COLLEGIATES NEED HELP ASAP

[thrillseek 0]

Ok, if we're going to have our own nationals this year we'll need some organizing going on and we'll need it fast. What i see us needing: 3 or 4 dedicated judges, someone to keep track of the scores, and all of us to chip in for beer after each day's competition (kegs). We'll keep this simple, save money, and most importantly, have a great time!

Let me know if anyone is willing to help with this...we'll need people who know something about judging events.

If nothing else, i think a collegiate-wide sport accuracy event would be fun as well as easy to judge.

Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? Criticisms?

[bodypilot90 0]

Contact the NSL, I'm sure they would have a lot of information for you. It's a little late if you're shooting for christmas, but how about spring break? I could help you get a very good rate on jumps in florida. I'll help if I can

[cmnorris 0]

I think that this year we should just not have anything to do with collegiates and then next year we can actually take time to organize something.

If you have an event that truly rivals the USPA backed nationals, that will turn more heads than something that is just quickly thrown together.

[Watcher 0]

I dont think this is going to work but of course I have been before and will sometime in the future be wrong. The problem you are going to run into with Collegiates is that A) 75% of the competitors are from Westpoint and Airforce Academy. Their schools pay for their competition jumps, registration, and a certain amount of practice jumps. So if you still have 50 people (albiet all military) show up for collegiates then no one is really going to notice your abscence.
B) Some schools are going to have to compete because of requirements in their club charter, No Collegiates = No Club.

Yes 120 for registration is a bit steep. The dinner better well be damn good, but it does bring in a certain amount of judges, gear to judge with etx. Last year they also gave away quite a bit from sponsors in the raffle. 4 way for us looks like 16.60 per slot, which is only 60 cents more than it was at Nationals this year (If i remember correctly). If you registered for both 4 way and 8 way I believe the cost totalled to $100, each event had a registration cost. Now so at Collegiates you have 1 cost (120) and then you can participate in all the events, If you have more than 100 jumps find 3 other people and do the 4 way event, Do Freeflying, and Sport Accuracy, and if you have a pretty big main still do Traditional Accuracy.

Jumps are just $13 once you are done competing, and Eloy has many activities and huge fleet of planes, nice nightlife, They have Night jumps on New Years Eve (Midnight), If its not for you then its not for you, but trying to stage a coup and move Collegiate nationals is not going to work.

Next year it will be in Lake Wales so it will be a whole other story then also. Different crowds will make the 2 because of home locations.

Thats just what I see, Do i think its over priced, yeah I do, do I think its totally out of control, no I don't. Do I really really want a shot at beating Airforce at Collegiates, hell yeah. Do I think I can get Airspeed members to help us with Dive Engineering, yeah I think so.
All in all we are hoping to go in and really give Airforce a run for their money in 4way.

To each his own, but you might find it much harder than you think to organize this all and USPA will probably not notice. You would be better off expressing your concerns to certain members, talking with USPA officials that will be in Eloy, If you voted for Danny Page and he becomes a National Director then express your concerns to him, he is very much concerned with the opinions of members regarding competition.


Good luck in whatever you end up doing.

Jonathan
Georgia Tech

[thrillseek 0]

After a lot of thought and talk with other collegiates from around the country, i think we are going to have a sport accuracy meet in leiu of collegiate nationals....This meet is open to all collegiates, and should be fun as well as easier to organize than a whole meet. Anyone willing to help should contact me soonest, so that we can figure out details. Either way, Eloy's costs are EXTREMELY prohibitive for the majority of us out there that don't have schools that pay for costs. Many of us will be driving ourselves across country, or even hitchhiking just to get there in the first place...we just want to have fun and if in the process we can compete against one another this year, cool.

And so you all know what i am giving up by doing this alternative collegiate nationals... I took 3rd at US Nationals this year in sport accuracy as the competitor with the fewest jumps and fully expected and wanted to win collegiates this year, my last in college. I am not going though, because i feel the event has become a "dog and pony" show for the academies who can afford whatever is charged for entry fees. That is SOOOOO not what collegiate skydiving is about....they make up maybe 8% of all the college skydivers nationwide...

That's like suggesting that people are flying their pilot chutes and that big mass of material is just there for looks.

[bps 0]

Hi Jonathan --

I agree with everything you said. I feel that the prices are high (especially for college students) but not completely unacceptable.

I work closely with the Air Force teams, and I've heard a LOT of good things about GT Inviscid from them. I'm going to be in Phoenix for a bunch of demos around that time, but should make it down to Eloy on the 1st and hope to meet your team then.

Best of luck in the competition!!!

Blue Skies,

Bryan

[Watcher 0]

Very Cool and thank you for the complement. We hope to do our best in Eloy this year. AF is strong and very consistent, the Blue team especially, they should be very proud at the level they are competeing at.

Look forward to meeting you.

Jonathan