Ranch 2003 Pond Swoop Meet

[BlueSkyRanch 0]

These are the current (as of Aug. 18, ’03) rules for the Ranch Pond Swoop Meet, August 23 & 24, 2003. There have been some changes made specifically to the elimination rounds and scoring.

Ranch Pond Swoop Meet
August 23 & 24, 2003
Semi-Quasi-Official Rules as far as That Sort of Thing Goes

All competitors must be USPA ‘D’ license holders or qualified, or hold a foreign equivalent.

All competitors must be members in good, current standing with their respective Sport Associations.
Proof is mandatory.

This event will observe all USPA BSR’s and FAA FAR’s

Competitors who have never competed in any form of swooping competition will have to prove ability, skill and safe conduct to meet organizers no later than the end of jumping on Friday, August 22. A performance or behavior during this proving period, or at any time during competition, which is deemed unsafe, will result in immediate withdrawal from competition. Determination is the sole discretion of meet organizers.

This competition cannot sanction irresponsible behavior. Please assume the attitude that competition is the place to prove what you already know and can perform. It is not the place for experimentation. Please do not attempt any maneuver you have not previously attempted.

Although there is no restriction on wing loading, please do not overload your canopy if you do not already have ample experience with a high wing loading.

There are no restrictions as to which part of the body makes contact with the water during any swoop. However, the organizers ask that landings not be head first whenever avoidable.

There is a mandatory competitor’s meeting Friday evening, August 22, after jumping has ended for the day. Time and place will be announced.

These rules are based on the assumption of 44 competitors and six rounds. Modifications may be necessary due to actual number of registrants at the end of registration.

Equipment:
A hard helmet is required. Gotta have it. Please don’t even register if you don’t have or can’t get one.
Shoes too.

Rounds:
·Rounds one through four are not elimination rounds.
·Rounds five through seven are elimination rounds.
·Rounds one through five are straight-line swoop rounds.
·Round six is the creative round.
·Scores are cumulative.
· “Straight-line swoop” defined:
·Scoring is based on first point of contact with water to the end of a straight swoop.
·The longest continuous surface (water) contact of each competitor will be used for scoring.

o Note that this competition does not include a carving round, targets, pylons or any maneuver other than straight-line swooping. Carving or diagonal (corner to corner of swoop lane) swooping reduces overall judgeable straight-line length.

o For measuring purposes a line has been drawn parallel to the pond along the North East side. It is along this line that swoops will be measured. Flying your canopy as parallel to this line as possible will allow for greater accuracy in measuring.

“Chow” defined:
Staying with previous year’s definition of a chow: Competitors must lift up off the water surface prior to breaking the water/shore line at the end of the swoop. Technically, this does not allow for a pure dirt-water-dirt.

“Chows” are scored for swoop length prior to the “chow”. Unlike in previous years, “chow” scores still count toward competitor placement.

The “Creative” Round:
Upon registration each competitor will provide a statement describing the maneuver(s) he or she will perform as a creative round. Criteria for this round are simply that the maneuver(s) be considered safe to perform by an average ability swoop competitor and display some skill with a canopy in flight while touching water.

These submissions will be used as the pool from which the final, creative round is drawn. From this, five will be drawn at random. From those five a panel consisting of the finalists and meet organizers will select the maneuver to be the compulsory for the final round. All three finalists will be expected to attempt the drawn maneuver, which need not be one any of the finalists submitted. The remaining previously eliminated competitors will be the judging panel for the final round. The competitor with the most “first” place votes is the overall competition winner.

The following rules came to us from previous “Canopy Expression” rounds. Each of these rules is based on actual experiences in which the learning curve of the organizers saw a sharp spike. To those who came before us, showed us the way, parted with bodies intact and contributions forever entrenched in the annals of the Pond Swoop National, we offer our gratitude.

The “Digger Rule”: The video of the origins of this one is a beaut’. No one was as stunned as Digger was. He didn’t even know where he was when we fished him out. As a result, we made a rule. Yes, we did. Here it is: No intentional, non-emergency cutting away. We’d appreciate a good chop and reserve ride if you have to (Scooter swooped his reserve. Go Scooter!) But don’t do it to show us anything.

The “Guy” Rule: There’s no round in which you don’t have to touch water. Pond + parachutes = Pond Swoop Meet. No water, no event. This is the Ranch. It’s our pond. This is where it all started, baby. We do indeed want to see you touch water.

The “Tim Bernard” Rule: My, my but he looked good on practice day. Then came competition and… So: No use of accessories such as skysurf boards allowed. Please consult with meet organizers if you want to use something which might be considered non-standard skydiving equipment. Anything.

Scoring:
Score is based on length of swoop in feet and inches.
Bonus and penalty points are awarded in feet and are added or subtracted from true swoop length.

Bonus points (in feet) are 10% of the maximum available pond length, determined the morning of the event.

Penalty points (in feet) are 50% of the completed swoop.

· Dirt-water-dirt (dry) with a stand up landing: Add 10% of the maximum available pond length in feet.

· Water-chow: Subtract 50% of completed swoop.

· All chow, no swoop yields zip-a-dee-doo-da.

· No water contact results in looks of amusement and puzzlement from the gathered masses, your fan base.

Elimination
Scores from round one through four are cumulative. Total scores from these rounds will be used to determine competitor placement and the first round of eliminations.

After round four, the top 10 competitors will advance to round five. From that round, a 50% elimination continues through to the end of the competition. Also after round four, the lane mysteriously shrinks down to 4’ wide.
Example: From a field of 44 starters:
Rounds one through four consist of 44 competitors.
Round five will have 10 competitors
Round six will have 5 competitors
Round seven will have 3 competitors.

Prizes:
First Place: Winner wins all the cash collected from the entry fees ($50x number of competitors)

Second Place: There is no second place but were considering offering a nice set of steak knives. Maybe not. We’ll see. Certainly not the steak, that we know for sure.

Third Place: See note for Second Place. But don’t envision the knives.

For further information and any updates, check out the Pond Swoop page on the Ranch's website at http://www.ranchskydive.com/events/2003/index.htm#Aug