It's another cloudy morning here at Spaceland, but there is no fog and this low layer of clouds is definitely on the thin side as I can see some blue coloration... With a little more luck, hopefully we'll be in the air before too long.
The academy teams are here and in nap/hangout mode, but the crowd is noticeably thinner this morning. I hope everyone had a good time last night!
8:00 a.m.: Interesting things happen on day 3 of a weather hold, especially at Collegiates:
Who says military cadets don't have any fun? :)
8:10 a.m.: There's more blue showing through the clouds and a Caravan just got pulled out of the hangar... stand by!
9:10 a.m.: Still no luck; that brightening trend has reversed itself. Anyone have ideas for the proper sacrifice to appease the weather gods and let us get in the air?
10:10 a.m.: The clouds are breaking up, but we're not quite there yet. It's pretty breezy out here, too much so for classic accuracy, but so far we're OK for the other events unless our luck holds. The sun-deprived collegiate competitors are starting to wake up and warm up a little as we get more sunshine. :-)
In the meantime, let's enjoy a few photos of what we wish we were doing by Ori Kuper (accuracy photos from Tuesday and VTSD 4-way practice from Monday):
Sport accuracy approach
10:25 a.m.: We're on a 15-minute call!!!! WooHOOOOOO!!!!!!
12:10 p.m.: We're rolling now! Two Otters are flying competition loads and we'll have scores and team photos online for you soon!
12:45 p.m.: Team photos are going up as we get them; check the roster pages for those. Competitors, if you haven't had your photo taken, find Christy in the blue jacket/ponytail to do so!
Scores will be posted online soon. The delaying factor is the fact that Collegiate competition working time is calculated a little differently than most competitions, and most scoring systems aren't designed for that (yet). Rather than working time beginning when the first team member leaves the aircraft, it starts as follows:
"Working time starts the moment of the first separation of a grip from the first drawn formation, or five seconds after any team member separates from the aircraft, whichevercomes first; if the first separation is not on the video, the working time begins on the exit of the aircraft."--Skydiver's Competition Manual, Section 7-1.10 B 1
Thus, the judging takes a bit longer and scores are being double-checked before posting. You'll know the scores as soon as we do!
Photos!!!
1:45 p.m.: Round 3 of 4-way is on a call and the winds have settled down a bit... life is good!
2:45 p.m.: 4-way advanced round 1 is now posted, and Air Force Impulse is out to an early two-point lead! Three teams are currently tied for second: West Point Abroad, West Point Vigilantes, and Air Force Eminence. Open scores are coming soon!
3:02 p.m.: 2-way formation skydiving round 1 is now posted as well! West Point Dance Machine has taken the lead with a nice 15 points, and the other four West Point teams have taken the next four placings. West Point Prestige Worldwide is only one point behind.
Open round 1 final scores will be posted after a rejump is scored.
Speaking of rejumps... While several competitors were unhappy with the idea of the video pool (where the teams don't have an assigned video flyer but get , the camera flying has been quite satisfactory for the most part. So far we have needed four rejumps due to video reasons. One of the judges remarked that overall, the video flying has been a lot better than it was last year.
4:30 p.m.: We've completed three rounds of 4-way and 2-way formation skydiving! We're going for meet minimums in all events, so 4-way competitors who are doing vertical formation skydiving (VFS) have switched to the latter event after three rounds of 4-way. 4-way competitors who are not doing VFS are continuing their 4-way jumps. And 6-way should start tomorrow.
More scores are coming soon! We're just waiting on those rejump scores and double-checks to get 4-way open scores out to you. By the way, you might have noticed that round 6 of 4-way should be a real burner: P-B-J, or sidebody-stairstep diamond-donut. If there's a collegiate 4-way record on the books (will get back to you on that), I'd guess there's a good chance it could get broken at this meet!
4:40 p.m.: Just clarified the collegiate 4-way/2-way record situation--neither record currently exists. So it sounds like whatever teams get the highest scores in round 6 should submit those skydives for a record. With that draw, the records might stand for quite awhile!
So what kind of scores do you think we'll see in that round?
8 a.m.: Good morning everyone; it's a very... moist... day here at Skydive Spaceland. Some might call it pea soup out there. AeroWeather is calling it a half-mile visibility, but this mess should break up this morning and let us get back in the air!
It's uncertain at this point which event will start off the jumping today; it depends on what weather is above the fog. If we have full altitude, it's likely that 4-way and 2-way formation skydiving will be first up. Otherwise, it's back to accuracy. With all the moisture from yesterday, there should be some good slip-n-slide entertainment for sport accuracy. :-)
Last night was a pretty fun time out here, with the U.S. Military Academy's competitor/family/friends dinner catered in the hangar (thanks for inviting the staff too, we really appreciate it!). Three of the cadets had birthdays celebrated last night, and in good USMA tradition, they got carried out to the pond and dunked by their fellow cadets. Happy Chilly Birthday, guys!
8:40 a.m.: Photos!
U.S. Air Force Academy cadets conserve energy while waiting for the fog to lift.
Airshow Bear shows off with the manifest staff at Skydive Spaceland (Kerri and Robin).
Find him on Facebook to see where he's been!
10:45 am: Still foggy... but it's a bright fog. (Yeah, I know, I'm reaching.) We did have a productive morning in some ways, with the annual Collegiate group discussion on ways to make Collegiates better. There's nothing like 100 smart college brains turning the logistics of competition inside out. :-)
Group discussion with Collegiate competitors.
Here are a few selected nuggets from the discussion:
In the past 52 years, collegiate jumper registration numbers have ranged from the 80s to the 250s. The last two years, numbers have been right around 100. Meet director Bill Wenger asked for suggestions on increasing participation and got several suggestions, including the following:
Finish the competition with a collegiate big-way, and advertise that beforehand.
Get a shuttle from the airport, as many competitors aren't old enough to rent a car.
Add wingsuit seminars/coaching.
Add meet coaching. (Wenger noted that the academy coaches are always willing to coach anyone on dirt diving or previous video, but that fact hasn't been advertised.)
Balloon jumps.
Demo gear from the manufacturers.
Lower prices (Wenger noted that this would be tough as there's significant overhead expense for any competition, but suggested that perhaps sponsors could help defray costs.)
Allow students that are enrolled part- or three-quarter time to compete in addition to full-time jumpers, perhaps even as guests.
One competitor noted that many collegiate skydivers think that this meet is only for experienced jumpers--i.e., as a novice, you can't win so why go? Several people agreed that this is an issue, and suggested a variety of strategies to provide education and fun for collegiate skydivers of all levels. Ideas ranged from adding seminars and coaching/coach jumps to promoting the nature of the competition as a competition and educational event.
A good bit of time focused on finding funding for collegiate clubs/teams; one competitor noted that it can be very difficult to get funding because most non-skydivers are totally unfamiliar with competitive skydiving and have a hard time understanding why it should qualify for team sport funding. One suggestion was that the United States Parachute Association (USPA) put together an informational packet/highlight video on skydiving and competition that collegiates could hand to potential sponsors to educate them. More discussion focused on non-university funding ideas, such as asking skydiving industry manufacturers to donate money, products, or discount certificates for fundraisers.
USPA executive director Ed Scott noted that the organization has made efforts to get large sponsorship(s) for the collegiate and regular National competitions for several years, but it's a "tough market." The CBS sports crew that's been filming here for the past couple of days is a step in that direction.
The possibility of additional collegiate meets throughout the year, perhaps even virtual ones like those occurring on CollegeSkydiving.com, was also discussed. The concept is to either get together or compete online, where a draw is posted and teams send in video within a certain period of time for central judging and feedback.
One competitor suggested going back to a single file lineup for 6-way speed. Judging infractions of that rule would be difficult, noted Wenger, but it might still be preferable. As with all other suggestions from this discussion, this one will be discussed at the next competition committee.
Several competitors suggested ways to have different degrees of difficulty for 4-way advanced and open classes. The idea that seemed the most acceptable was to increase to a 4-5 point draw for open and a 3-4 point draw for advanced (same dive pool for both).
One well-accepted idea was to brief sport accuracy competitors on how to properly set up a stack to stagger the landings, so everyone gets a good approach. Wenger agreed to allow competitors within a load to organize their own jump order so faster canopies could go first, further alleviating traffic issues.
We're already working on the seminar issue; Wenger is currently discussing tips on canopy control and demo jumps for a pretty big crowd.
And you guessed it, it's still foggy. Hopefully, not for much longer!
2:20 pm: Still standing by, still foggy. What's your idea for the sacrifice that will get rid of the fog?
2:45 pm: The fog has thinned out... so I guess now we have very low clouds. Still no jumping. In the meantime, we have a few photos from the last couple of days courtesy of Army Major Katie Blue (thanks!):
Army birthday boys, before their dip in the pond. Nick Luis, Chris Gaulin, and Aaron Greer (left to right).
Chris Gaulin after his dunking.
It's a dead center, or very close to it, by a U.S. Air Force Academy competitor.
An Army cadet gets interviewed by the CBS Sports crew.
The U.S. Military Academy at West Point brought 33 competitors and 7 coaches.
3:00 pm: And that's all folks, it looks like we're calling it a day. The weather is supposed to clear up tonight--here's hoping! The schedule is changed a bit for tomorrow; we're going to go a bit earlier with a 7:15 a.m. 15-minute call for a 7:30 a.m. takeoff. The plan is if we have full altitude, 4-way will go first.
8:50 am: Good morning everyone! It's a gloomy morning here at Spaceland, unfortunately. Last night's low clouds and rain are still here, and I hope our tent campers managed to stay dry through the showers.
As you might guess, we're on a weather hold. Competitors, please check in at the drop zone at 10 a.m. for a weather update. Phoning in is fine; call manifest at 281-369-3337.
10 am: Weather hold update: We're still on hold. Competitors, please check back in at 1 pm.
Booo...
1:10 pm: Weather hold has been extended, competitors please check back in at 2:30 pm. It's looking brighter out there and we are hoping to get full altitude by the end of the day, so stand by!
2:30 pm: Bummer... competitors have been released until tomorrow. Same schedule, 7:45 a.m. 15-min. call for 8 a.m. takeoff. We've got all the dives from the USPA Nationals in October running on DZTV all day if you want to hang out and watch some skydiving, though!
4:25 pm: There's still no jumping going on, but you know how skydivers are... when we're weathered out is when it can get pretty interesting! Here's a few photos of what's been going on around here:
Now that's core and balance training.
This appears to be a variety of headball, with all participants standing on bowling balls to play...
The good news is that the weather forecast looks MUCH better for tomorrow. AeroWeather is calling for 4-knot winds and a broken layer at 25,000 feet around 9 a.m.--here's hoping the forecast is right for once!
7:45 am: Good morning ladies and germs, it's an almost beautiful day at Skydive Spaceland. We've got a solid overcast, but the cloud bases are at about 8000 feet, so accuracy is going to be first up. I saw the sun this morning... through a slit in the clouds...
Off to work on team roster pages and photos, be back in a bit!
10:35 am: Accuracy is going strong; competitors are on round 3 of classic accuracy, then it sounds like we'll switch to sport accuracy before round 4 of classic accuracy. (Round 4 will be jumped in reverse order of standings, which will take a bit to sort out.) So far after two rounds of classic accuracy scoring for the master's division (competitors with more than 350 jumps), only three jumps have resulted in the maximum score of 2 m.Good flying, everyone!
Team rosters are posted, and photos will start showing up for the team events once the teams are able to get in the air. Scores will go online shortly as well.
In the meantime, here are a few notes from last night's briefing:
This is the longest-running skydiving meet in the United States; this is the 52nd year of the National Collegiate Parachuting Championships.
Larry Bagley is the USPA controller of the meet, and Bill Wenger is the meet director. John Goetsch is the chief judge.
CBS Sports is covering the meet; we'll let you know when that will air as soon as we find out.
For 2- and 4-way formation skydiving, working time starts either 5 seconds after exit or at the break of the first drawn formation, whichever comes first.
Freefall events will use a video pool; teams are responsible for showing points to the videographer and placing him/her for the best view. If the videographer interferes with the team's performance, the team will get a rejump.
Sport accuracy: The jumper's first point of contact with the ground must be in the target circle to receive a score.
Accuracy: The wind limit is 7 m/s; if winds increase to more than 9 m/s while jumpers are landing, affected competitors will receive a mandatory rejump. A 2-m pad is being used to score classic accuracy for this meet.
The official scores will be posted outside the packing room. Scores seen anywhere else are unofficial.
Final registration numbers:
104 jumpers
4-way open: 5 teams
4-way advanced: 9 teams
2-way formation skydiving: 13 teams
2-way vertical formation skydiving: 11 teams
6-way speed: 11 teams
Individual classic accuracy: 45 competitors
Team classic accuracy: 11 teams
Individual sport accuracy: 60 competitors
10:55 am: Round 1 of sport accuracy is on a 10-minute call. Woohoo!
11:10 am: Still working on the online results; in the meantime, we have a few very nice shots of 4-way open class team VTSD by local videographer Ori Kuper (from yesterday's practice jumps):
1:10 pm: Round 3 of individual accuracy is done, and USAFA competitor Alicia Bouges has jumped to the top of the master class with a total score of 0.09 m. Christopher Gaulin of the USMA is only 0.04 m back, with Joshua Cook (USMA) 0.04 m behind him.
Intermediate is just about the reverse, with Aaron Greer of the USMA on top followed by six USAFA competitors. Only 0.03 m separate the top three spots!
It's a tight race for the top in the novice class as well... Chester Haner of the USMA is only 0.01 m ahead of his teammate Maxwell Love.
Photos coming soon!
1:25 pm: And the team accuracy event is complete, with the USAFA in gold and silver positions! Air Force Lawn Darts scored a total of 1.62 m, Air Force Groovy Tap-a-Tune scored a 2.59, and West Point Eenie Meenie Minie Moe finished with a 3.14. Congratulations!
This just in... it's starting to drizzle, and the freefall competitors have been released until tomorrow, same time (7:45 am 15-minute call, for an 8 am takeoff). Accuracy competitors are NOT released; stick around and we'll see if we can manage to finish sport and individual accuracy today!
2:10 pm: Well, we got in a few more jumps, but it's drizzling just enough now to run everyone back inside and shut the planes down. We're on hold for the moment, but hoping to get more accuracy in before sunset.
2:35 pm: And it looks like that's it for the day... we're packing it in due to rain. Everyone is released until tomorrow morning, 8 am takeoff scheduled.
I've just been chatting with some lovely new friends who are shooting video for the CBS College Sports Network. Apparently, they're recording for a complete show on the Collegiates for the Alt Games, which will air sometime in March or April. The schedule will appear at some point on www.cbssports.com, so keep an eye on that! We'll let you know if we find out a definite schedule.
3 pm: Photos!!
Here's what a 0.09-m landing looks like...
Judges run to mark a jumper's initial landing spot in sport accuracy.
Judging sport accuracy can be hazardous... ;-)
With the freefall events on hold and tons of accuracy competitors on the drop zone, there were plenty of spectators to go around despite the chilly weather.
Meet controller Larry Bagley and chief judge John Goetsch go over accuracy scores.
Accuracy competitors, listen up: One jumper has questioned one of his scores because he recalls getting a different score than what was posted on the scoresheet. Unfortunately, because a good bit of time and a lot of jumps had passed since the jump in question, the judges have a hard time recalling any particular jump and can't in good faith change his score, because then what's to keep other competitors from saying they got a different score than they did? Moral of the story: Check the score the judges write down for you immediately upon landing. If you wait, it's too late.
4:30 pm: Final update for the day: Sport Accuracy scores are now posted online through round 2 (sorry for the delay). There's a bit of a surprise in the novice division, where civilian Brad Carrender of Kansas State is currently leading all other competitors including the Army and Air Force jumpers. Ryan Nissim of the USAFA currently leads the intermediate division with the meet's only 0.00 total so far (sweet!). Orlando Zambrano (USMA) leads the master's division with a 0.25.
See you all tomorrow, keep your fingers crossed for good weather!
Hey everyone, it's a gorgeous (if chilly) day here at Skydive Spaceland, and the place is rockin'! The sun is out and there's lots of jumping going on. The accuracy tuffet is getting an early beating and several freefall teams are training as well. We've got 67 competitors registered so far; make sure you register and check in by 5 pm TODAY!!
We currently have 14 teams registered, with no less than 10 of them from West Point; is there anyone else out there? ;-) Right now there are two 6-way speed teams, two 2-way freefly teams, six 2-way formation skydiving teams, and four 4-way formation skydiving teams.
Stay tuned for more updates, and tell your family/friends to check out www.uspacollegiates.com for the latest scoop!
3:30 pm: We're still going strong; Otter load 17 just taxied out and the Caravan's flown quite a few loads as well. Registration numbers continue to climb; we now have 88 competitors registered and 31 teams, including this year's USPA Nationals intermediate champion, VTSD (from Virginia Tech, could you tell?).
5 pm: Briefing tonight in the hangar at 7 pm; registration will close at 5:30 pm.
5:55 pm: Now that's more like it! 44 teams and 104 competitors registered so far, and I think there are a few more stragglers finishing up so the total might be a tad higher.
Team names are always fun at Collegiates; we've got Stompin' Toads, VTSD Bootie Bandits, VTSD Bootsie Snakez, a Bad Romance, Swine Flew, Ductape, Squidbillies, 6 Balls, and I don't even know how to pronounce this one: stchetiariry. So far I think Swine Flew is my favorite, what about you?
And... we have more photos from today!
Now that's collegiate engineering--dive pools, pizza, and creepers. :-) All that's missing is the beer... maybe later?
Guess we know where the party will be tonight! Stay warm everyone, the low tonight is 37°F.
We hope everyone had a very, very merry Christmas! We're making final preparations for the National Collegiate Parachuting Championships here at Skydive Spaceland, and all we want for Christmas is a few days of good weather for the competition...
You might have noticed that the schedule page at http://www.uspacollegiates.com/ does not list an order of events for the meet. This is because we want to be able to take advantage of whatever weather we get, so the schedule may change without notice. For example, if the clouds are too low for freefall but high enough for accuracy, guess who gets to go first? And if the cloud bases go back up before accuracy is finished, we'll probably start getting the freefall competitors who aren't doing accuracy in the air. In other words, we'll do everything we can do complete the event as soon as possible when Mother Nature is feeling cooperative.
Lastly, the Collegiates online registration system is open for business! So competitors, when you're ready for a break from that other kind of relative work, hop online at http://www.uspacollegiates.com/ and register. You can register, pay, and set up/modify your teams as needed, and pre-registration will save you some time when you check in on-site. Everyone will need to register online, whether you do it from home or at a registration station once you get here.
This system is just like the one used at this year's Nationals in October, so you might already be familiar with it. If you're not, you might want to check out the brief registration how-to video. Make sure you are registered by 5 pm on Monday, Dec. 28!
Welcome to the official 2009 Collegiate Nationals blog!
Hi everyone, and welcome to Skydive Spaceland's coverage of the 2009 United States Parachute Association National Collegiate Parachuting Championships! (Whew, that's a mouthful... we'll call it the 2009 Collegiate Nationals for short...)
We'll use this blog to keep you updated on the happenings as we prepare for the Collegiate Nationals, and once the event starts, this is where you'll find news, photos, and color commentary of the event.
