Steve Ham
Steve Ham (born Bristol 1963) first flew a hang glider in 1981 with Ken Salisbury’s school near Folkestone whilst at college (Univ. London QMC. BSc in Zoology and Comparative Physiology). After graduation he went to Spain for two years, working in Vitoria and Pamplona. After returning to the UK any serious career path was soon ruined by his growing obsession with hang gliding. In 1991 he "discovered" Piedrahita, then largely unrecognised as a flying site, and began his crusade to put the area on the worldwide map of classic sites. During the 1990´s he organised and directed some of the most memorable and successful competition events of the decade, including four Paragliding World Cups, the FAI European Championships, the Hang Gliding World series, and multiple national events for Spain, the UK and the Nordic countries.
He held the UK open distance for nearly 10 years with his flight of 175km from the Long Mynd during the UK Paragliding Nationals in 1995. In 2004 he broke site record for Frocester of 168km, and at that time also the 2nd longest flight in the UK after his own record. In 2007, on a trip of just 6 days in August he managed sufficient distances to put him in 14th place in the overall UK XC league.
Steve's personal competition career spans nearly 20 years, with numerous selections in the British team. The first in 1990, and latest in 2007 for the World Paragliding Championships Australia. He was also the British Team Leader in the Spanish World Championships in 2001 and in 1997 (Team Silver and individual Gold by John Pendry).
His recent competition wins are the British Championships (Serial Class 2007, 2006 and Open Class 2002), and the 2006 Pre World Championships in Australia (Serial Class). Outside the UK nationals, he also won the Australian Nationals in 2006 (Serial), the New Zealand Nationals in 2003 and the Spanish Nationals in 2001 (Serial). For the last 6 years he has rarely been out of the top 50 in the FAI World ranking, with a peak of 2nd place in 2004.