Should future World Meets be hosted at DZ's with super high elevation?

[SkyTango 0]

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As for the cost of jump tickets... $33? Really? I thought $25 was excessive in Australia. My understanding is that jump ticket prices are part of the bid and one of the criteria used in selecting the venue. I guess there weren't many bids this year.

The jump prices was 200ZAR thus US$26.92 (US$ 1.35 / beer)

The OP quoted AUS$ prices.

JC

If you woke up breathing, congratulations!
You get another chance.

[pierre3636 0]

Great thread.

Some things I picked up at the event:
All the competitors I spoke to and they were probably the most experienced guys loved the venue and altitude - how can they not - 2 records got smashed and I don’t think you will find similar conditions anywhere else (facilities/medical/legal/altitude above sea level/dry air). Also South Africa is an incredibly diverse country from a cultural and nature point of view. Most competitors stayed a few days extra and went on safari or travelled around and have seen and experienced things they have never done before.

Hosting an event like this costs money. I know for the previous meet in Pretoria (where the distance record was also broken) the dz had to pay a fair amount of money in after the event. I would imagine it would be the same for the recently completed competition. South Africa is the host nation for major sporting events (World cup football 2010/ rugby world cup / golf/ cricket) coupled with the fact that we have some enthusiastic organizers who did their homework I think won us the bid. There is no buddy system and I would think that the selection committee would be SERIOUSLY offended at those allegations made in this thread, The process is VERY well documented. I'm hoping someone from the committee or IPC can chip in here.
From what I picked up speaking to guys at the comp it was clear that US drop zone weren’t that interested in spending money on a event without turning a profit. Something which from what I have seen isn’t very likely. Once again anyone with more up to date info can correct me.
The cost factor solely in my view is the reason why there are no bids to host events.
Does anyone know how many bids there was for the past event ? And for the next one? Ill give you two guesses...

~ time is ~ time was ~ times past ~

[frost 1]

Thanks to all for constructive input on this topic, i appreciate it.

Jump prices: i indeed quoted them from an Australian blog covering the competition, didnt make the connection there to convert the AUS$ to US$ ... Still, 27USD per hop and pop is A LOT.

I cannot speak for Dave, but i personally didnt mean to imply that the process was corrupt at that particular venture. But it is an unspoken but known fact, at least here in the US, that there IS a buddy system and LOTS of politics involved in the "upper echelons of power" in the USPA.

Also, i was not putting Africa down, it is a wonderful place to visit, i have been there in the past and would love to come back some day.


P.S. WTF is cricket??

[pierre3636 0]

cricket ... dunno been trying to figure out myself for last 10 years!!!

~ time is ~ time was ~ times past ~

[bob.dino 0]

I can't speak for the WPC events, but I know that the last FS & Artistics WM in 2008 received one bid - from Maubeuge. No US DZ submitted a bid, and Larry Hill (of SDAZ) was emphatic in his lack of interest in submitting one.

[AggieDave 6]

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Larry Hill (of SDAZ) was emphatic in his lack of interest in submitting one.

SDAZ has banned modern swooping at their DZ. They don't have a regulation swoop pond and have refused to host CP for US nationals. So I would doubt that Larry would want to host any other CP event.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[bob.dino 0]

Sorry; I wasn't clear above. I was referring to the Formation Skydiving World Meet, a discipline which Larry is rather fond of. Was using the lack of US interest in hosting that to show that folks should make sure they understand the situation before complaining about the DZ a particular event is at - it's quite possible no-or-few others submitted bids.

Apologies for the lack of clarity.

[crewkeith 0]

events like nationals cost too much. too many hands in the cookie jar.

The skies are no longer safe

I'm back

[JacquiBruwer 0]

Hi guys, I know I’m jumping into this discussion a bit late, but it’s always good to discuss and ask questions when you’re unsure about something, especially something as simple as a process.
A World Class Skydiving Event:
1. A drop zone decides to submit a bid to host an International event
2. They get their Parachute Association and NAC (National Aero Club) onboard and through the NAC they submit the bid to the FAI/IPC (International Parachuting Commission).
3. The bids have to comply according to the IPC Documents:
a. Sporting Code and Competition Rules
b. IPC Documents (IPC First Category Event Application Document)
c. FAI Documents
Obtained from: http://www.fai.org/parachuting/documents
4. The Delegate representing a country will then present the bid at the annual IPC Plenary meeting held every January at a pre-determined venue and the relevant committees and country representatives get to ask questions about the bid. The bids are available 1 month in advance to everyone on the IPC website.
5. Then the representatives or delegates as we refer to, vote on the different bids their country would prefer, whether according to price, venue or aircraft.
6. The winning bids are announced at the end of the Plenary meeting as bids are submitted for different events, classes and disciplines.
7. Then the fun starts for that particular country.

I am that person that have presented the past 2 bids for South Africa at the Plenary Meeting. It was my 1st time at one of these meetings and I hardly knew anyone. The 1st year, bids were received from Australia and 2 other countries that I cannot recall now and the last year, no bids were received except from South Africa.

Anyone that has ever hosted a Word Cup/Meet/Championships will know that it is not a money making event, mostly you are running it at a loss. You do it for the good of the sport and the growth of the discipline. We only have 2 swoop ponds in our country and have managed to host a Class 1 event at both. I think South Africa has to challenge the States to better on these stats!!!!

I do not take offence to the bribery comments etc, as I know it’s meant in good spirit, hence the reply on how these things work. For us the US is also very remote because in our world Africa Rules (humor)!

As for the high altitude, I do agree that more should be done to ‘acclimatize’ jumpers prior to the competition and I’m sure that the IPC Safety and Technical Committee together with the IPC CP Committee are discussing these very points. This is still a Category 1 event with highly experienced Canopy Pilots who know and understand the risks and how to minimize them, so they should also take precaution and it should not be left up to rules and regulations to govern their discipline.

My last comment about the event is that we had the best medical assistance available (advance life support and counselors) on the drop zone and all 65 competitors from the 15 different countries can attest to this, so even in Africa we strive to only provide the best.

Let me know if you have any more queries on the bidding process or the hosting of the event in South Africa!