By Jonathan Perron-Clow, FAI Ballooning Commission PMR subcommittee member and 2024 Canadian Hot Air Balloon Championship Committee Member and Deputy Director. 
Header photo: Eventual champion Martin Unsworth has his eyes on the prize as he approaches a target during the 2024 Canadian Championship. Credit: Laurianne Gervais.

“When I think about championships, I think of my dad.”
                                                  - Martin Unsworth

As a young man, Martin Unsworth watched in awe as his father Denis won three Canadian Hot Air Balloon Championships, between 1995 and 2000. It was only natural then, that Denis joined his son in the basket when Martin made his own competitive debut in 2021 at the Canadian championship in his hometown of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec - the biggest championship Canada has hosted in decades. That event saw him snare a second place, thereby clinching a spot at the 24th FAI World Hot Air Balloon Championship in Slovenia the following year.

“When I was younger, I was the one pushing him, telling him he could do it,” says Martin as he reflects on his ballooning memories alongside his father. “It’s this amazing experience he started for our family. It was an important thing for me to do with him because he was the first three time Canadian champion. That first year (2021), we would squabble like he was teaching me to drive. This year, just the fact that he was here, that meant a lot to me.”

While he didn’t get the result he wanted at his first world championship experience or at the 2022 Canadians, he used his hometown advantage and his dad’s wisdom and encouragement to propel himself to the top of the leaderboard during a very competitive 2024 Canadian Hot Air Balloon Championship, once again held in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. It was fitting that they got to share the moment together when the younger Unsworth finally lifted the championship trophy.

“I don’t like comparing myself to other pilots,” admits Unsworth after his win. “We are all good pilots in the region here. But it’s not just about winning a championship, it’s about building relationships with the landowners, building a team.”

The Thursday start to the Canadian championship brought wind and rain, like the start of the 25th FAI World Championship a few weeks before. Two of the competitors, Jason Adams and Sébastien Poupart, needed to rush home following that event to make it in time for the start of this one. They were among the eight who were vying for the win, including three rookies.

Three time Canadian champion Jason Adams winds up for a throw on approach to a target. Credit: Laurianne Gervais

Martin Unsworth, left, and his co-pilot Raphael Richard plan out their flight. Richard was also a co-pilot at the
2023 FAI World Junior Championship with his friend Jacob Benjamin. Credit: Laurianne Gervais

The next day provided a first flight with a morning launch from near the Saint-Jean airport. Pilots had a Pilot Declared Goal (PDG) where they could declare two choices ahead of the launch. Then, there was a Judge Declared Goal (JDG) followed by a Hesitation Waltz (HWZ) with two targets close together. The tasks could be flown in any order so there was some strategy involved in picking where one would put their PDG options. The HWZ came down to proximity following the JDG. Local pilot Alex Houle took the early lead after the first flight. Though he was a rookie this time, he’d been a co-pilot in previous championships.

Alex Houle, left, took the early lead after the first flight. While he wasn’t able to hold on for the win, he did capture the Brenda Speirs Rookie of the Year Award.
His co-pilot, right, Francis Bonnette, is the eventual champion’s nephew. Credit: Maryse Phaneuf.

It had been hoped that organising a championship in the fall in Eastern Canada would lead to stable winds. Instead, the evenings proved tricky. After a three task morning flight, two tasks were called on Friday evening to challenge the pilots. A seldom seen Double Hare and Hound task (HNH) would see a local pilot take off ahead of the other pilots, drop a target in a first field before taking off again before dropping a second target at its second landing.

On launch, pilots followed along what were light winds with little steerage. Contrary to normal expectations, there were tremendous wind shifts aloft which the pilots were forced to navigate as they chased the hare. Martin Unsworth, who studies the winds intently to plan his passenger flying business, was the only pilot able to score on both tasks though others outdid him on the fourth or fifth tasks.

Pilots continued their run of flights on Saturday morning with five tasks. Each year, the organising committee (of which I am a member) aims to deliver the best possible competition resembling what pilots would face at a Category 1 event. Having Canada’s own world class director Garry Lockyer calling tasks is a key piece of that. His five tasks were exactly what the pilots ordered.

The reigning champion Sebastien Poupart leads the pack into the first JDG on the third flight. He would end up finishing second. Credit: Laurianne Gervais

Competitors would fly three JDGs in a row and then two Fly Ons (FON) of their own choosing. Saint-Jean’s winds usually blow from the west, but pilots needed to fly towards that direction instead. The JDGs were nearly in a line but a slight shift in the wind made it progressively more difficult to score with no one throwing a marker by the third. Pilots had to fly back across the Richelieu River before ending their flight.

After calculating the scores, the event team started looking at the winds for the evening flight. Throughout the day, the wind switched continuously with forecasts struggling to catch up. What to do? A multi-task flight was planned but at the last minute needed to be abandoned. Instead, it was back to the HNH though this time with only one target to be laid out. What seemed like a straightforward task became complicated once again by the shifting winds but a few competitors managed to sneak in scores.

“I was a bit conservative in my old balloon,” explained Martin Unsworth after the flight. “I stayed up a bit longer while Sebastien (Poupart) worked it harder which ended up pushing him right.” Unsworth had been looking over his shoulder as Poupart tried to pass him in the standings.

It came down to the last flight window as it should... It was cancelled due to weather.

Martin Unsworth won his first Canadian Hot Air Balloon Championship, following in his father’s footsteps. “I just wanted it to end. But when it was all over, I was a little happy,” said the newly crowned champion when he learned the flight was cancelled. “I had a bit of luck. We respect each other a lot in this region. I’m not better than anyone else, but it’s true that I fly a lot. We fly targets every flight - it helps me do my job. I was just happy.”

By winning the championship, Unsworth will receive Canada’s first invite for the 26th FAI World Hot Air Balloon Championship in Krosno, Poland in 2026.

“I don’t want 2026 to be my last worlds, so I’ll need to keep proving myself. I want to add another Canadian title.”

The 2025 Canadian Hot Air Balloon Championship shifts back to a summer schedule running from July 3-6 in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu once again.

• Follow the competition via WatchMeFly.Net
• Canadian Balloon Association competitions

Martin Unsworth, second from right, celebrates his win at the awards ceremony. His father Denis stands in the middle. Credit: Laurianne Gervais