FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale) has announced that drone racing will be one of the events at the World Games 2025 in Chengdu, China. Drone racing first appeared at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, USA.
The event was considered a big hit, with fans being blown away by the aerial acrobatics and skills of the pilots, so it’s not surprising drone racing is making a comeback. While the venue or specific dates for the drone racing event haven’t been announced yet, the 2025 World Games will run from August 7 to 17.
FAI & The World Games Have a Long History
FAI has partnered with the World Games since the late 90s, and the two organizations are already working together for the upcoming Chengdu Games. More updates and announcements concerning the venue and the participants can be expected in future.
The World Games has stated that 32 drone pilots will compete in the event. These pilots will be selected from across the world, and there will be 16 male and 16 female athletes. As this sport is very popular with young athletes, the World Games expects a high concentration of junior competitors. We can expect the demographics to mirror the FAI World Drone Racing Championships.
The most recent FAI World Drone Racing Championships took place in October 2023 in Namwon, Korea. There were three events: female, junior, and overall. Korea dominated the Championships, winning the overall, junior, and team standings. In second place was the USA, followed by Japan. We’ll have to see if the winner of the overall Championships, MinChan Kim, can repeat his performance and take gold at the World Games 2025.
What are the World Games?
The World Games multi-sport event gathers athletes from various disciplines not included in the Olympic Games. Founded by the International World Games Association (IWGA) in 1980, the event serves as a platform for sports like karate, powerlifting, squash, and many others to showcase their talent and compete at an international level. The World Games typically take place every four years, attracting athletes from around the globe.
Initially conceived as a way to accommodate sports not featured in the Olympics, the World Games have evolved into a significant sporting event in their own right. The inaugural World Games were held in Santa Clara, California, USA, and have since been hosted in various cities worldwide, including Akita (Japan), Duisburg (Germany), and Kaohsiung (Taiwan), among others.
The Thrill of Drone Racing
Drone racing is a high-speed aerial sport where pilots navigate tracks littered with challenging obstacles. Whichever pilot records the fastest time on the course wins. If you blink, you can miss the action as the drones whip around the track at over 160 km/h (100 mph). An entire race lasts just three minutes, so there’s no time for bathroom breaks!
Drone racing is an equal-opportunity sport with men and women battling each other. There are limited barriers to entry, and there are numerous pathways for both women and men to succeed and stand on the podium. However, drone racers need lightning-fast reflexes and fine motor skills. A slight misjudgment can cause the drone to go astray, and with the race being so short, a single mistake can cost a pilot.
How Does Drone Racing Work?
In a typical race, up to six drones fly around the closed circuit, which can be indoors or outdoors and feature varying configurations. The goal is to fly through the gates and move around the obstacles in a specific order. The winner is the pilot who records the fastest time on the circuit of all competing pilots.
Pilots race specific drones, which are multi-rotor craft that weigh a maximum of 1kg. The drones feature on-board video cameras that send a live video feed to the goggles worn by the pilots. These are known as first-person view (FPV) drones. It takes some getting used to as, initially, the first-person view can be slightly disconcerting. However, drone racing pilots are so adept that the drone feels almost like an extension of their body, and they’re incredibly sensitive to its movements.
Sports like drone racing that incorporate technology and robotics are continuing to grow in popularity. If Drone racing proves a hit in Chengdu, we may one day see it at the Olympic Games!
