Canadian Championship

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Canadian Championship

In 2021, the town of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu had the honor of hosting the Canadian Hot Air Balloon Pilots’ Championship. It had been more than twenty years since such an event had taken place here, in the hot air balloon capital.

The Canadian Championship is a competition where hot air balloon pilots come together to complete specific tasks to accumulate as many points as possible in order to secure a spot on the podium and claim the title of Canadian champion.

The tasks involve hitting a specific target, such as a ground marker, by throwing a marker as close to the target as possible. There may also be electronic targets where we must electronically record our position as close to the target as possible in real time. There are tasks where we must perform a specific maneuver, take off, and pass through specific locations, etc. There may be several tasks to complete during the same flight within a limited time.

In 2021, it was the first time our pilot-owner Martin Unsworth competed, where he took 2nd place on the Canadian podium—finishing first among the participating Quebecers—and he also won the Rookie of the Year trophy.

In 2024, Martin took first place on the Canadian podium and won his first Canadian championship title. This secured him a spot in the next World Hot Air Balloon Championship, to be held in Poland in 2026.

In 2025, he once again took first place on the Canadian podium, solidifying his team’s position among the world’s best at the upcoming World Hot Air Balloon Championship.

Fun fact: Martin’s father, Denis Unsworth, was himself a three-time Canadian champion pilot.