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Events

    Bridge Day, 2004

    More than 390 BASE jumpers made 645 jumps from the 876’ tall New River Gorge Bridge during a rainy 25th annual Bridge Day celebration in Fayetteville, West Virginia. The October 16th silver celebration of Bridge Day allowed for legal BASE jumps for six hours from the world's second longest single arch bridge, although a mid-day storm halted jumping for approximately 25 minutes.
    Bridge Day continues to be the largest extreme sports event in the world held on the third Saturday in October every year in Fayetteville, West Virginia. Bridge Day is unique in that it is the only day visitors may walk across the bridge, BASE jumpers can parachute from the railing, and rappellers are allowed to descend and ascend fixed ropes. Bridge Day is West Virginia's largest one-day festival and is rated one of the top 100 festivals in North America. Despite the weather, the crowd was estimated at 75,000 to 100,000 this year.

    Four jumpers were transported to the hospital, but only one sustained injuries requiring further care. Several rappellers dangling below the bridge required rescues during the high winds that hampered the event at approximately 1:30pm. "Despite the fact that I broke a few bones, spent most of the jumping hours in the ER, was pummeled by the storm that came through when I finally did get back onto the bridge, and the fact that this year had the worst weather out of all four years I've been to Bridge Day, I still had the most fun", reported California jumper Russel Metlisky. "This year was the first year I really felt like I was a real part of the BASE jumping community. And that's what Bridge Day seems to be about, the people…oh yeah, and some jumping as well."
    Russel, paralyzed in a motorcycle accident in 2000, was awarded paraplegic BASE #1 by Nick Di Giovanni during the post-jump party. A special exit bar was constructed by the Vertical Visions crew so that Russel could sit at the end of the exit ramp, then hang from the bar before releasing himself into a 2-3 second stowed free fall.
    BASE jumpers have jumped from the New River Gorge Bridge every year since the first Bridge Day on November 8, 1980 (the only exception being the cancellation of Bridge Day 2001 shortly after 9/11). The first Bridge Day saw five skydivers making BASE jumps from the bridge in the early days of the sport of BASE jumping. Over the years, Bridge Day became the place for thousands of skydivers to make their first BASE jump.


    The average Bridge Day 2004 BASE jumper was 35 years old and had performed 64 BASE jumps and 1199 skydives. Approximately 11.1% of all participants were female. Nearly 100 jumpers made their first BASE jump at Bridge Day this year with the help of free first BASE jump courses, packing classes, and the guidance and knowledge shared by hundreds of experienced jumpers.
    Most jumpers fell from the bridge for 3-4 seconds before deploying their parachute. The next 20-30 seconds were spent floating down to the designated landing zone located within a National Park (New River Gorge National River). Every year, the National Park Service issues a permit to land parachutes on park property during Bridge Day. BASE jumping in all other National Parks is illegal, although recent efforts to change decades of rubber stamped denials are underway by groups such as the Alliance of Backcountry Parachutists.
    A $250 cash purse, along with a variety of other gifts donated by sponsors around the world, was up for grabs for the annual Bridge Day accuracy contest. Competition rules required jumpers to hit the accuracy pad without falling to the ground or they would not be scored. Brian Daniska from Ohio took first place, Todd Griswald from Arkansas came in second, and Anthony White from Canada was third.
    Notable jumps include those made from a boom truck basket, a scissor lift, and the popular 16’ commercial aluminum diving board. The Red Bull Air Force performed two "rope swing" stunts where one jumper swung underneath a second jumper who was already under canopy. The first jumper would then cutaway from the rope and deploy his own parachute, which got the crowd pretty excited.
    Triax Productions, who filmed the Bridge Day event for a soon to be released DVD, premiered their "Continuum II" video at the post-jump party in front of hundreds of jumpers. The Bridge Day 2004 DVD will be available by the end of the year at www.triaxproductions.com . Earlier in the week, the Bridge Day 2004 BASE VideoFest awarded "Continuum II" by Triax Productions with first place, followed by a "Mexico BASE" video by Adrenaline Exploits (Jay Epstein). Third place went to Robert Pecnik of Phoenix Fly and his amazing BASE wingsuit and track pants footage.

    Bridge Day was broadcast on live TV to over 1 million households throughout West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio - perhaps the first live broadcast of a BASE jumping event in the US. While some technical glitches kept wireless cameras on jumpers and at other vantage points from airing, the broadcast was revolutionary in that it focused on the technical aspects of BASE jumping. Interviews explaining the components of a BASE rig were shown to educate the public. Extensive jumping footage provided by Vertical Visions and Red Bull started and ended many commercial breaks, adding to the experience. A condensed one-hour version of the Bridge Day 2004 Live TV broadcast will air on the Outdoor Life Network (OLN) on November 12 from 12:30-1:30pm EST and on December 9 from 12-1pm EST in front of 60 million households across the US.
    "This year, BASE jumpers battled their way through some of the worst weather since 1992, my first year here", reports Jason Bell, Bridge Day 2004 BASE Jumping Co-organizer. "However, we still got to jump for the majority of the day, everyone got to jump at least once (one jumper made five jumps), and it was definitely my favorite Bridge Day from both a jumping and organizing point of view". Jason was assisted this year by his wife Jennifer, co-organizer Bill Bird from Canton, Ohio, and more than 75 staff members.

    Vertical Visions’ plans for next year include the expansion of Bridge Day beyond the standard six hours, in addition to a device that will permit spectators to pull a lever and drop a jumper from a long plank, similar to a dunking booth. "We’re going to charge spectators to pull the lever and give the money to charity. Now, I just have to figure out how to make it", reports Jason.
    For those considering the jump next year, registration for Bridge Day 2005 starts on July 1, 2005 at www.bridgeday.info .

    By base428, in Events,

    2000 Skydive America Palm Beach Space Games # 8 Report

    Space Games # 8 took place at Skydive America Palm Beach Florida, from the 28th January to the 6th February. Everything went very smoothly with all the Games. More precision and control was requested for the Races and as expected everybody's flying skill level was much higher then previous Space Games. Beautiful. Once again a big thank you to our sponsor Skydive America and Larry Kerschenbaum for hosting the event at its beautiful location and putting up all the prize money for the events and developer of the Space Games, Olav Zipser! Here are the Results:
    Atmosphere Dolphin Challenge:
    Started with the Atmosphere Dolphin Challenge this time, 31 competitors from (USA, Italy, UK, Germany, Finland, France, Canada, South Africa, Macedonia, Venezuela) Double elimination One on One Tournament style event. Names were drawn randomly the day before starting the competition. Believe in fate or not, to me it is one of the must fun part of the all Games: the Drawing from the hat. He He, it gives you the chills and butterfly and is kind of magic that moment where they pick your name and now they pick the next name..apprehension, phew!!, who is it gonna be ??? It's funny how the Fate Plays it's own game and make you meet specific persons along the Race !!
    2 racers exit the plane with the ball master who is filming the race. They need to perform specific maneuvers in a specific order next to the spaceball and in between each maneuver, point at the spaceball at grabbing distance.etc This time even more precision was requested to all Free flyers in order to get their points: be in the picture with full torso, head and hips, pointing to perfection, don't cross over the other competitor airspace. Fast yes.but super precise that was the winning key decision on who was the winner was first left to the competitors themselves no matter what the rules would say. If the racers could not decide between themselves who was the winner, the decision was then left to the judges who would apply the rules systematically.
    Everything went smoothly and most of the times competitor would find the winner by themselves. Judges ended up being called only for very tight races. The nicest way to actually understand how the Competitors get along during the races, basically see who had to meet who and so on would be to see the bracket itself.
    These are the final results!
    1st Place : Jon De Vore 3000,-$
      2nd Place : John Matthews 1500,-$
      3rd Place : Steve Utter 900,-$
      4th Place : Filippo Fabbi
      5th Place : Mike Ortiz, Stefania Martinengo
      6th Place : Olav Zipser, Eli Thompson, Bruce Graybill, Mike Swanson
      7th Place : Jim Oreilly, Rob Silver, Matt Nelson, Kevin Sabarese, Mauro Tannino, Janine Hill 8th Place : Teppo Heikinnen , Timmy Wardensky, Goran Lazarovsky, John Skinner, Max Cohn, Francisco Neri, Emannuelle Celicout, Joe Josephs
      9th Place : Lucky Mike, Dave Brown, Stan Gray, Micheal Sandner, Dave Padijasek, Nathan Gilbert Special special Thanx to all the people who helped so much to get this Game going without whom this race would have not possiblytake place :
    AD Challenge Space Ball masters cameraflyers : Timmy Wardensky, Francisco Neri, Steve Utter, Teppo Heikinnen, Stefania Martinengo, Janine Hill, John Shoffner, Filippo Fabbi, Mike Swanson, Mauro Tannino, Bruce Graybill, Olav Zipser, John Matthews, John Skinner, Jim Oreilly, Rob Silver, Stan Gray, Lucky Mike

    Outside cameraflyers : Brad Chatellier, Steve Utter, Larry Kerschenbaum

    Judges : Roger Nelson, Gordon Craig
    Freefly Indy 500:
    32 Competitors. Actually a few of them left the Competition after the 1st round giving a forfeit as the AD Challenge the Freefly Indy 500 is a double elimination One on One style Event. Again winning key was: super fast but precise and more than anything aware of how your track was set. As a matter of fact some of the fastest people lost their races as being very fast but didn't take enough precautions in making sure that they got the gate or the eclipsing of the ribbons attached to the foot of the Pylons. Other people had different approach in the game sacrificing some of their speed to make sure to get the gate and eclipse the ribbons in a clear way. As the race is judged through the 2 pylons camera views, racers had to consider carefully the different perspectives of the shooting angles, in case the 2 pylons would have not be perfectly on level.
    In this Game, as in the AD Challenge decision on who was the winner was first left to the competitors themselves, no matter what the rules would say. If they could not come up with a winner by themselves accordingly, then judges were called to make the decision applying the rules systematically.
    A new element in this edition of the Free fly Indy 500 compared to the previous Space Games Events was that for each single race the 2 competitors had to flip a coin to decide which direction to go around the track: left or right.
    The final results!!
    1st Place Olav Zisper 3000,-$
      2nd Place Jon De Vore 1500,-$
      3rd Place Mike Swanson 900,-$
      4th Place Steve Utter
      5th Place Colon Berry, Mauro Tannino
      6th Place Rook Nelson, John Matthews, Teppo Heikinnen, Brad Chatellier
      7th Place Max Cohn, Michi, Janine Hill, John Shoffner, Francisco Neri, Filippo Fabbi
      8th Place Dave Padyjasek, Stefania Martinengo, Jim Oreilly, Dave Brown, Lucky Mike, Tim Wardensky, Bruce Graybill, John Skinner
      9th Place Emannuelle Celicout, Joe Josephs, Larry Kerschenbaum, Rob Silver, Goran Lazarovsky, Kevin Sabarese, Mike Ortiz, Nathan Gilbert, Special Special Thanx to all the people who helped so much in getting this Game going, without those friends this race would have not possibly taken place:
    Pylons Cameraflyers: Kenny Cosgrove, Brad Chatellier, Timmy Wardenski, Francisco Neri, Dave Padyjasek, Stefania Martinengo, Max Cohn, Kevin Sabarese, Mike Swanson, Filippo Fabbi, Dave Brown, John Schoffner, Janine Hill, Teppo Heikinnen, Michi Sandner, Mauro Tannino, Steve Utter, Olav Zipser, John Matthews, Rob Silver, Larry Kerschenbaum, Nathan Gilbert, Bruce Graybill, Emanuelle Celicout.

    Outside Camera: Brad Chatellier, Steve Utter, Olav Zipser, Larry Kerschenbaum, Filippo Fabbi
    The Bermuda Triangle Tracking:
    Here the race is a One on One Single elimination style event. Anyone is welcome to test their tracking skills in this event and the race is judged by
    competitors as to who was ahead at opening time. The only fast rule in this event is that competitors have to be open by 3000 ft!
    The final results!!
    1st: Olav Zipser $ 500
      2nd: Dave Padyjasek $ 300
      3rd: Dave Brown $ 150
      4th: Rook Nelson, Mike Swanson
      5th: Bruce Graybill,Teppo Heikinnen, Lucky Mike Pantall, Kevin Sabarese 3 way Freefly Open:
    11 Teams. For the 3 Way Freefly Open teams had to present a video of their best Compulsory Round and a video of their best Free Round. Compulsory Round consisted of 9 basic moves to be repeated in order in the 45 seconds. The moves were: 360 turn, 360 loop, weedeater (done simultaneouslyby the 2 team members without the camera) Under over, 3 carves, 69, Foot to foot, Mind warp, Vertical Compress. Best Teams performed 18 points in the 45 seconds.
    Free round was judged on Camera Work/ Photography, Technical Skills, and Artistic Overall Impression. Most of the Teams presented very technical flying combining it with Artistic Choreography. Very Nice and Interesting stuff: speeds changing from belly to vertical to fast tracking to fast transitions and difficult docks.
    Flyboyz won with a very nice Choreography and excellent interactive team flying, the musical rhythm and perfect synchronization is what characterizes this team.
    Team Skyfly (Olav Zipser, Rook Nelson and Mauro Tannino) and Team Modern Skyflying (Mike Swanson, Filippo Fabbi, Olav Zipser)both presented very technical dives showing all flying dimensions in a nice fluid combination, which didn't lack rhythm!
    2 teams distinguished themselves presenting 2 dancing style routines mixing free flying and freestyle together in a nice Choreography: French Connection (Emanuelle Celicout, Max Cohn and Steve Utter) and team Sky (. Both Teams presented a nice fluid and elegant Choreography with
    technical speed changing and new original moves. Again, all teams distinguished themselves for different elements, technicality and originality of certain moves.
    1st Flyboyz (Fritz Pfnur, Mike Ortiz, Eli Thompson) 4500,-$
      2nd Skyfly ( Rook Nelson, Olav Zipser, Mauro Tannino) 1800,-$
      3rd Modern Skyflying (Mike Swanson, Filippo Fabbi,Olav Zisper) 900,-$ Best Camera : Fritz Pfnur (Fly Boyz) 180,-$
      Best Tecnicall Tied : Flyboyz, Sky and the Juice 60-$ per Team
      Best Artistic : Flyboyz 180,-$ Special Special Thnx to the Judges in the 3 wayFreefly Open as we know is a very tiring and hard job.
    Camera/Photography : Janine Hill, Tim Koranda, Roger Nelson

    Technical : Kevin Sabarese, John Schoffner

    Artistic : Chad Jonosky, Joel
     

    By admin, in Events,

    World Parachuting Championships 2016 - Introduction

    Photo by Joel Strickland There is much to love about spending time in America. For every little chuckle outsiders have about the way they do things here there is a cultural counterpoint that raises the place above its oddities. For every ludicrous psychedelic foodstuff lining the shelves of Walmart there is a dining experience that you will talk about forever, and for each curious use of language or baffling advertisement there is an example of doing things with such brio and flair it will makes you wish wherever it is you are from was a little more like it is over here.
    It has been a long while since the World Championships was held in the United States. Eloy presented the World Cup in 2005 but not since 1993 has skydiving biggest shown been to town. When discovering a place like Skydive Chicago it seems curious that it has been so long. Rook Nelson’s SDC is a great example of American bigness in the way the space and resources available here are presented. Manicured grass spills out and rolls off in every direction, looking for all the world like it is someone’s job to perpetually ride a mower in the manner of Sisyphus pushing that rock up that mountain. Uniform aircraft proceed in a unbroken cycle around a bespoke creation in a land-load-takeoff cycle eating up the ever increasing demand for lift capacity as one nation after another arrives to shake off the jet lag and get used to the place.
    By Friday the floorspace in the huge hanger is at a premium as there are more than 800 competitors from 37 nations scheduled to arrive from all over the world in time for the opening ceremony on Sunday afternoon. We are a well connected bunch so there is lots of catching up to do - perhaps just days have past between friends and rivals - or there are those have not seen since the last world meet in the Czech Republic two years ago. Teams weigh each other up. Progress is mostly hidden in the sky so much of the judgement is expressed about who has the nicest delegation gear to wear about while on the ground. This is parachuting’s biggest affair so everyone acts like it - style points, swagger, matching colours, matching luggage. The colourful menagerie of the length and breadth of skydiving is present - everything from nations where parachuting is largely a military concern representing proudly in canopy formation work and accuracy jumping, through the storied history and wide appeal of flat flying to the fresh faced kids turing up to throw down the new new way in the artistic categories.


    Photos by Joel Strickland

    Photo by Craig Poxon By the time Sunday morning arrives the place is packed out. A day of heavy rain broke the oppressive humidity of earlier in the week but also flooded out the ancillary dropzone at Cushing Field (‘Swamp’) - so every category is here trying to get in their final practice efforts. Jumping only goes until noon to allow for the briefings and draws and to allow time for everyone to get to town for the opening ceremony. The usually perfectly adequate manifesting software was been set aside in favour of good old paper and pencils for which the result is a gigantic snake of humans at the window putting names in for thirty loads down the line. Pressure builds as we get closer to the start of the competition and everyone is deep in their own affairs - but getting this done should be recognised as no small achievement by the SDC staff as half a dozen aircraft do multiple passes and multiple heights - juggling every single category and jumping everyone safely.
    Some nations present huge delegations for the FAI Worlds using their full allotment of qualifiable teams. France, Great Britain and the USA itself each bring a small crowd to Ottawa Township High School brandishing flags to be introduced and applauded in turn. It is the smaller delegations though that raise the biggest cheers - the UAE has three representatives, Israel two, but the crowd rise to their feet for Cuba and India - nations both with a single member in the competition.

    Photo by Will Penny The UK is not so far removed from the USA - we have been trading culture back and forth for a long time. Even so the images of a thousand movies echo in my imagination as we parade around the local high school football field in our delegation uniforms and it makes me wonder how representatives from more exotic nations find it here. The bleachers, the line of proud veterans with old bolt-action rifles, the national anthem perfectly timed with a formation flypast from the SDC aircraft and an enormous flag demo - Old Glory blazing in the strong afternoon sun. Americans are good at this stuff.
    The competition kicks off in the morning with an early start for some and a more relaxed call of noon for others. For now though we are thirsty and intent on embracing the invitation of hospitality from the mayor and the local community as we ooze out of the school into the town and the setting sun.
    Stay tuned for further updates out of Skydive Chicago by Joel.

    By admin, in Events,

    World Cup of Indoor Skydiving 2016 - Part 2

    With the conclusion of the FAI World Cup of Indoor Skydiving 2016 we have proved a few things, re-affirmed some others and learned a couple more. The standard of flying on display and the speed at which teams of humans fling themselves around the tube has been of an eye-bulging, jaw-dropping standard throughout. Dynamic teams are separated by the kind of times that require lasers to accurately judge and the 4-Way scores can be upwards of forty points. Juniors in every category across the competition demonstrate that they are skilled and able to step up and battle the grown-ups whenever they choose that they are ready.
    The Dynamic 2-Way competition kicked of with everyone fighting for where they would be seeded into the knockout stage. The eight fastest teams got a buy through the early battles with the exception of the 2015 Suisse 1. Defending world champions Filip Crnjakovic and Fabian Ramseyer made a small early error which snowballed into them performing a whole speed round the wrong way - and subsequently had to work against some strong mid-table opponents to make the finals. Tie-break speed rounds separated the positions at the top - with the Polish Flyspot locals the Vipers taking the gold after sub-one second wins over the French team from Windoor. Special mention should be made for crowd favourites iFly Aspire (Kayleigh and Noah Wittenberg - formerly of Mini Maktoum) and Firefly Singapore (one of which - Kyra Poh - won gold in the Junior Freestyle) as both teams are now competition veterans despite being children - who place among the highest level and are certainly capable of victory.

    The battle raged in the 4-Way Open between Belgium’s Hyabusa and the French team representing the Weembi tunnel (counting a former Hyabusa member among their number) as the two traded rounds until the later part of the competition where the Belgian’s took it. After a slow start the French ladies began to put up scores in the 4-Way Female that would see them place highly in the open category - leaving the two British teams Volition and NFTO to weigh each other up for the remaining positions on the podium. A very healthy turnout of 8 teams for 4-Way Junior saw the Canadians win a gold, with France occupying 2nd and 3rd and proposing that the next crop of French flyers might represent as strongly in skydiving competitions as the current generation. VFS was all about the imperious performance of Mondial champions SDC Core - who intend to continue for for another few trips around the calendar and don’t show any signs of being beaten just yet. However, the young Golden Knights team are looking promising after their battle for Silver with the Russians and have vowed to go hard into next season.
    If they can bring the same pedigree to their new vertical team that the Golden Knights have to their FS interests things might get very interesting.

    The last few competitions have seen indoor Solo Freestyle settle into a legitimate position in the proceedings (and gather a huge number of views with some viral videos) and things are only getting more interesting. The standard of this gathering was high enough that a few mere tenths of points arranged the rankings. Interested competitors now seem to understand that cobbling together your best tunnel moves into a loose sequence is not enough to play at the top - that you have to present all the details properly.
    While not a competition in which music was a part of the rules, many believe it was successfully demonstrated that a well choreographed routine is only added to by a soundtrack - although it remains to be seen exactly how far this element of the format can be taken as the balance between theatre and the parameters actually written down caused some conflict between the judges scores. Leonid Volkov came from Russia with seven separate routines each accompanied by its own piece of music - yet went home with a Silver medal. There is certainly something to be said for that kind of effort and variety but the ruleset does not specify any criteria for rewarding it. He was beaten but one tenth of a point by Finland’s Inka Titto who performed an intricate, technical free round built from the kind of moves the rest of us can only dream of.
    Some scuttlebutt about the nature of the competition - that modern tunnel skills are somewhat overlooked in favour of classical freestyle - can be analysed in the battle for third place. Mad Raven Martin Dedek of the Czech Republic beat young Polish local Maja Kuczyńska to the bronze medal by the same single tenth that decided the top two with a fast, powerful dynamic routine that included enough creative elements and concessions to presentation to secure the win over Maja’s prettier, more classical set.
    This has been the first competition in which the entries in the Dynamic flying category has outnumbered those in the 4-Way open. After some dismissive thinking and comment over the elitist nature of high-end tunnel flying over recent times - that it is solely the province of tunnel instructors and professional coaches - the amount of non-pro and aspiring teams is growing all the time. This reflects the advances we have been making in teaching technique and the accessibility of our sport as a whole. Despite tweaks from one competition to the next - the rules and competition format work with some efficiency, and the rate at which tunnel facilities are sprouting up out of the earth like mushrooms with no signs of slowing down means these world gatherings look set to carry on and continue to grow.
    Full results can be found on the official IPC website at: http://ipc-wcresults.org.uk/
    A wealth of images and more information is available on the WCIS Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=2nd%20fai%20world%20cup%20of%20indoor%20skydiving

    By admin, in Events,

    World Parachuting Championships 2016 - Day 4 Update

    Henrik Raimer by Daniel Hagström
    There is so much going on across the Mondial proceedings that keeping abreast of everything that is happening is probably impossible.
    As a competitor you are acutely aware of how well you are doing, your personal battles and what is going on directly above and below in your table. You are also probably loosely aware of what is playing out throughout the rest of your category but likely not the specifics. You might have a general picture of how the other members of your nation are doing, discussed in the downtime in your delegation tent. By the time you are reaching across the disciplines to those with which you have few connections the myriad complexities, technical acumen and gatherings of points can quickly retreat into mystery.
    Early call times and some long waits for the right conditions give people a chance to mooch around and learn a bit more about the strange animals on display. An important thing that one can and should take away from this event is that no matter how askance you look at the disciplines somewhat removed from what you do personally, and no matter how much more exciting and important you think your jam is - everyone here is under the same pressure and dealing in equal measures of precision to get the job done.



    Solaris Freestyle by Nicolas Campistron
    At this mid-point through the scheduled days the logistics and weather considerations mean that some disciplines are nearly complete, while some still have the lion’s share to go. The Accuracy area has proven a bit of a draw throughout some long hours when prohibitively low cloud puts paid to any freefall activities - there are something like two hundred representatives doing ten rounds each so they descend carefully from the sky in a seemingly endless precession as human after human plops down onto the pad with a projected sharpened heel presenting a score, most often just a mere couple or few centimetres from the dead centre - which when hit is celebrated with a ripple of applause and a happy squeak from the machinery.
    Formation Updates
    Formation Skydiving is serious business - with a level of skill and technical mastery that takes years to perfect as you evolve through the platforms. Belgium’s Hyabusa have been running away with the open category while a tight battle is playing out in the women’s category between the U.S. Golden Knights and the French ladies with at times just a single point a separating them. Talk of the town here is how much the Qatar team have improved and now throw down proudly in the middle of their peers despite only having become licensed skydivers in 2012.
    French Domination
    The French delegation get good support from their government throughout skydiving and as such their depth of skill is on display across the whole championships. Canopy Relative Work has Frenchies in strong medal positions across the three categories but at this point the exciting part is that both the French 4-way Rotation team and the Qatar 4-way Sequential team have broken world records early on then both proceeded to repeat the feat through subsequent rounds - Qatar doing so a half-dozen times.
    What's happening in freefly
    On the Freefly side of things, local team SDC Core have cleaned up in the business of turning points in VFS - yet despite being far enough out in front for it not to matter were forced to express some concern over a series of busts throughout one round for the same thing over and over which was explained away as them ‘doing it too fast’ even when reviewed on 70% speed.
    In the Artistic categories there is always the thorny issue of exactly what the judges like and don’t like, and the discrepancies between that and the points awarded and the opinions of the flyers taking part. This world meet is turning out to be the same story over again as the consensus of opinion from many of the teams is at odds somewhat with the positions on the scoreboard. However - few would argue that the Russians have been leading the way in Freefly for a few years now with amazing creativity and precision. The truest sign of being on top of the pile in freefly is that a lot of other performances start to look a bit like yours - and the Tunnel Rats influence can be traced down through the scoreboard. Freestyle is another category largely ruled over by the French, with their two teams battling it out for gold and silver by a clear margin. Freestyle is evolving and with a strong showing this year, interest from many other countries and a new generation of born and raised flyers on the way things look to be very exciting from here on.


    German Accuracy by Matthias Walde
    Team dynamics are interesting and complex - there is always a fair amount of conflict and cat-herding even amongst smaller teams, so it is no surprise that the very best 8-way FS teams are military concerns with the discipline and organisation to make it work. On the back of previous victories the Golden Knights are way out in front and show no signs of slipping. For me, the 8-way competition is the most interesting outside of my own as you can kind of make it out from the ground while laying back on an inflatable crocodile in the SDC pond.
    Big numbers in the speed skydiving category
    The biggest surprise of the event so far has come in the Speed category - Sweden’s Henrik Raimer not only broke 500km/h for the first time in an official competition but recorded a new world record with a difficult to comprehend 601km/h. For context - the speediest of the other forms of competitive skydiving operate at around half of that. This is like turning up at the Olympics and running the hundred meters a couple of seconds faster than everyone else. Zoom!

    By admin, in Events,

    World Cup of Indoor Skydiving 2016 - Part 1

    Over the last few years - as tunnel competitions have grown ever more popular - it began to look increasingly necessary that some kind of formalisation was in order. A small central element of the involved and interested had been doing a splendid job of arranging indoor skydiving competitions, yet the exponential growth of the industry was bringing with it showdowns of condensing frequency - to the point where it was creating an overall muddle in which not a handful of months would pass without a new set of winners earning a small window of opportunity to declare themselves and be declared the best in the land - right up until the next gathering rolled around.
    Alongside a strong sense of independence from the tunnel community there was a building desire for more intricate and complex measures that could and would validate victory in the form of accepted world champions with trophies and medals and such. Despite the obvious symbiotic relationship between the sky and the tube there was no small resistance to the idea of joining forces with the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, and although it seemed some form of cooperation was a likely outcome - voices could be heard on both sides of the line.
    Perspectives were argued and both had validity. One view held that the FAI was nothing to do with the tunnel (A somewhat ironic switcharoo from the resistance indoor flying was subject to from skydiving traditionalists in its primary years as not being ‘proper’) and that the tunnel community had been doing a bang-up job so far, so what were they really offering other than to assume control over something that belonged to us?
    Yet with the increase in scale across all areas of tunnel business there was the question of the organisational structure that could be offered - was the flying community able to manage all of the bureaucratic considerations for operating what are now truly widespread international shenanigans? Could they create and produce all of the documents suitable and necessary to conduct professional sporting events? The office nitty gritty and the formational nuts and bolts? Who was going to do all that?
    On the other side - throwing in with the FAI meant access to a support structure that has been in place for many years across myriad airborne disciplines - including the ones out there are already related to skydiving. However the FAI might bring with it the problems that have become routine in artistic skydiving competitions - issues with judging, format and structure and an unwieldy ability to change enough and fast enough despite being continually presented and queried about the problems - thus hanging an albatross around the neck of something that is moving too quickly and altering form from one event to the next while still finding its feet and discovering the best way to find out who is the best.
    After some to-ing and fro-ing the result was more-or-less ‘Let’s give it a try and see what happens’. The proof would be in the pudding.
    After a tentative first go at iFly Austin in 2014, the Hurricane Factory in Prague hosted the first formal World Indoor Skydiving Championships a year later with broad success, and now with over 200 teams from 29 countries spread across 4-Way Open, 4-Way Female, VFS, 2-Way Dynamic and Solo Freestyle descending on Poland’s FlySpot on the outskirts of Warsaw - it would seem that the overall appeal has proved the relationship to be valid as the World Cup 2016 gets going.

    Opening Ceremony Notably absent from proceedings is a 4-Way Dynamic competition. 4-Way Dynamic is the most dazzling display of what can currently be done in the tunnel and it is a shame that not quite enough teams were ready for this one - also likely indicative of the combination of high difficulty and a still shifting dive pool that sees teams struggle to commit or even spit up into the 2-Way competition.
    There is also a strong turnout in the Junior Freestyle category, with two thirds as many members as the open version and many kids also present across the belly competition. Everyone has been saying it for years - that the next generation of flyers, raised up in a tube before having anything to do with skydiving would soon be upon us. Well, with some of even the smallest participants electing to fly with the grown-ups and earn their way on a level playing field - here they are.
    Many here keenly feel the absence of two of our best loved and most talented individuals, both of whom we lost to accidents in the mountains this year while pursuing their dreams - Ty Baird, a peerless, perma-smiling ambassador for the sport in general and FlySpot in particular, and Dave Reader - equally influential in quieter ways. The fingerprints of these two are all over the place - not just directly on how people fly by way of their students - but on the evolution of the very techniques we use and also on the composition of some of the elements of the competition itself. They are much missed.
    Each time out things are bit bigger and a little smoother. The rules are starting to settle into a reliable shape, the technological gremlins behind the scenes are becoming more manageable, the live presentation gets a bit slicker and as a result our exposure to the outside world a little wider. There is still some work to do to perfect the system, but everything is only getting better - which just leaves us wondering exactly how many people it might be possible to fit in this room to watch what unfolds over the next few days.
    More information, including the live stream, is available at http://wcis2016.com
     

    By admin, in Events,

    85 Way CRW World Record Set

    A view like no other - until you have flown up next to 81 multi-colored parachutes, all hooked into formation, flying briskly
    through the sky, its hard to explain the sheer beauty of it all. A diamond of parachutes, more than 250 feet tall, weighing in
    at over 8 tons, yet flying quickly and effortlessly through the sky. Its large enough to show up on local air traffic radar,
    visible for miles around - yet consisting merely of 85 individuals flying through the sky as one. You fly up next to it, watching
    people dock, encouraging them on while waiting your turn. Listening to radio calls as the size the formation has built to is
    being announced. Flying in flat and level from the side, coming to a stop right before you dock on the formation, and inching in
    the last few feet. Looking across the formation at your mirror image, and seeing them docked and flying well. Knowing that the
    formation is of record size, feeling the breeze in your hair and the wind on your face, Waiting for the starburst call, and
    shortly after break off the air is filled with whoops and hollers as everyone can now celebrate. The feeling of accomplishment on
    finishing the 85 way on our first attempt. Especially knowing that their were a few jumpers on the load, who albeit very
    skilled, had never been on anything as large as a 25-way. The awe-inspiring view of seeing a formation this size - especially for
    the first time - is something that is so difficult to explain. Pictures just don't do it justice.
    The view from the inside would be just as spectacular. After you dock, people continue to dock all around you. Every direction
    you look is a parachute, and everywhere you look is a person who is arched and looking up. Hearing the radio calls, knowing that
    the formation is building well, mentally cheering those on who have yet to dock. Absorbing all of the waves and bumps that pass
    through the formation as it builds, yet knowing without looking when each point of the diamond comes on as you can feel the
    formation lean over and fly. Looking over your head at a tower of canopies as far as the eye can see - with nowhere to run to if
    things go wrong.
    In the daytime, the formation glowed in the sunshine - so many bright colors in stark contrast to the ground below. Flying so fast
    in the center that the outsides are cupped back. Anyone who got behind would not be catching back up. On the sunset loads, the
    colors all fade in the dusk sky, silhouetted against the fading sun, the local lakes still shimmering on the ground. All canopies
    look the same, making the formation appear whole, instead of 81 individual pieces... That is until the starburst call occurs,
    and all grips are dropped and the formation looks like fireworks going off in the sky.
    It takes teamwork to build something as spectacular as what was built over Lake Wales last week. Everyone must have a good jump,
    no malfunctions, or miscues can occur or the formation won't build. Break offs are carefully coordinated, with everyone leaving at
    their assigned times, so that everyone can separate safely from the diamond just built. Much gear was swapped without thought -
    canopies weights, connector links among many other things were freely traded as needed because everyone knew we had to work
    together. Rusty Vest worked tirelessly doing repairs and repacks as need be over the week, as did other riggers. We had a whole
    team of people just working on getting the radios working well and set up correctly so that everyone could hear as needed. The
    video crew did a great job of filming all of the dives, both big and small, and sharing with us the film for debriefs. Our
    pilots did a great job as well - unlike free fall loads where all planes fly in formation, our planes fly by at different
    altitudes, needing to match not only the altitude of the ever-sinking formation but also while maintaining a slow airspeed for
    exit.
    Our leaders did a good job encouraging that teamwork - having wings work with their teams so everyone knew how to fly, to having
    safety seminars so everyone knew how best to handle emergencies. They kept the team encouraged while fighting issues at the
    beginning of the week, and engineered a beautiful formation that was so solid it was never in danger of having problems.
    The formation seemed to grow more solid the larger it built, leaving no doubt in anyone's minds that a 100 way will soon be built.
    It was only in 2002 that the organizing committee - Chris Gay, Mike Lewis, Dave Richardson, Chris Balisky, and added for this event,
    Brian Pangburn broke the then world-record of a 53 way with a 57. That had stood since '96, and since 2002, we have grown the
    record by 50%.
    The dives are carefully engineered - from a VERY fast base - the top canopies are using micro-line, trailing pilot chutes, and
    removable sliders, to faster, more heavily loaded canopies down the center line, to smaller canopies on the outside - this
    formation was designed for speed, and fast it did fly. When building a formation of this size, everything from canopy size, to
    body height to wing-loading to jumpsuit style must be considered to keep the formation flying well. If the formation
    slows down, the outside canopies - those who only have one grip taken on them - can start to out fly the formation and when they go
    too far forward, can wrap around the formation. We've never built a formation this wide before - it was only in 2003 that
    we added the first row 9 wings, and now we've added row 10's.
    It takes experience among the participants as well - the pilot of the formation - Mike Lewis - had to step down from piloting for
    personal reasons, but Chris Gay stepped up to the plate, donning 90 pounds of lead plus gear so that he could jump the 193 up top
    and keep the formation flying fast. 5 second splits were what were needed in between docks to have time for us to build this,
    and people came through. Steve Sassetti and Liz Godwin, both with ankle injuries, continued to jump because they were
    needed on the record. Steve hobbled to the airplane on crutches while taking the ashes of two of our former CRWmates - Scott
    Fiore and Joel Zane, on the record with them. They died in a skydiving accident the previous year, but they flew on the record
    with us.
    The week was a spectacular one - skydivers and old friends coming from all over the globe - from as far away as Australia and
    Russia. Listening to Aussie Sarge yell "Arch and look up" into the radio in our ears all week created quite a lot of chuckles
    and a lot of imitations. I love the Australian Cane Toad I now have mounted on my rig, although I'm a bit hesitant about the
    Vegemite I received as well. After Sarge was goaded into trying a southern delicacy - pickled pigs feet - he got his revenge by
    forcing Chris to eat some Vegemite on toast. Judging by the expressions on their faces, I think Chris got the better deal!
    Watching Chiara, a skydiver tot who is everyone's favorite, run around with Eugene's blow up doll was a source of great amusement.
    The rubber band fight at the banquet where some of the judges seemed to be facing the most abuse luckily didn't sour them on us as
    they still awarded us the record the next day. Remembering Marylou spraying champagne on everyone as her very poor poker face gave
    away the fact that we had gotten the record. The celebration Friday night wasn't enough to keep us from breaking a record the
    next day, but luckily for us, we didn't have to jump on Sunday, as the party at Ernie's house Saturday night probably would
    have. Watching wrap videos, drinking beer, and eating well provided a spectacular celebration to end a most festive week.
    The fun, the views, and the friendships are things never to be forgotten at an event like this. So much knowledge is spread when
    you get a hundred of the best CRWdogs from around the globe together to accomplish a common goal.
    Click here for more Photos and Videos of the Record

    By faulknerwn, in Events,

    World Cup of Canopy Piloting Results

    Bartholomew wins Canopy Piloting Triple Crown, Hernandez earns European Canopy Piloting Championship & Windmiller sets new Speed World Record at the 7th FAI World Cup of Canopy Piloting
    They say there’s no rest for the weary and the pros at the FAI 7th World Cup in Canopy Piloting & 3rd European Championships were ready for battle as the competition got underway Wednesday.
    The World Cup in Kolomna, Russia is the third major Canopy Piloting championship in the past two months and while some began the competition with an eye on sweeping the three events, others arrived ready for redemption.
       
     
     
     
     
     
     
    7th FAI World Cup of Canopy Piloting:
    This leg of the competition season has seen the same 4 competitors battling for the top spot time and again: Team Alter Ego’s Curt Bartholomew and Nick Batsch versus the PD Factory Team’s Tommy Dellibac and Pablo Hernandez. However, 76 other pros arrived in Kolomna ready to take over.
     
    Day 1 - Speed & Distance
    There was no playing around during Day 1 when competitors completed 6 rounds of the competition and closed the day with a new Speed World Record and a tight point spread between the top 15 competitors.
    US Army’s Greg Windmiller (USA), began the competition with three Speed World Records listed in his resume and would add one more to the list before the first day was halfway over. With a speed of 2.371 in the final Speed round, he became a 4th time Canopy Piloting Speed World Record Holder.
    The field quickly shifted to Distance, and another World Record would be challenged in the first round with Skydive Dubai’s Cornelia Mihai (UAE) setting a new Female Distance World Record after flying 138.54 meters. Curt Bartholomew (USA) flying his canopy 154.02 meters was only .07 meters short of teammate Nick Batsch’s current world record of 154.09 meters. Batsch, however, would continue to dominate the Distance rounds, ultimately besting Bartholomew and the UAE’s Billy Sharman.

     
    Day 2 - Zone Accuracy Rounds 1 & 2
    The field awoke on Day 2 with expectations of an intense 3 jumps, with the scores so close that anyone in the top 15 could still podium.
    Bartholomew would broaden his lead over the other competitors with a 91 score (100 points) in the first round and a perfect 100 score in the 2nd round, which would be the only perfect 100 scored by any competitor throughout both completed rounds.
    After the second round, Bartholomew was comfortably in first by nearly 60 points, leaving Dellibac to protect his silver standing from Sharman and the rest of the top 15, who were all within striking distance should they outscore him in the last and final jump.
    Event organizers had planned to complete the competition on Day 2, but only about half of the field were able to complete the final round before a weather hold stopped the competition for the day.
    The competitors arrived the next morning ready to complete the final round, but would end up spending two days waiting on weather to clear to finish that final Zone Accuracy Round.
    With weather forecasts not showing a promising window, event organizers called the competition complete Saturday afternoon without the final round of Zone Accuracy.
    The World Cup of Canopy Piloting victory gives Bartholomew what is known as the Canopy Piloting Triple Crown - the current champion of the World Cup, World Canopy Piloting Championship and the World Games.
    Overall Winners:
    Gold: Curt Bartholomew (USA)
    Silver: Tommy Dellibac (USA)
    Bronze: Billy Sharman (UAE)
    Speed Medalist:
    Gold: Curt Bartholomew (USA)
    Silver: Tommy Dellibac (USA)
    Bronze: Billy Sharman (UAE)
    Distance Medalists:
    Gold: Nick Batsch (USA)
    Silver: Billy Sharman (UAE)
    Bronze: Curt Bartholomew (USA)
    Zone Accuracy Medalists:
    Gold: Curt Bartholomew (USA)
    Silver: Pablo Hernandez (ESP)
    Bronze: Dominic Roithmair (AUT)
    3rd FAI European Canopy Piloting Championship
    In addition to the World Cup events, 43 competitors were also vying for the title of European CP Champion.
    Hernandez would lead the field following a comanding lead in Zone Accuracy, followed by Brice Bernier (FRA) and Dominic Roithmair (AUT).
    Overall Winners:
    Gold: Pablo Hernandez (ESP)
    Silver: Brice Bernier (FRA)
    Bronze: Dominic Roithmair (AUT)
    Distance Medalists:
    Gold: David Maleze (FRA)
    Silver: Roman Dubsky (SVK)
    Bronze: Johan Karlsson (SWE)
    Speed Medalists:
    Gold: Brice Bernier (FRA)
    Silver: Peter Kallehave (DEN)
    Bronze: David Maleze (FRA)
     
       
     
    National and World Records
     
    Several new World and National records were set throughout the competition, showing the continued push in the discipline as competitors are going further, faster and harder.
    World Records:
    Speed:

    - Greg Windmiller (USA): 2.371 seconds
    Distance - Female:

    - Cornelia Mihai (UAE): 138.54 meters
    National Records:
    Speed:

    - Netherlands National Speed Record:

    Erwin Baatenburg de Jong: 2.505 seconds

    - Sweden National Speed Record:

    Johan Karlsson: 2.503 seconds

    - Norway National Speed Record:

    Barton Hardie: 2.686 seconds




     
    Distance:



    - United States of America National Distance Record - Female

    Jessica Edgeington: 136.49 meters

    - Netherlands National Distance Record:

    Erwin Baatenburg de Jong: 130.95 meters

    - Sweden National Distance Record:

    Johan Karlsson: 131.36 meters

    - Norway National Distance Record:

    Barton Hardie: 130.24 meters





     
    One more international Canopy Piloting event is scheduled for 2013, the 4th Dubai International Parachuting Championship from November 27 to December 10.

    By admin, in Events,

    Annual Skydive Orange Boogie: Tight & Bright baby!

    Skydive Orange. Nestled in the countryside of the historic town of Orange, Virginia. The town’s old Silk Mill was one of the major producers of parachute cloth for World War II. However, what we skydivers know Orange for is the drop zone’s annual Skydive Orange Boogie and this year’s theme was tight and bright!
      A little over a year after completion, the annual boogie was held under their new hangar which held the 228 registered jumpers. Like many skydiving centers going from the historic barnstorming-type hangars, Skydive Orange’s new hangar is one to boast about: tons of indoor, padded packing space; large flat-screen TV’s for debriefs; and nice, clean bathrooms!
     
     
     
     
    The short-lived weather holds and weather forecasts did not detour many. Over the three-day boogie there were 1,129 jumps made from a super otter, CASA and R44 Helicopter. RW Organizers Kirk Verner, local Jim Smith and Joost Luysterburg kept all levels from big ways to beginner 4-way formations. Freefly organizers Matt Fry and myself did everything from tube jumps, beginner head down, angled and tracking jumps. And Andreea Olea and Cristopher Kotscha fed the birds wingsuit flocks all weekend.
     
     
     
     
    Undoubtedly Skydive Orange has a colorful tradition – awesome themed parties! These parties are the not-to-be-missed. This is where the sexy, the weird, the questionable and the creative deck it out in some ridiculous threads – or lack thereof! And for historical purposes, stripping down and laying the numbers (if this doesn’t make sense, it means you need to go and find out next year)!
     
     
     
     
    Quotes from random jumpers, “Memories of glow sticks flying through the air, and a glowing figure decked out lit up in Christmas lights running down the runway…”
    “Some idiot tried to take a ghost pepper challenge. And lost horribly! He was gracious enough to run and hurl outside the Tiki Bar though.” Ghost pepper one, Mike Norton zero.
    Props to DJ Ron Douglass, who tirelessly spun rhythm and bass until, more or less the next day.
    Skydive Orange ran like clockwork: smooth operators. This goes with the efforts of many who are up early and up late making sure the planes are fueled, jumpers and manifested and registered, organizers are fed, bathrooms are cleaned, planes are flown and everything in between. Props go to: the manifest crew, pilots, loaders, Liz Kang-event organizer, load organizers, Barclay & Collins band and the vendors who donated prizes: L&B;, Paraclete, Aerodyne, Join, Vertical, Liquid Sky, Blue Skies Magazine, Tony Suits and Cookie; to the vendors who came out: Chuting Star, Icarus, Sunpath, Birdman, Invertica and Liquid Sky.
     

    By MissMelissa, in Events,

    Women's Vertical World Record Camp

    Lately, my mantra has been, “It’s about the journey, not the destination.” It reminds me that I miss the best things when I’m in a hurry. It reminds me to feel the wind on my face and enjoy the company I’m surrounded in. The destination is just a bonus, because when you get there, a new journey begins.
    In 2003, Amy Chmelecki and I set out to gather the best women freefliers to set a Women’s Vertical World Record (WVWR) at Skydive Arizona. We spent a few months putting together our first big-way camps, and taught ourselves all the ‘behind-the-scenes’ work to put on such a feat.
    In those days, there weren’t very many lady freefliers. We had no idea what outcome to expect, but we walked away breaking several records during that event, ending up with a 16-way.
    Now, ten years later, October 24-26, 2013, Chemeleki and Sara Curtis hosted the last official WVWR camp before the official attempts on November 27th – December 1st – again at Skydive Arizona. Thirty girls in total came out from all over the country to sharpen their skills, build their endurance, and train for a goal.


    Chmelecki and Curtis lead the team beginning with 2-plane shots from the get-go. The plan was to launch a 6-way base with 2 breaking in. I helped as plane captain in the trail plane and we worked out our exit order, sight picture, dive and break off. It was a beautiful day and the nerves were setting in.
    The large base proved to be a challenge, but once it built it was solid and the formation would grow. A few jumps later the base peaked and had a hard time holding. At the end of the day, Chmelecki and Curtis were at the drawing board reengineering the dive.
    The second day had better hopes. The girls were riding the wave of energy, being happy for success on one jump, and not on another. The reengineered skydive wasn’t working as best thought. Some dives were clean, others were not. Slots were being switched around. New plane, new exit, new sight picture. The stress and fatigue was settling in.




    Not every dive goes to plan, so being able to cope with the base turning, planes not being tight enough in formation, over floating or breaking off too early, was a great platform of learning. It provided a real perspective on how world record jumps flow. The 138-way co-ed Vertical World Record took 3 days and 15 jumps to achieve. No matter what happened on the last dive, you still had to do your best on the next one.
    The organizers decided to go with a 6-way base on the last day, and use the same formation as the current 41-way WVWR. This seemed to work out a few kinks and the group improved. The last 3 jumps we went to 16,500’ and used oxygen – another great experience prior the record attempts.




    The group consistently built several successful 20+ ways throughout the camp. As I think back about the journey, although we didn’t build 30+ ways, in 2007 the current WVWR record was only 20! We’ve come such a long way and are still growing!

    The desert was turning cool as the sun met the horizon. We went up for our last jump right before sunset. The lead plane was silhouetted as they flew in formation up to altitude. In the trail plane, we put our hands into the center and I said, “this is the last camp before the record. You should be really proud of how far you’ve come to get here. Keep it simple: level, slot, dock. And be safe!” The energy lifted and we went out and had the best jump of the camp!
    It’s been a year and a half of training women getting ready for the upcoming record. It takes a lot of time and money to get to this point in your skydiving career, and the journey isn’t always easy. In August we lost a comrade, Stephanie Eggum, and I think of her often. I think about our journey that has gotten us all together for this common goal. Skydiving has taken away so much from me, but it has also given me so much. Meeting new women in skydiving has inspired me to keep progressing in the sport, the World Record is just a bonus.

    By admin, in Events,

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