Shimla, Nov 11 (IANS) Seventy pilots, including 10 foreigners, will exhibit their skills in the four-day paragliding championship that begins Thursday in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district.

All preparations have been completed for the Himalayan Open Paragliding Championship that would have 10 foreign participants and 30 from the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army, youth services and sports department joint director Suman Rawat told IANS.

Sheltered by mountains and surrounded by rolling tea gardens, the championship site Bir-Billing is considered to be one of the finest aero-sports sites in the world.

The height of Billing take-off site is about 2,600 metres above sea level, while the landing site at Bir is 2,080 metres above sea level.

Rawat said the sky is crystal clear and thermals are quite steady for the pilots to compete for the championship.

It has been divided into three categories - open category (30-35 km), women category (30 km) and novice category (10-15 km). It is for the first time that novice category has been introduced in the championship, the official said.

The government has already refurbished the paragliding site according to international specifications.

The Aero Club of India is providing technical support to the event.