A gliding exhibition was held at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. The sport is not recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), nor by the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), although the FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale) is an IOC-recognized federation.
The FAI, which also calls itself the World Air Sports Federation, was created on 14 October 1905, in Paris, with founding members from eight countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. As of 2024, the federation has 86 active members, 8 associate members, 7 affiliate members, and 7 temporary members.