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Events

    Swoop Challenge Round Up and Results

    The best skydivers in the world had an epic day in Copenhagen taking part in the first professional freestyle skydiving contest ever held in the heart of a major city. The Swoop Challenge CPH Invitational, took place on the famous Copenhagen Lakes, Friday the 12th June. A total of 19 international athletes from 11 countries participated, 16 of them making it to the final in Copenhagen.
    70,000+ spectators created an intense atmosphere at the Peblinge Lake, whilst the live broadcast on national TV , and 200 million reached on Snapchat's 'Copenhagen Story' helped in making the event a huge success, as the city took advantage of the first Danish summer day basking in the sun and warm temperatures throughout the whole event.
    The Swoop Finals were the culmination of 5 days of intense parachuting in Denmark as the Swoop Challenge consisted of a Swoop Qualifying at Dropzone Denmark in Herning, the Swoop Night Lights, a spectacular air show in the Copenhagen Harbour on Thursday, and the the climax, The Swoop Finals on Friday.
    American superstars led the way
    The sunny and warm weather made conditions close to perfect for the spectator, however the wind direction and strength was unpredictable causing problems for the athletes during the warm up and two competition rounds, with many ending up in the water next to the landing platform (6 meters wide/25 meters long).
    At the end of a dramatic and close two rounds of competition, it was American superstar Noah Bahnson, one of the top names of the sport, that took home the Swoop Challenge title along with a first price of $7,500. In a close second came Nick Batsch, USA, ($5,000) (both are former swoop world champions) and David 'Junior' Ludvik, USA, ($2,500) rounded up the podium in 3rd.
    "I have never swooped in front of this many people before and it's just amazing in this beautiful weather and on a great course here in the middle of Copenhagen. We normally don't get to see this setup in skydiving because swooping competitions are held out on skydiving centers in the middle of nowhere on a small pond, so it's fantastic what the organizers are doing bringing the competition to a major city for the first time. Copenhagen is an amazing city from the sky and it is beautiful so see the city from above and landing on the big lake. We have all had a great stay in Denmark attending this fantastic Swoop Challenge event," the winner Noah Bahnson says and adds:
    "My last swoop is up there among my favorite swoops of all time, it was too much fun," Noah Bahson said on live TV while watching his swoop freestyle trick after he was announced as the winner.
    World premiere of a difficult and dangerous trick
    Another American, Gage Galle, attempted something that has only been attempted once, and never been caught on camera before: The barrel roll swoop, a very difficult inverted manouver, best performed over water, due to the high probability of a crash. Even though this trick has never been successfully completed, Gage chose live TV to make his attempt. He succeeded with the barrel roll, and despite crashing in the water exiting the trick, the judges gave him a high score, and for the first time ever, a barrel roll was caught on camera with the crowds going crazy.
    The world tour dream is alive
    The idea of Swoop Challenge and the motto 'Swoop to the People' was only formed in 2013, and after a trial event last year, the big test of the setup was Friday's competition. Next step is taking the concept to other major, spectacular cities around the world:
    "What a fantastic day. The 70,000+ spectators in Copenhagen had a giant party, and the crowd created a unique atmosphere around the lake. We have been working extremely hard to build this event over the past two years, and it all became a little more complicated due to the weather forecasts, that made us reschedule on short notice, but despite that, Swoop Challenge was a great success and we are thrilled and proud. 70,000 people chose to stop by the lake today, and this makes it clear to us, that it is possible to unite the beauty in extreme sports and the heart of a historical, cultural metropolitan. After today's success we are dedicated to carry Swoop Challenge across the borders and create a world tour, but it is only attainable, if others are willing to support us. Our athletes, whom are the among the best swoopers in the world, have all said, that it was amazing to jump in Copenhagen," says George Blythe, co-founder of Swoop Challenge.
    "Swoop Challenge was organized with great success. It opened our eyes and gave us world class parachuters in the skies above Herning and Copenhagen. With this great event, Swoop Challenge has achieved to take event planning the to the next level, and shows us a new way to use spectacular arenas for sporting events. The international athletes tells us, that they have never experienced a more beautiful place to skydive than Copenhagen, and it proves, that the concept of Swoop Challenge is on the right track," says Lars Lundov, CEO of Sport Event Denmark, the national sporting event organization that works to attract major international sporting events to Denmark and that supports Swoop Challenge financially.
    Dane Webber close to a sensational podium
    The only competitor from Denmark, the Danish swoop champion, Christian Webber, had a great day on home ground, and was sitting at a sensational 2nd place after the first round, after super star Micah Couch, USA. The Dane, who is employed full time and only jumps in weekends and 7 weeks a year on training camps was by far the one with fewest career jumps at 2,800. The Dane followed up with a solid second round to take home an impressive 6th place finish on home ground to the delight of himself and the Danish spectators.
    Top-6 - the total number of point attainable were 100 per round (200 total after 2 rounds)



    1: Noah Bahnson, USA - 140,80 points (60,60 and 80,20)

    2: Nick Batsch, USA - 140,01 points (58,32 and 81,69)

    3: David Junior Ludvik, USA - 133,49 points (58,75 and 74,74)

    4: Patrick Kaye, USA - 126,28 points (57,00 and 69,28)

    5: Curt Bartholomew, USA - 123,53 points (57,68 and 65,85)

    6: Christian Webber, Denmark - 112,32 points (63,76 and 48,56)


    -----


    7: Cornelia Mihai, Romania

    8: Billy Sharman, South Africa

    9: Gage Galle, USA

    10: Petter Mazzetta, Sweden

    11: Abdulbari Qubaisi, UAE

    12: Martin Reynolds, England

    13: Micah Couch, USA

    14: Chris Stewart, New Zealand

    15: Leigh ‘Macca’ McCormack, Australia

    16: Kristian Moxnes, Norway
    Tukes Iwamoto from Japan, Kenneth Gajda from Denmark and Jeannie Bartholomew from America were the three athletes not qualifying for Swoop Finals, but they each had a chance to perform at the Swoop Night Lights on Thursday evening in the Copenhagen Harbour.

    By admin, in Events,

    Swoop Challenge Hits The Copenhagen Lakes

    The centre of Copenhagen will become the stage for a world premiere on Saturday June 13th. The famous Copenhagen Lakes in the middle of Denmark's capital will host the first ever professional freestyle parachuting competition ever organized in the heart of a major city as the Swoop Challenge CPH Invitational gathers the world's top athletes for 6 days of intense parachuting in a unique format.
    The philosophy of Swoop Challenge is to take parachuting to the people. The action packed and intense parachuting meets the urban and cultural settings of a vibrant big city in a unique blend of culture and extreme sports in beautiful settings in Denmark's capital.
    The best athlete after the two rounds will be crowned Swoop Challenge CPH Invitational 2015 champion and will receive a USD 7,500 first prize. Second and third place finishers will receive $5,000 and $2,500 respectively.
    Innovation of the sport
    The Swoop Challenge CPH Invitational 2015 consists of six days of parachuting: A training camp and qualification, a grand air show in the Copenhagen Harbour and the competition day on the Copenhagen Lakes with more than 50,000 spectators watching.
    The professionalisation of the sport, the brand new competition format and the idea of having parachuting in urban areas has never been seen anywhere in the world.
    “We’re turning everything upside down and bringing extreme sport into the hearts of cities where people can experience it right in front of their own doors rather than out in the middle of nowhere where it usually takes place. We like playing with the contrast of extreme sports within a cultural and historic city while really focusing on the live experience for both spectators and viewers alike," co-founder George Blythe says.
    Image by Anders Bruun Larsen In 2013 he and co-founder Michael Kattrup Lassen came up with the idea to parachute in the middle of major cities, where people naturally are. In August last year with the help from a lot of friends they showcased the sport and had 14 athletes doing one display jump each to test what was possible. The outcome by far exceeded the expectations of the duo and they partnered up with other experienced persons in the parachuting and event world to pull off the next step of their plan: The first professional freestyle competition ever to be held in the center of major cities.
    "We know from last years pilot project, where we held a display with 14 jumpers, that parachuting in the heart of cities was very interesting. Back then we had no idea what was going to happen, but 20,000 spectators turned up at Peblinge Lake with both national tv stations, DR and TV 2, covering the event. This success gave us the drive to follow our dream of developing a full-blown competition in the middle of cities where the world’s best athletes would be brought to town. We now have some the world’s best that are very excited about the idea of Copenhagen and we’re really looking forward to presenting them to the thousands of spectators at Peblinge Lake Saturday June 13," George Blythe says.
    Best extreme sports athletes in the world
    Athletes from 11 countries are coming to Denmark and among the are multiple world champions and top athletes of the sport. They visit Herning and Copenhagen to take part in a competition of the highest international level and in a format none of them have seen before.
    Image by Aleksander Horup "One of my favorite disciplines in swooping is freestyle, and I love being able to swoop in very unique places. The opportunity to swoop in downtown Copenhagen in front of more than 50,000 spectators is awesome and something like this has never happened before. Swooping in a major city is a big dream and I am glad to be a part of such an amazing event," says American Curt Bartholomew, the defending swoop world champion from 2014 and 2012 and the 2013 World Games and World Cup champion.
    The 20 athletes will be attending a training camp and qualifying in Herning at Dropzone Denmark where they will compete for one of the 16 spots in the Swoop Finals in Copenhagen.
    Athletes from 13 countries are competing:


    Abdulbari Qubeisi, United Arab Emirates, 4,600 jumps

    Billy Sharman, South Africa, 8,642 jumps

    Chris Stewart, New Zealand, 5,100 jumps

    Christian Webber, Denmark, 2,800 jumps

    Cornelia Mihai, Romania, 7,000 jumps

    Curt Bartholomew, USA, 6,900 jumps

    David 'Junior' Ludvik, USA, 14,500 jumps

    Gage Galle, USA, 8,000 jumps

    Jeannie Bartholomew, USA, 3,000 jumps

    Kenneth Gajda, Denmark, 11,000+ jumps

    Kristian Moxnes, Norway, 8,000 jumps

    Leigh McCormack, Australia, 4,830 jumps

    Martin Reynolds, England, 5,500 jumps

    Micah Couch, USA, 10,000 jumps

    Nicholas Batsch, USA, 7,250 jumps

    Noah Bahnson, USA, 10,000+ jumps

    Patrick Kaye, USA, 15,000 jumps

    Petter Mazzetta, Sweden, 7,500 jumps

    Tukes Iwamoto, Japan, 10,000 jumps

    Support from official Denmark
    Both the City of Copenhagen and Sport Event Denmark are supporting the event and look forward to see this brand new initiative:
    "This is the first time a professional freestyle parachuting event takes place in the heart of a major city, and Copenhagen is the perfect venue with the lakes as the iconic backdrop. The setup is creative and unique in a way we haven't seen before and it correlates perfect with Copenhagen's image as a both historic and cultural capital and an urban and innovative city. When it comes to Swoop Challenge, Copenhagen shows that this is a city that loves sports events in the heart of the city," says Carl Christian Ebbesen, Mayor of Culture and Leisure in the City of Copenhagen. The city supports Swoop Challenge financially.
    "In Denmark we organize a wide range of international sporting events on land and water, and with Swoop Challenge now also from the air over Herning and Copenhagen. The Swoop Finals in Copenhagen will be the first, professional freestyle parachuting competition ever held in the heart of a major city, and Copenhagen will once again be showcased as an event destination of the highest international standard," says Lars Lundov, CEO of Sport Event Denmark, the national sporting event organization that works to attract major international sport events to Denmark and who supports Swoop Challenge financially.
    PROGRAM FOR SIX DAYS OF INTENSE PARACHUTING June 8-13 2015:
    Swoop Qualifying Monday to Wednesday June 8th to 10th, Dropzone Denmark, Herning:
    Training camp Monday and Tuesday and qualification Wednesday for 20 athletes. The top-16 in the qualifying rounds will attend the Swoop Finals in Copenhagen.
    Swoop Night Lights Friday June 12th, Nordre Toldbod, Copenhagen Harbour:
    Spectacular airshow over Copenhagen in front of Toldboden and CPH City & Port Development's headquarters. From 18.00-20.00 (6-8pm).
    Swoop Finals Saturday, June 13th, Peblinge Lake

    Two rounds of competition at Peblinge Lake in front of Kaffesalonen’s platform, where the total score after two rounds decides the winner of the Swoop Challenge title. From 13.00-18.00 (1-6pm)
    For The Whuffos - How Swooping Works
    The participants jump out of helicopters in 1.500 meters/5000f and deploy their parachutes shortly after, as the focus is on the actual flight in the parachute, not the free fall aspect.
    The small and aggressive parachutes, called canopies, enable the athletes to fly fast towards the ground. When arriving above the course, the swooper dives the canopy towards the lake's surface to reach speeds of almost 150km/h and prior to contacting the water the swooper levels out the flight.
    The last stage of swooping consists of freestyle tricks on the water with high speeds before landing on a platform right in front of the spectators. 22 tricks currently exist and can be combined into different combos. There will be two rounds and five international judges will score each jump based on the turn towards the water, the actual freestyle swoop and the landing.

    By admin, in Events,

    The 12th Annual St. Patrick's Day Celebration Boogie

    All Imagery by Raymond Adams What: Fitz Boogie 2015
    Where: 168 Paulk Park Rd.
    Fitzgerald,Ga 31750
    When: March 19th - 22nd
    Why: Great People, Great Vibe, Great Skydives
    The St. Patrick’s Day Celebration Boogie is one of the few stand alone, off DZ, events left. It was born from the original idea Chris Spence had for a backyard boogie, originally held in Bolingbroke,Ga for several years on New Year’s and July 4th. Spence had access to a private airstrip across from his house and would bring in a Cessna 182 for the small events. After a day of jumping there would be food, a bonfire and the occasional adult beverage.
    After several years, the event grew too popular to continue at the house. A new location was sought out and RoamingDZ was born. The event was held once in Perry,Ga. before the idea for the St. Patrick’s Day Celebration Boogie came along shortly followed by the connection to the Dublin,Ga. location. The event thrived for many years in Dublin with attendance growing to over 350 by the third year. That same year the line-up of aircraft included two Casa's, a Caravan, a Pac-750, an Alouette helicopter and a Hot Air Balloon.
    Tragedy struck the 4th year of the event when a canopy collision claimed the lives of Bob Holler and Danny Page. The decision was made to relocate the event after this tragedy as local politics made it impossible to enjoy the boogie as in previous years. If not for the support of many of Spence’s skydiving friends this would have been the end of the event.
    The St. Patrick’s Day Celebration Boogie was held the following year in St.Marys,Ga and stands as the only event Spence has ever held on an active DZ.
    Which brings us to the current location in Fitzgerald, GA. Suggested by a friend while driving around Georgia looking for a new location, Spence went to check out what was said to be the perfect place to have a boogie; and sure enough, it was.
    The boogie venue boarders the east side of the Fitzgerald Municipal Airport and their 3000ft turf runway that doubles as the landing area for the skydivers. The area, known as Paulk Park, which includes a reception building that houses registration for the event, as well as check-in for the tandems and a full kitchen to keep all the jumpers well fueled. There are 25 full hookup RV slots as well as plenty of room for camping, on site showers, a washer and dryer, and a 10 acre swoop pond.

    A large 40x80 packing tent is set up as well as private group/packing tents.
    Pre Boogie starts on Monday the 16th this year with early arrivals and a fun laid back atmosphere through the setup. You can choose from cooking out with friends, hanging out around the campfires or heading to town for some good eats. We'll have a list of the best places to try.
    The official start of the boogie is Thursday morning, but with this year’s response we might be able to get a few loads in the air on Wednesday. The boogie generally starts out kind of mild as people begin to arrive as they can, with Friday night bringing a huge influx. By Saturday morning registration is typically well over 200 and I highly expect it to approach 300 this year.
    Over the years the event has acted as a meeting place for members of Dropzone.com, and there is currently a thread in the forums where users who plan to attend this year's event can place their name. Currently, there are more than 20 site members who plan to attend the 12th Annual St. Patrick's Day Celebration Boogie


    What's in store for this year?
    So far the aircraft line-up includes: the Twin Otter from Skydive Atlanta, the Beech 99 from Skydive the Farm (this may to turn into an Otter), a JetRanger helicopter and a Hot Air Balloon. It's possible a third aircraft will be added.
    We generally have organizers for most disciplines, and if you can't find an "organizer" I guarantee you can find someone to jump with because that's the kind of jumpers that come to Fitz.
    Nightly bonfires are an annual tradition. Thursday night tends to be pretty laid back. Friday night features Robby Rob and friends on the mic for entertainment, kind of an open mic/bonfire sing along. Saturday night will have a live band, St. Patrick’s themed party costumes, the ever famous/infamous Stupid Human Skydiver Tricks and a manufacturers sponsored fund raising raffle.
    Thanks goes out to the following manufacturers for providing raffle donations:
    Aerodyne - $1,300 off a complete system

    Chuting Star - to be announced, plus swag

    Square1 - Gift Certificate and swag

    Para-Gear - 2x $25 Gift certificates, plus Swag

    Bevsuits - 25% off a Bevsuit

    Compass & Crow Studios - $100 & $75 Gift Certificates!

    Cookie - 50% off a G3 helmet voucher

    iFly - Voucher for tunnel time good at any location

    Peregrine Manuf. - $250 of upgrades / options on a new Glide

    UPT - 2x 30% off base, 15% off options certificates

    Sunrise Manufacturing - 2x 50% off Base price on a Wings

    Mountain Khakis - to be announced.
    Proceeds will be going to a breast cancer organization, yet to be determined. More information can be found at http://FitzBoogie.com/

    By admin, in Events,

    WindGames 2015 Results

    Image from Windoor Facebook Page This weekend saw the second large indoor skydiving competition of the year kick off, with the 2015 WindGames. The event which ran from the 23rd to 24th of January, was held at the Windoor tunnel, located at Empuriabrava. There were over 30 teams from around the world participating in the competition, which spanned across three primary disciplines: VFS, 4-Way FS and 2-Way Dynamic.
    VFS Finals
    The VFS finals had a bit of controversy when a few teams protested their earlier round scores, which indicated that due to the lack of an overhead camera, certain grips weren't visible for the judges. This resulted in a few of the teams providing their own video footage to the judges in an attempt to get their earlier round points adjusted. At the end of the final round, Avalon Realfly Sion stood just 2 points ahead of their rivals, Windoor Full speed. Through rounds 1 to 8, the two teams had never been further than 2 points away from each other at the end of any round.
    FS 4-Way Open Finals
    What was likely the most anticipated event of the competition, the FS 4-Way Open Finals had the audience keenly watching as the favorites, Team Hayabusa went against Airspeed for the top spot in the competition, albeit that Hayabusa had almost certainly clinched a win by the 9th round, when they sat 8 points ahead of Airspeed, thanks to a couple of 4 point leads in rounds 6 and 7.

    2-Way Dynamic Finals
    The 2-Way Dynamic division is a fast growing style of indoor skydiving, in fact there were over fifteen teams registered for the 2015 WindGames 2WD event. 2WD is definitely exciting, as speeds can often come within a fraction of a second of one another, as we saw with this event at the WindGames 2015. Team Dynamight went up against the Hurricane Factory Team for third place, but Hurricane Factory Team managed to edge the bronze medal by just 0.3 seconds, with a final time of 72.5 seconds. At the end of the event team Windoor Smooth Criminals from France, managed to edge out fellow Frenchmen Les Touristos by 0.9 of a second.

    By admin, in Events,

    Jump Into The New Year with Skydive Live

    SKYDIVE LIVE’s Annual

    JUMP INTO THE NEW YEAR Boogie

    16-19 January 2015

    Our PAC750 airplane, friends, raffles, good vibes and lots of jumping in celebration of the New Year!
    Come on down Thursday night, January 15th, and hangout with us as we prepare for this fun-filled FOUR day weekend event. We have the fastest jump plane in the Florida panhandle - a PAC750 starting up at 9am on Friday, and a Cessna 182 for hop n’ pops. The DZ is 20 acres with 200+ acres of safe “outs” and plenty of space for you to camp out – either pitch a tent or sleep in our 5,000 square foot hangar which is carpeted for packing and is equipped with an personal outdoor shower available for use. RV hookups are available for a small fee and families are always welcome – bounce house and toys for the kids.
    There will be lots to do each day, weather days we’ll have free courses, camera course, safety and exit order courses, and anything else you request, just give hit us up on our Facebook page, Skydive Live, and ask. The "GoPro pic of the day" gets a free jump, we'll have Last Load of the day Swoop n’ Chugs, load organizers – from belly to free fly, bonfires at night, and more to follow!
    For the $25 entry fee, you get a free t-shirt, free lunch each day, and one ticket toward any of the raffles. Friday is a Pig Pick’n BBQ. We ask that everyone please bring a side dish. Saturday night, will be catered – Chicken n’ Dumplings, sweet potato casserole, green beans and more, all for $10. Breakfast is available – you can skydive for 4 days straight cause everything from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed is taken care of! No need wasting time running in to town– just have fun!
    Raffles – 20 minutes in the Paraclete XP tunnel in North Carolina, a free reserve pack job, a full or open face helmet, your choice and more to come.
    There will be organizers for all levels of FS and Free Fly, several coaches, and riggers on staff. Two Awesome free fly coaches – Matt and Darcy, Darcy will be our FreeFly Load Organizer. Our full time packer is Jerrid – He’ll pack, you just jump!
    Sandy Grillet will be making an appearance as our load organizer for the weekend. Sandy is a current 4, 8, and 16 way competitor with over 9,600 jumps. He’s as much a coach as he is a load organizer so if you’re looking to improve your belly skills, Sandy is your guy!
    Julia Secker-Walker is an AFF-I, coach, and videographer with 700+ jumps. She enjoys skydiving in all disciplines and she especially likes jumping with new students! We are excited to have Julia on staff this season!
    So whether it’s your 5th jump or 5,000th jump come out to Skydive Live @ 5138 County Highway 0605 Defuniak Springs, FL. 32433 (some GPS’s have the Highway 0605 as Jackson Still Cutoff, they are the same)
    Schedule training/tandems with Dave 910-533-9097 Any DZ questions, call Jim 850-978-4532. Questions or directions, see www.skydivelive.com

    Looking forward to a great weekend!

    By admin, in Events,

    Dubai International Parachuting Championships - Day 9 & 10

    All Imagery By Konwent Photography
    After completing 3 rounds of Zone Accuracy, 2 rounds of Speed-Distance, 2 rounds of Distance and 2 rounds of Speed - all swoopers were ready to relax. Out of 59 CP competitors only 22 decided to take part in Freestyle competition on the very last day of 5th DIPC in Dubai.
    In one of the previous bulletins an important change was announced. Last year every competitor could decide for himself to participate in CP Freestyle or not. This year only the first 30 competitors of overall were supposed to be allowed to compete. “Supposed to” - because apparently this limitation has been cancelled 1h before the first round when only 10 approved competitors showed up. That’s why all CP competitors were finally allowed to compete. All day long were able to watch 22 swoopers doing NacNacs, Kowboys, Flips, Lazy Boys, Supermen and many other tricks.



    We’ve also asked Bjoern Korth, Event Judge of Canopy Piloting about the reason of new limitations.

    “The majority of swoopers focus on Distance, Speed and Accuracy in their training. For safety reasons we didn’t want to allow all swoopers to participate."

    - “The majority of swoopers focus on Distance, Speed and Accuracy in their training. For safety reasons we didn’t want to allow all swoopers to participate. Some of them might never done freestyle before. Competition is not the best place to start.” - says Bjoern - “Freestyle is also difficult to judge, it was not judged often before. Of course we have guidelines from FAI, but it’s still something new.”
    But looking at those who took part in these additional 3 rounds, they all seem to be happy about the jumps they’ve made. Even if not swooped perfectly, they were doing some really cool stuff with the pond just as it was their playground. We all hope that next year more competitors will take part in this spectacular show.
    - Well, I think that people don’t want to get hurt on the last day of the competition. Many of them leave Dubai tomorrow and the wet rig weights way more - laughs Marat Leiras from Skydive Dubai Team - Freestyle is great, lots of fun, everybody is relaxed and can explore this beautiful swoop pond. I try to use my imagination, free my mind and soul. During World Air Games 2013 organizers tried to combine Freestyle with “regular” Distance, Speed and Accuracy and it was really great. Something fresh and new in the sport.




    The last day of 5th DIPC
    Believe it or not, but during CP Freestyle the audience was much more active and numerous than during any other swooping discipline. Hundreds of people were giving big applause for every trick that ended up in the water and even bigger for spectacular maneuvers finished smoothly on the ground.
    - It’s really cool, I hope that next year I will be able to watch it again! It’s a new style of swooping, exciting and probably very dangerous - says Lydia watching the show.
    - I had to decide between Accuracy landings on the Beach DZ and Freestyle Swooping here - says a man with a Kazahstan T-shirt - but it was worth staying close to the swoop pond.



    As the CP Freestyle rules are difficult to follow for most of the audience, Regan Tetlow (Media Presenter of DIPC) and Greg Windmiller (USA National Team) explained every trick and the guidelines that competitors should follow. But not only the trick itself matters. Judges asses everything: setup, trick accuracy, landing and how long the trick was held on the pond. Final results are impacted by all those factors.
    - DIPC is doing great job for parachuting and skydiving in general. They really try to keep CP close to the public. Everything is organized so great, that it could be a kind of “benchmark” for all other parachuting event organizers - says Greg Windmiller.




    Bye bye, Dubai
    2014 DIPC took 8 long days. The variety of all skydiving disciplines, colorful surroundings, airshows, extreme sport itself - made the event great for professional and amateur photographers. HIPA organized the contest holding one of the highest money prize in the world ($7000 for 1st place, $25000 in all awards). - "It’s a great event for us, photographers" - Juan Mayer, Skydive Dubai photographer - "I don’t have many chances to see the Jumeirah Palm from other angles than usual, but when jumping on the Beach DZ I could really rediscover its beauty."

    The submission is already closed so we all look forward to see the results.
    Just before the Closing Ceremony a 50-way formation was jumped. Skydivers created “43” number to celebrate 43rd National Day of UAE. After spectacular airshows of Al Fursan, Zoltan Team and Parabatix - all medals have been given to the heros of the event. France, Russia and USA (and other) anthems were played many times during this evening.
    And this is how 5th DIPC became history.

    Current results can be found at both Omniskore's and EAF's websites
    Marta Molińska is a 28 year old skydiver, event organizer, PR specialist, journalist. She currently lives in Poland, running social media and event management for her domestic Dropzone Sky Camp. She fell in love with skydiving 2 years ago, and has over 600 jumps. She smiles a lot (like it was her trade mark).

    By admin, in Events,

    Dubai International Parachuting Championships - Day 7 & 8

    All Imagery By Konwent Photography
    The first day of CP in Dubai was supposed to take place on Tuesday, 2nd Dec on the Independence Day in Dubai. Unfortunately strong winds put both Accuracy and Canopy Piloting on hold. From canopy disciplines only CF was actually flying. The busy dropzone was focused more on perfomers, airshows and holiday celebration. First swoops were made on Wednesday morning.



    - "The conditions change between rounds but in the first round I was able to make good adjustements and scored 100" - says Curt Bartholomew from Alter Ego Team after first round of Accuracy - "Of course I prefer to go headwind, this is how it was today, but everything depends on location specifics and here Accuracy goes always in the same direction. Sometimes it’s downwind, sometimes headwind. The factor we cannot influence."
    - "I’m happy with the results so far" - Cornelia Mihai from Skydive Dubai Team with a big smile leaving the swoop pond - "We’ll see how it goes with next rounds."
    "The truth is that even the slightest change of wind speed or direction can make a huge difference in the results. It’s not rare for comeptitors to have more than one canopy of the same model (like Petra or Peregrine) but in different sizes to make a choice just before the jump accordingly to weather conditions. - In practice round I took Peregrine 75, but for the first round I flew Peregrine 67." - adds Curt.




    The pilot is a real engine of his canopy
    The choice of the canopy seems to be one of the CP aspects which may determine a career. To make it simpler, there are two manufacturers that provide swoopers with high performing canopies: Performance Designs and NZ Aerosport. They delivered to the market, the Peregrine and Petra, which are already used by the majority of competitors. As none of them are useful for everyday freefall jumping, users needed a canopy with performance of Peregrine/Petra and terminal deployment tolerance. (NZ Aerosports have, since publication told us that the Petra is able to open in terminal and opens well with a normal slider and RDS)
    So more than 1 year ago Leia form NZ Aerosport was announced to be ready to sell and just two weeks ago PD released trailer of Valkyrie. Both canopies are described as high performing with smooth openings and being perfectly good for freefall jumping.



    "If you take basic aerodynamics, this is the logical direction to go." - John LeBlanc

    - "If you take basic aerodynamics, this is the logical direction to go." - John LeBlanc, PD vice-president and head of R&D; - "But I must admit that the Valkyrie project started before the Peregrine development. We have 40-120 prototypes every year and we only announce the new product to be ready when it’s really great."
    - "It’s a step up from Velocity or Comp Velocity. It was designed to be an everyday usage canopy with higher performance." - says Albert Berchtold, marketing representative of PD - "It’s a different canopy than Leia, even if some claims otherwise. We were working on it at the same time as NZ for a couple of years now and we’re really happy with what Valkyrie became. Just ask users if they like it!"

    And we actually did. Pablo Hernandez, winner of DISL (Swoop League) says: "The first thing that comes to me when I think of Valkyrie is the amazing openings. Really smooth and soft, my neck and back loved it from the frist jump. It also has a lot of rear risers power and toggles power. It can be used as an everyday canopy but it’s good for competition as well, mostly for Accuracy. I don’t jump it here, as I only have 30-40 jumps on it but for the next competition I will probably take it."
    The first users’ descriptions of Valkyrie performance seem to be similar to Leia characteristics.
    - "We arrived at the Leia trying to find Petras little sister as it were" - says Richard Munro from NZ Aerosport - "A high performance wing that incorporates many design elements of Petra without some of the practical limiatations. It’s probably reasonable to think PD had similar intent with their canopy development. In the end, the competition between the manufactuers only leads to better canopies - the pilots are the real winners."
    - "I really love Leia, it’s good for Accuracy jumping in competitions but I would say it’s more dedicated to everyday skydives" - claims Lee Barraclough, competitor from NZ Aerosport - "The openings are really nice."

    "I really love Leia, it’s good for Accuracy jumping in competitions but I would say it’s more dedicated to everyday skydives" - Lee Barraclough

    But the truth is that aerodynamic and gravity rules stay the same for all canopies. If constructors want to achive a specific goal or parameters - no mercy - they will probably come to the similar conclusions and ideas.
    - "The canopy is only a tool, the pilot is a real engine" - explains Nick Batsch, competitor from Alter Ego Team - "It doesn’t really matter if those canopies are different (probably not much, by the way). If there actually is any dispute between manufacturers is more about ‘who did it first’, and not ‘who did it better’. It shouldn’t be taken too seriously."
    We tried to find a swooper who actually tried both canopies and apparently Curt Bartholomew is the only one.
    - "I admit Valkyrie is similar to Leia, it feels a little bit different as the manufacturers use probably different fabrics and materials and the construction is somehow different, but the openings are supersoft in both canopies, similar risers pressure and toggle power. Probably I would benefit Valkyrie more in Distance and Speed but to be honest, they are both really good."




    5th DICP almost done
    Windy weather 4 days in a row is not a common thing in Dubai. Organizers keep up with the competition but many disciplines were put on hold because of difficult conditions. Distance and Speed were done only during the second day of CP, on Thursday. First two rounds were a combination ob both, so called “Speed-Distance”. It’s an experimental combination (not confirmed by FAI) where one result of a jump influences two traditional categories: Speed and Distance. This means that the stake is doubled, the pressure is doubled and of course the risk of loosing precious points is also doubled.
    - "I’m happy that there is a trend of experiments, which I’ve already noticed in Klatovy, to make Canopy Piloting more interesting for the public. To make it more attractive and spectacular" - says Sebastian Dratwa - "But having in mind that this is the most important goal, I can’t understand why the Accuracy was completly isolated form the audience. Even Regan [media presenter] had to choose between being close to people and actually seeing how competitors landed."
    It is true that the Canopy Piloting discipline is the most interesting for the audience. But from all three categories, only Distance is easy to understand. Even if Speed is simple, without instant results on the screen, it’s not that exciting. On the other hand it really is great (also for competitors) that the negative zones in Accuracy were removed. It’s easier to follow the rules for competitors, not to mention non-skydivers watching the show. All attempts to bring CP closer to the audience are great. There is still a lot to improve in future editions but kudos to organizers for all their efforts.
    - "It’s great here, as every year. Sometimes the weather is not helping with organization of the competition." - says Regan Tetlow, media presenter of DIPC - "I love this place. Actually I decided yesterday to move to Dubai, I change my life from now on…!"
    As all three CP categories are done, there is an extra one for tomorrow: CP freestyle. Last year around 40 competitors (out of 70) took part in this additional event. Sadly, this year only the first 30 are allowed to participate.
    Let’s keep fingers crossed for them.
    The 5th DIPC will soon be over…
    Current results can be found at both Omniskore's and EAF's websites


    By admin, in Events,

    Dubai International Parachuting Championships - Day 5 & 6

    All imagery by Konwent Photography
    FS (previously known as RW) is a classic discipline in skydiving, known and developed for years by those who love cooperation, synchronization and team spirit. VFS can be treated as a modern variant of FS flying, however it is different in almost every aspect. The future of both disciplines will probably not be the same neither.


    Entry level too demanding
    Both FS and FVS are skydiving disciplines where four people have to cooperate really close, get the highest level of precision, mutual understanding and speed. What makes them different is the orientation. Cameraman is part of the team and goes together through all ups and downs. Regardless omnipresent admiration of freefly in general, VFS appears to be less and less popular, belly flyers at the same time are getting stronger.
    - It is very difficult to start a serious training in VFS. Being able to move forward, backwards, sides and turns on a belly is enough to start even the simplest training. VFS is a completely different story, the entry level is much higher and you need to gather five people with required skills in headup and headdown positions. It’s not easy to create a team - claims Karla Cole from 5th DIPC Judges Committee. - I would also say that the cooperation between the team and cameraman is also more demanding. It’s much easier to catch all grips from above, while here cameraman needs to move quickly, needs to know sequences and figures very well to adjust movements and his (or her) own position to show grips to the judges.





    Tunnel future for VFS?
    When you listen well to skydivers’ whispering you’ll hear that VFS will more likely move to the tunnels. What’s interesting is that you can’t say the same thing about FS flying. This classic discipline is growing and in this case tunnels are only improving skydivers’ skills. Many FS competitions take place in the tunnels but outdoor “oldschool” skydiving is still in charge. On 5th DIPC there are 13 teams on FS Open and 8 teams on FS Female. In the same time - we only have two VFS teams (keep in mind that $7000 award will not be given to anybody).
    - Of course freefly is more fun at the moment, but VFS is something really different. People love dynamic stuff, carving around, doing snakes, layouts… - says Benoit Lemay, member of Canadian Evolution team, which compete in both FS and FVS disciplines - I think that either VFS will move to the tunnels, either 2-way VFS teams will start to participate because it’s easier to practice and to organize.




    - I don’t think VFS will migrate to the tunnel and stay there. Tunnels provide great training conditions and these days are more accessible to everyone. - explains Marcin Seń from Almost, polish representation - You don’t have to be a skydiver to train in the wind tunnel, that’s why there are more VFS teams competing in the tunnels than in the sky. And let’s face it, VFS is much more difficult than FS.


    Freefly is about imagination
    Benoit is not the only one who noticed that skydivers are more interested in dynamic freefly than in competing FVS. Also Olav Zipster says that freefly is more about using your body in every way possible than about following formal rules of 4-way flying: randoms, blocks, strong dynamic exits etc. Freefly is more about emotions and imagination, you can do literally whatever you want. It’s like swimming in the air, go faster, go slower, invent new rotations, adjust your movements to what you want to achieve. That’s what counts for example in freestyle, I think this is the future of freefly on the competitions in years to come. - Olav Zipster, freefly legend with 28 years of experience - I think FVS is really difficult to train and it doesn’t really feel natural for freefly to stick to the rules and demanding frames.


    No matter how both VFS teams fly during this competition, it’s difficult to say that the battle is exciting. We can only hope that in next competitions and championships more teams will participate to keep the discipline alive. In the same time in FS competition TOP3 varies from one round to another so we all look forward to the very exiting end of it. Canadian, Belgium, USA - these three teams are working hard for the gold medal.
    - We started with Hayabusa 5.0 which means that we have a new member, Jeroen, instead of Roy who decided to choose professional coach career. We treat this competition as an additional training, but we’re doing good, and hope to win - says David Grauwels from Hayabusa, Belgium FS representation (2nd place after 7th round) - We really don’t have any secret plan, we just verify round after round how it goes and where are our weak points. It’s all about cooperation and trust in the team.



    What’s new in DIPC
    5th and 6th day of the competition is still very windy, so Accuracy was put on hold for the majority of both days. Competitors were able to do only one round in the evening. Everyday there is an air show of Zoltan’s team, Parabatix team and plenty of music, gymnastics and sport performers at the dropzone. Also every day organizers draw 10 lucky winners who get iPads and iPhones 6.
    Today, on Tuesday, Canopy Piloting should start their rounds, but after two first loads organizers decided to wait for better conditions. Afer one day of relax and DISL celebration, all swoopers are ready to show how they perform with speed, distance and accuracy. Looking forward to the real show!
    Current results can be found at both Omniskore's and EAF's websites

    By admin, in Events,

    Dubai International Parachuting Championships - Day 3 & 4

    All Imagery by Kuba Konwent

    5th DIPC: Accuracy, VFS, 4-ways and CF flying hard
    The fifth Dubai International Parachute Competition is already started and going on from sunrise to sunset. The dropzone is closed for all commercial activities (AFF, tandems, fun jumps), but a collection of jumpships including 2 helicopters, 2 Twin Otters, 1 Cessna Caravan are going up and down with short breaks for refuel. The essence of skydiving community is just here.



    Accuracy in the very center
    As the swoop pond will be silent for a couple of days, accuracy landings attract most of audience’s attention. Some say that it is a discipline which is not under intense R&D; but apparently it’s very exposed and divided between group and individual competition and also between seniors and juniors.
    - Some rules changed since last year - says Matthias Maushake, Head of Manifest - We now allow Juniors to jump with Seniors in one group, so that’s one of the main changes. We try to adjust competitions to the reality and we observe how it goes to be able to come up with conclusions.

    - Everything is great, the discipline is getting bigger, canopies are being improved. I look forward to the future of Accuracy - claims Saeed Alhashimi from Judges Comittee.



    Womens Team Accuracy Results





    Pos
    Nat
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    Total




    1
    Belarus
    5
    5
    5
    2
    2
    5
    4
    5
    33


    2
    Russia
    6
    7
    0
    1
    10
    4
    1
    8
    37


    3
    China
    19
    3
    5
    5
    8
    4
    3
    6
    53


    4
    Poland
    10
    10
    6
    3
    6
    12
    19
    10
    76


    5
    France
    25
    18
    18
    6
    26
    19
    8
    8
    128




    Mens Team Accuracy Results - Top 5





    Pos
    Nat
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    Total




    1
    Slovenia
    3
    3
    4
    1
    2
    0
    2
    2
    17


    2
    Italy
    7
    3
    1
    5
    1
    0
    2
    2
    21


    3
    Russia
    4
    2
    0
    2
    0
    7
    6
    1
    22


    4
    Hungary
    2
    4
    3
    4
    2
    2
    6
    3
    26


    5
    China
    4
    0
    2
    3
    6
    5
    1
    7
    28







    What Lies Ahead for VFS?
    For a very long time before the competition only the Canadian VFS team was registered. Just a few days before DIPC one additional team from Poland declared their attendance, making it one of the disciplines where there are fewer entries than previous years.
    - It requires a lot of comittment and patience. Having an average of 10 points is a huge effort not only for one person, but for four and of course the cameraman - says member of Canadian team member - We’re happy with the 48p. we have in total now. However it would be perfect if we had more teams to compete with. Having only 2 teams on board, it’s not the same, but of course we will do our best to have the highest score possible.
    We have also asked the Polish team how they feel during their first competition: "We only have 2 months of training as a team. The atmosphere is great and we aim for getting some experience. We don’t expect a miracle to happen but it’s important to compete with the best." - says capitan of Polish representation, Marek Nowakowski.




    Windy dropzone and Swoop League
    Saturday’s afternoon was already quite windy. Accuracy competitors were released for the rest of a day. Sunday morning wind was around 15-17 knots, so competition started around 11am. Accuracy still on hold, but everyone else is doing their thing.
    Also at the Desert Campus Swoop League is going on. Today new category was introduced to the competitors and public: “max-speed” which is a combination of Speed and Distance. Competitors are supposed to enter with a maximum speed and fly as far as they can. Here is how it looks like:



    Post użytkownika Performance Designs.


    4-ways Open/Female
    Formation Skydiving is a classic. You can see 4-way teams training on the creepers everywhere, coaches circuling around and giving hints. We asked Karla Cole from Judges Committee how does she feel about FS skydiving during this competition.
    - It’s a classic discipline, I don’t think it will ever going to be less popular. There were disciplines that have died already, as Skysurfing, but FS is not one of them. I’m a little bit worried about VFS, because it really is awesome and yet… we only have 2 teams registered. Only time will show the future. - says Karla. Asked about FS and VFS development responds: Well, definitetly VFS requires more high skills and of course the mutual work between the team and cameraman. It’s easier to catch all grips from above than in VFS where you have to be sometimes headup, sometimes headdown and know better how to show the grip to the judges. Sometimes only one point decides who is the winner. The same for FS.

    And indeed - In FS Canadian and Belgium team have both 88 points in total. That’s the sport spirit we’re all looking for in skydiving!
    More results can be found at both Omniskore's and EAF's websites


    By admin, in Events,

    Dubai International Parachuting Championships - Day 2

    All imagery by Kuba Konwent
    Dubai is a special place and for a skydiver - it really is unique. If you want to feel like a professional athlete and member of a serious global community - there is literally no better place. Skydiving is not a niche sport here - it’s a main one. Skydivers are not freaks with a weird hobby, but appreciated professionals and VIP guests. Different world, no questiones asked.
    In the recent days skydivers of all disciplines were registrating and jumping over the Palm and on the Desert for training sessions. Accuracy, 4-ways, swoopers, freestylers - the magic of diversity was visible all around both dropzones and in the tunnel. Busy days for the Manifest, organizers and competitors.




    - I’m definitely more experienced than a year ago and I also have a smaller canopy size, which can be helpful - says Cornelia Mihai from Skydive Dubai swooping team, starting in Canopy Piloting discipline. - Of course I aim for winning, as everybody. I trained a lot and I will do my best.
    Today first rounds of Accuracy, 4-way Open and 4-way Female took place. The weather conditions were positive for the majority of a day, but in the late afternoon and evening stronger wind made swoopers worried about tomorrow’s Dubai International Swoop League. It is considered to be a warm up competition before DICP rounds but it has a separate results and awards. A couple of changes were applied this year to the general rules known so far. We will publish more details soon, just before Canopy Piloting which starts on 1st Dec.



    - I’m always planning a new record - laughs Nick Batch (8 Distance and 2 Speed world records) - Of course Speed is more demanding, so I will definitely be focused on that. But I also feel there is a lot to do in the Distance area.
    As always, between swoop pond and national teams’ booths, there is a lot of fun going on, but one place seems to be more crowded than the others. It’s a wingsuit simulator with a specific ‘tracks’ displayed in a special big goggles mounted on a head. Everyone can feel the thrill of wingsuit proximity flying, after lying on a special device which is sensitive to all body movements. To make it even more realistic, you can feel wind on your face and sounds of the air going faster and faster. Really great entertainment not only for non-skydivers.
    As every year, there is Photography Competition taking place and everybody can submit their pictures. Spectacular views and performances, big format event and colorful surroundings make the place perfect for professional (and amateur) photographers. Many of them could be spotted at work during sunset PPG (powered paragliding) flying: beautiful and unique view.



    At 8pm the official opening of DIPC took place in the artificial stadium built a couple of days before. It was truly a stunning performance of sky-dancers hanged on the ‘sky’ displayed on walls and ceiling. Hanging on a ‘circus’ handles all performers were literally flying 2 meters above the audience. Skydivers watching the show would notice that their movements are not only beautiful but suprisingly accurate and professional. After a short while everyone was already sure that the real skydivers were actually performing. This fact made a show even more incredible. With fireworks just above heads and hearts full of music - everyone is ready to make this competition legen… wait for it ... dary.


    By admin, in Events,

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