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GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - Two weeks ago, George Herald featured the story of Khobi-Jane Bowden, a Wilderness-based paraglider pilot who has been showing many of the men the way around the sky in national competitions, as well as being a regular competitor on the international scene.
The Garden Route area continues to see a growing number of female pilots taking to the skies in competition, with Tyla-Jane Christodoulou competing in only her second competition, putting in an impressive performance at the recent South African Championships in Barberton.
Although Christodoulou entered the competition with high expectations of doing well in the women’s category, she said she was surprised by how many of the more experienced male pilots she managed to push down the rankings.
Despite the B category being well attended, her level of flying exceeded her expectations, and her confidence grew as she realised how well she was flying the tasks.
The sport runs in the family. Her husband, Rouberre, also competes regularly and runs a local paragliding school.
Tyla-Jane started flying 10 years ago, and with two young children, it was a juggling act at first. However, over the last four years, she has seen a noticeable increase in her skill levels.
VIDEO - Breaking barriers in the skies: Garden Route girl soars at SA Paragliding Champs
It’s common for a pilot to feel a sense of fear of the unknown early on, but Tyla-Jane said her flying took a turn for the better when she suddenly woke up one day and asked herself the question: “What am I scared of?” She began pushing harder, flying more often, and tackling different conditions and bigger sites, and the improvement became immediately noticeable.
“I just put in the time. Every time I fly, I try to do something different, or fly further, or be the highest in the stack,” she said.
As for being a woman in a male-dominated sport, Tyla-Jane doesn’t believe the fairer sex has any disadvantages.
“It’s all about mental strength. If you’re strong mentally, you’ll fly well.”
That strength came to the fore when she upset the odds by winning a task on one of the more difficult days. It was only after she landed that she realised she had taken the win, after turning on her phone and seeing all the congratulatory messages!
As for the future, her heart is set on continued competition flying, and her eyes are fixed on the goal of one day participating in a world championship.
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