The PD Blog

Spanish Nationals - Final Results

Well the competition is finally over and what a competition it was. Conditions were tough, mostly downwind, and many took a tumble or worse. A few made the brave decision to stand down on the odd round and there were also a couple of casualties with some broken bones, but we're assured that they'll recover. As previously mentioned Bruno set a new record on his Velocity 111 although it will remain unofficial. The video can be seen here. The final results were:

1. Wutzi Wagner
2. Pablo Hernandez
3. Michael Vaughan

The prize giving and party were really great. The atmosphere was fantastic and everyone was super friendly. If you haven't been to this meet then definitely put it in your diary for next year.

Bruno Beats World Record

In the semi final of the Spanish Nationals Bruno Brokken flew 154m on his Velocity to beat the current World Record. The winds were in limits but blowing consistently downwind along the course. He hit the gate beautifully and carried past the current record to 154m. Official scores are yet to be posted but this record is unofficial as there are only 2 FAI judges. We just have the finals to go in about an hours time before the prize giving and what is certain to be a big party.

Spanish Nationals - Day 2 and 3

At the end of the first day Pablo was 70 points in the lead and looking like the clear favourite to walk away with the gold. However he took a zero early on day 2 and the competition became pretty exciting again.

The winds picked up as the day went on the competition went on a weather hold. Again, the cry of the day was safety first- with the course running downwind and the conditions bouncing around and 14 knots blowing it was pretty tasty. A number of competitors started to nurse some injuries and some made the brave call to come off the loads. The yellow card of shame came out a few times and few people flew some entertaining "course destroyer" routines. The accuracy was tricky for some with many flying out the back of the course while others just went too far back and didn’t make it far enough. The entertainment carried on during the wind hold with the DJ stood on the back of the Red Bull Hummer cranking out the tunes.

Day 3 got the remaining rounds of distance and speed completed and we’re now on a wind hold again. The top 20 now go through to the semi finals with the top 10 to the finals. The scores for those will only count to the overall. So the placings for the individual events are set:

Speed:
1. Pablo Hernandez
2. Rodrigo Ferreira
3. Mike Vogeleer

Distance:
1. Bruno Brokken
2. Pablo Hernandez
3. Michael Vaughan

Accuracy:
1. Wutzi Wagner
2. Alastair Macartney
3. Michael Vaughan

There are 3 rounds to go but the overall standings so far are:

1. Wutzi Wagner (793)
2. Pablo Hernandez (715)
3. Michael Vaughan (709)

The atmosphere is still pretty great. The organizers have a big party planned for tonight with lots of free beer!

Spanish Nationals - Safety First

The Spanish Nationals kicked off this morning, sponsored by Red Bull and PD. It's like a mini World Meet with 45 competitors from 17 different countries.  People have travelled from places such as Australia and Venezuela to attend.  Being in Spain you would expect it to be a relaxed competition, which it is, but it's also very well organised and there is a great atmosphere.  Safety first is the cry of the day and Meet Director Lucia is swift to issue a yellow card for any infringements- we've had one injury and no-one wants another one.

So far we've done one round for distance and accuracy and two rounds of speed.  The speed course is a 80m S carve- this might sound tough to some but, if you get your line right, you can actually take a straight line through it.

The standard of competitors is high.  Many have been on the swoop scene for a while; some competing, some not.  But now they've all converged on Skydive Lillo and it is a happening place.  At over 2000 feet above sea level those that have learnt to really generate some power are putting in some great runs.  There's a few that need to learn to be accurate and consistent with the power as well!  Great to watch is Michael Vaughan, all the way from Australia, making his first competition with a new turn- 990 degrees of rotation!

Conditions have been testing during the middle part of the day with some winds changing and even some big name competitors have taken a zero.  We're waiting for the scores now but my guess is that local jumper Pablo Hernandez will be in the lead.

I've been in the water twice today but not landed in it- I'll leave you to figure that one out.

Right, I'm off for a cerveza and some tapas.

IST in Fano

Reported by Brian Bero, IST league director
Photos by Max Haim, photographer extraordinarie


Yes, we are into the season already and the first leg of the Italian Swoop Tour went over with a success.  This year brought even more participants than the previous year showing that Canopy Piloting discipline enjoys a steady growth here in Italy. 

It all started on Friday the 18th of April with the practice loads under cloudy skies.  Saturday brought a bit of wind, but in the afternoon the judges gave the go ahead and competition began with 2 rounds of distance.    Sunday things got off to an early start in perfect weather and competitors battled it out with Mario Fattoruso ending up in 1st place overall.   Riccardo Paganelli and Ulisse Idra placed 2nd and 3rd respectively.  The weekend concluded with a drawing for prizes donated by L&B, BERO, Turbolenza, PD, Alti-2, and Vigil along with the trophies for each discipline and the team trophies as well. 

In conclusion, the great vibe of all lead to a successful event for both competitors and spectators taking in sun on the beach, whilst viewing something new to the Italian public.  Stay tuned for the second meet in Molinella on May 9-11th.   Please visit the IST website for results, scores and photos!

Elsinore Swoop Club: Surf's Up!

Those of you out there on the Left Coast (or willing to travel), that are interested in high performance canopy piloting and good times, perk up those ears!

The Elsinore Swoop Club is a mid-week swoop club for all SoCal swoopers looking to improve their skills, have fun, and compete in a low-key learning environment.  Specifically, the Club is geared toward those  busy jumpers who can’t compete on the weekends, but still want to continue pushing their canopy piloting skills.  Run by Jonathan Tagle, the mini-meets are suuuper high-quality.  Each event focuses on one specific swooping skill set— for instance, the first event was in-lane dragging distance (check out the pics). The second was freestyle— open water, but each move was pre-determined, so we could compare execution across the board.  All the rules are gone over in a competitor briefing, then 1-2-3 rounds.  All competitors review the videos together at the end of the meet, and a ton of learning takes place.  And of course, hilarity ensues using the pause button. 
Bottom line, the Elsinore Swoop Club is a ridiculously sweet opportunity to come out and take advantage of Jonathan Tagle, learn a ton, have fun, and get some sick video of yourself dragging sweet water.  Next meet is May 1st— anyone capable and safe is welcome! See you there!

Reported by: Melanie Curtis, all around skydiving goddess
Photos by: Herber Loureiro

Jonathan Tagle: Extreme Athlete

Jonathan Tagle of the PD Factory Team has been nominated as a potential recipient of the American Latino Awards, in the "Extreme Athlete" category.

Other categories included underground fasion, indie music/film, and more, but we agree - JT fits best in the extreme one (just look at that picture!).   The awards are set up to recognize accomplishments of American Latinos and this is our chance to help one of our favorite swoopers out - and at the same time, bring positive attention to our sport and high performance canopy flight.

So put your clicky finger to work - go  Vote for Pedro Jonathan!

To learn more about the awards, click here.

FLCPA Sebastian, April 12th.

Reported by League Director, Albert Berchtold.

This past weekend was the 3rd meet in a series of 5 canopy piloting competitions that make up the FLCPA season.  Friday morning we set up the courses and opened registration.  Eager pilots scurried to make their practice runs on the course Friday afternoon as soon as the courses were all set up.  Friday and Saturday brought sunny skies and and light winds up to 12 mph in hight of the afternoon.  Twenty competitors (13 Amateurs and 7 Pros) participated.  The competition ran smoothly, with some challenging wind conditions that were changing light crosswinds to heavy headwinds from round to round.  We finished up the final round  at around 5:30 and held the awards ceremony at 7:00 pm.   
First Place was Bryan Buechler  from Team Gold Coast Swoop.  Chris Moore of the Army Team Golden Knights took second.  and in third Place was Pete Schwartz from Virginia. 

This weekends meet was run during the  Carnivale boogie in Sebastian, FL.  The party after the awards ceremony was full of excitement.  Jay Moledski was spinning the tunes, Jeff Nebelkov from Tony suits was carving amazing ice sculptures, and various fire spinners were about the dz. 
Big thanks to our judges - Kim, Laticia, and Mike.  Thanks to Skydive Sebastian for hosting an excellent meet.  The 4th meet of the season will be held May 17th at Skydive Tallahassee, FL - see you there!

The meet scores can be seen below - complete results and league standings will be placed on CPAFL website  shortly. 

1    *Bryan Buechler*    397.52   
2    Chris Moore    396.37   
3    Pete Schwartz    394.73   
4    *Brian Vacher*    389.81   
5    Mike Olivela    355.77   
6    *Mike Shatalov*    349.99   
7    *Brian McNenney*    333.36   
8    Sergei Fedotov    325.44   
9    Greg Rau    289.60   
10    *Greg Windmiller*    279.43   
11    Ben Lowe    268.11   
12    David Lambert    264.53   
13    *Chris Watkins*    246.18   
14    Loud Dan McAllister    229.97   
15    Army Dan Richarelson    164.45   
16    *Peter Vohwinkel*    128.79   
17    Ron Naperala    121.98   
18    Edward Heady    111.39   
19    Greg Clidaras    109.91   
20    Pia McFarland    44.55 

*Name* denotes a pro competitor 

Team Gold Coast Swoop!

Hey all - please meet our newest Sponsored team, Gold Coast Swoop, woooooshhhh......

Gold Coast Swoop (GCS) is a Professional Swoop Team that trains at Gold Coast Skydivers, in Lumberton, Mississippi. Gold Coast Swoop is currently comprised of two members: Bryan Buechler and Craig Saucier. We are passionate, highly competitive, and serious minded team with goals of competing strongly at the world class level, while still enjoying the camaraderie and good times that the Pro-Swoop Tour has to offer.
In 2007 (Gold Coast Swoop’s first year of competition) they garnered several accolades by placing 1st and 2nd in the Southeast Canopy Piloting Circuit (SE-CPC, also known as FLCPA), 1st and 3rd at the USPA Canopy Piloting Nationals, and 9th and 10th at the PST Championships.

The 2008 season promises to be just as exciting with several upcoming Southeast Pro-swoop Regional competitions and Pro-Swoop and USPA Nationals.  Gold Coast Swoop is extremely honored to officially join the PD Family, and will fly our new PD colors with pride while supporting the many organized events and activities in the Southern and Southeast Region.

- Bryan & Craig.

We look forward to good times with those guys - both true Southern gentlemen and a pleasure to work with. Best of luck this season!  And yes, the PD Blog sometimes struggles with the proper pronunciation of their last names, not as easy as it looks!

IST - Italian Swoop Tour

Brian Bero, one of the organizers of the Italian Swoop Tour just got in touch to let us know that they now have a new website up and running with all the information needed for jumpers interested in taking part in Canopy Piloting competitions in Italy - check it out!
The first event of the season will be on May 5th, at Reggio Emilia.   Best of luck to all the Italian swoopers - we wish you a safe and exciting season!