Tracking/Atmo certification?

[sebinoslo 0]

In the past couple years, more and more people have been doing tracking jumps. This has resulted in the technical level to reach new heights while at the same time attracting a lot of new people to the discipline. This creates some safety issues that are rarely addressed.

The safety issues relate to the high level of 3D movements at high speeds that are achieved by larger and larger groups today. It becomes easy for someone joining a group (way) beyond their abilities to dive through/into, wipe over/under, lack separation/awareness and be dangerous on that jump.

These issues could be avoided if organizers and participants would know their abilities.

Unfortunately this is near impossible for tracking. Let me digress quickly:
- if you want to do an 8-way with points but miss one guy; some basic questions regarding 4-way randoms/blocks, most points turned in 4-way, biggest formation done, number of jumps and time in tunnel would give you a decent idea if the new guy can join and complete the jump in a decent way.
- if you want to do an 8-way headdown, the same set of questions will also give you a decent idea.

However for tracking, this becomes much trickier:
1. tunnel time is not really relevant (except if the guy has dozen of hours of dynamic flying at high speeds then it should be OK)
2. number of jumps is not relevant only numbers of tracking jumps - and even then, the level flown during those jumps is hard to demonstrate
3. biggest tracking group is also not relevant ("I jumped out of an airplane with 10 others guys and we tracked" does not tell you if the guy was in control, in the group, within few feet of the leader or just burbling around and bombing through the group)
4. but the biggest issue is that EVERYONE who starts tracking think they go really fast, really steep when in reality they have a decent separation track. The feeling ins tracking is quite special and impressive which is why so many people love it.

This makes it hard to assess their true abilities. (Compare it to the statement "I have done 4-ways headdown jumps with multiple grips" which is a lot more objective and demonstrative of the abilities of the jumper)

So when an organizer put together groups, most participants (especially less experienced people) would provide the feedback that they go fast and steep and can join the group without issues - which may not be the case at all. Even having done jumps with a coach can give them a false idea of the abilities "I jump with world-class coach X and could follow him so I'm awesone"; not realizing that it was the coach that followed them and not the other way around.

To solve this, I have been thinking about grading tracking jumpers to ensure safer and easier organizing.

Level 0: belly-tracking - need someone to lead to ensure correct flying pattern - flat/slow/little control
Level 1: belly-tracking - need someone to lead to ensure correct flying pattern - good separation track
Level 2: belly-tracking - can lead and respect the flying pattern - decent angle/speed/control - can jump with up to 3 other level 2+ jumpers
Level 3: learning back-traking - can plan flying pattern (based on jumprun, winds, other groups in the plane etc..) and respect it - can jump with up to 5 other level 3+ jumpers
Level 4: can fly on level and heading on straight steep/fast jumps
Level 5: can fly on level and heading on moving steep/fast jumps
Level 6: organizer and/or recognized as an authority. Can grade jumpers


Obviously there is still quite some subjectivity involved but this will prevent level 2 jumpers joining jumps designed for level 5 - making it safer for both or ensure that a group of 10-tracking-jump wonders don't start tracking up the jumprun or land out in the woods.
It will also make the job of organizing tracking jumps much easier, ensuring everyone is getting the most out of the jumps.

What do you guys think?

PS: this is not meant to be an official certification like a B-license, but just a stamp in the log book.

[Bluhdow 31]

No.

Remember how people were concerned that all the WS regulation nonsense would infect other disciplines? I do.

Apex BASE
#1816

[excaza 1]

It's a noble idea, but I think it would be a logistical headache to establish and enforce authority.

That being said, it does hit on a larger issue and one that I think should be addressed with better education across the community as a whole. People need to understand the dangers of the jump they want to participate in, and they need to be more cognizant of their own abilities.

I can see the thought process of "hey I track on every jump, how hard can this group angle fly thing be? I just have to bend my knees and stuff" as something easily arrived on, where you generally wouldn't see the same attitude with a 12 way RW jump or group FF jumps. It seems to me, inexperienced skydiver #123963628.5, that it's far more likely that the average jumper recognizes and understands that these more complicated RW/FF jumps take a more specific skill set to pull off without putting the group in danger, and it doesn't seem that this same level of recognition is present for tracking & angle dives.

[bigbearfng 9]

Tracking/atmo certification?
Not just no but no fucking way.........

[yoink 321]

No.