The European Gliding Championships is a gliding competition held every two years. Gliding is a competitive sport and was even a demonstration sport at the 1936 Summer Olympics. It was due to become an official Olympic sport in the Helsinki Games in 1940. However, since the war, gliding has not featured in the Olympics. For gliding, international competition has been provided by the World Gliding Championships since 1938 and also by the European Gliding Championships since 1982.