & Hauser team — landed short in difficult conditions.
Final Overall Standings
At the conclusion of six tasks, Jurg Haas (JS-3 18m, SG Knonaueramt) claimed the overall title with 3,047 points. His Task 5 win at 116 kph was the defining performance of the week, and his consistent finishing throughout the contest gave him a cushion over second-placed Reiner Michael (JS-3 18m, SG Schaffhausen) on 2,945 points. Michael's Task 4 win and steady results across all tasks made him a reliable runner-up.
Barbara Kuttel (LS 8, SG Genf und Waadt) finished third overall on 2,586 points — a measured performance that saw her complete every task she entered and avoid the landout penalties that hurt several of her competitors. Leon Blum (ASW 24 B WL, ASG Zweisimmen) was fourth on 2,504 points, his consistency on the longer tasks particularly impressive given his glider's lower handicap. Remy Hirt (JS3 RES 18m, SG Thun) rounded out the top five on 2,465 points.
Gabriel Rossier (ASH 31/21m, GVV Bex les Martinets) held sixth on 2,454 points despite a difficult final day, his strong early results and the Task 5 third place giving him the edge. Thomas Sutterlin (ASH 25 Eb 28, SG Dittingen) finished tenth on 2,032 points after two day disqualifications that cost him dearly — on flying performance alone he might have finished much higher.
The week at Schänis was characterised by mixed weather, with only four of the nine days producing flying. When the air did work, it produced genuinely good cross-country conditions, particularly on Task 5 where the route into Graubünden and back rewarded those who committed fully to the task.
Full results at soaringspot.com/en_gb/schweizer-meisterschaft-2026-schanis/
