Monthly Archives: January 2014

14th International Youth Camp will be in Radesín, Czech

Invitation to participate in the 14th IYC:

14th International Youth Camp 2014

Dear young people,

We, the organisers of the 14th IYC, are very happy to invite you to the 14th International Youth Camp 2014! We welcome all young people who want to fly in a balloon and have the experience of a summer ballooning youth camp in Europe. The last few editions were in Germany, this year we’ve partnered up with Kubicek Balloons, and are very glad that we will be able to welcome you to the beautiful town of Radesin in the Czech Republic. We organise this summer camp, because we want to make our beautiful sport accessible to young people and to build a young international balloon community.

Among other things, our programme will consist of the following activities:

  • ballooning & chasing the balloon
  • introduction to the safety of ballooning
  • explore the surrounding area – visiting the Kubicek Balloons factory
  • campfire romanticism – event education games
  • swimming – football – volleyball
  • model ballooning
  • and a lot more!

Flying balloon is only possible at good weather in early morning or late evening, so all our activities depend very much on the weather conditions. We will often decide situational what is possible to do, ‘safety first’ is key in this decision. Our accommodation will be at a camp site on the Radesin Castle estate, where we will spend the nights in large tents. The meals will be cooked by all participants with the help of our kitchen team on site.

Date: 2 August 2014- 9 August 2014
Location: Radesin, Czech Republic
Organisers: Tim Diller and Jop van Hooft
Age: From 14 to 24 Years
Fee: 150 €
Register on: www.ballooniyc.com
Deadline: 30 April 2014

After the deadline we’ll contact the admitted participants! After that you have to organize your trip to Radesin by yourself. We will send you the participants list so you can travel together with other participants. If you have questions, simply get in touch with us.

We’re really looking forward to see you!. You may pass this invitation on to your friends and acquaintances, everybody is welcome.
Take care, good flights and we hope to welcome you this summer!

Kind regards,
Tim Diller and Jop van Hooft

Chinese cook rescued by Japan after trying to fly balloon to disputed islands

Coastguard picks up 35-year-old whose balloon crashed 20km from islands at the centre of dispute between Japan and China.

The chinese balloon after crashing into the ocean.

A Chinese cook who tried to fly a hot-air balloon to islands claimed by both China and Japan has been rescued by Japan’s coastguard after crashing into the sea.

Xu Shuaijun, 35, crashed on Wednesday after hitting turbulence as he approached the islands, known in Japan as Senkaku and in China as Diayou, the coastguard said.

The coastguard received a missing-person report from Taiwanese officials, and a coastguard helicopter spotted Xu about 20km (12 miles) from the islands, it said.

He was picked up by a boat and later handed over to a Chinese patrol ship, according to the coastguard. His life was not in danger, although other details were not available.

The islands have been a sore point in bilateral relations for years, and nationalists from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong have occasionally tried to sail to them.

theguardian.com