Wednesday 25 October

0730
CF sequential was in the air when I pulled into the DZ moments ago...hacking on new team photos...

...wow. After several days of relative radio silence, the mail box has some very wonderful feedback, and I greatly appreciate it. And if there are any AE competitors reading these bits, I would greatly appreciate any contributions you may have for me to post here. Because of the way that AE is judged, it is very difficult for me to watch much of it. The judges spend a lot of time discussing and hemming and hawing and you never know when they're going to roll the tape (er, spin the disk).

Thank you Lori for this wonderful bottle of Rioja. A 2000 vintage Marqués de Cáceres from Spain. I shall grok it in fullness!

I want to take a moment to clarify something. Just because I have taken the "unofficial" word out of the coverage disclaimer, that does not make these pages "official" coverage. I just try not to put my foot in my mouth as much as I did before. These pages remain very much an off-the-cuff dash of blogospheric bafflegabbish balderdash sprinkled with horseradish marmalade...anyway...I think we have some competition going on around here somewhere...ah yes, some AE scores to post..."what's the point of taking pictures if people don't see them?" quote of the day from Michael McGowan...

0900
K-CHINK. That wasn't a cut-away, that was the sound of the Omniskore bar getting raised another notch by Jan. She has written software to create the AE standings pages, complete with links to each jumps' official score sheet. Check them out. So you AE fans out there, we really are not, as much as we try, totally ignoring you ;-)

AND we're into 8-way FS Open round 4, and Paraclete just came out of the gates skydiving with a purpose, that was a wonderful jump, a 14 to start their day...then Nuggets have already posted a 15, and if Airspeed gets that last freeze frame point they will post an 18...they get it, but a busted inter drops them to a 17...

...and some Freestyle, I just saw team Flew-id round 4 and they looked very nice, they are in 3rd place just behind Purhell...we have AE, CF Sequential, and FS 8-way all going on right now, not to mention the Style & Accuracy going on over by the wind tunnel...

I haven't talked much (if any) about FS video this year, I've pretty much pounded it into the dirt in previous nationals. But camera flyers take note: It should be very clear in the way you approach your job that you are an interface between your team and the judges. If you don't work hard to have a steep, well-framed video picture of your team, then you are putting a lot more work on the judges trying to figure what the team's performance is. And if you are putting a wide-angle lens on your camera, keep in mind that this makes you have to get so close to the team that the video angle is too flat to see separation between team members on the far side. End of topic for this year...

1015
Frayed Knot is about to wrap up (guffaw) the Rotations in CF and they have a solid lead in Sequential as well. In 8-way FS Open, Paraclete's big round 4 pulled them back into the battle for 3rd place after taking that goose egg on round 3. 8-way Open and Intermediate appear to have battles for 3rd place with 1st and 2nd pretty much already apparent. Arizona Old Works and Blovi-8 have 1st and 2nd in Intermediate...

Aha, a reader writes:

where the hell is deguello?? i haven't seen jack or cheri berke at all!! this is the first nationals that i can remember when they weren't present for at least 8-way, for god's sake.

APB out for jack!!

No worries my friend, Jack and company are here so this nationals is not lost!

Regarding the new AE results pages, we are aware that the team photo links aren't there and Jan is working on it. Thank you for your patience.

YOW Paraclete XP just had another good jump, another 14 on the board. Golden Nuggets does the same...and Airspeed has a nice jump, an 18 on the (again) freeze frame...

Tim in his glory days......I'm getting some good feedback in the mail box regarding FS video and how videographers need to know how important their job is in getting their team a good and correct score on the board. As one reader writes, "it was a 'J' fest out there." I have seen on more than one occasion, a good team trains all year long, shows up at the nationals and hires a local unknown to fly camera, they get busted on almost every jump because of video problems, and they go home angry and frustrated with their experience. Teams, don't ignore the importance of video...okay, there's a shot of me from 10 years ago, back in the days of analogue Hi-8...;-)

Some feedback from Tony Hathaway:

I just read what you wrote about wide angle and I agree. I use a much longer lens than most. It benefits me for freefall as I'm farther away and get steeper, it makes me work much harder on the exit as I have to get farther away quicker. Its nice to leave right with them with a super wide lens, but again, I work harder on exit, and its better on the rest of the dive. My exits this year weren't so great as I only did about 15 practice jumps with the team. But that's all I did with magik last year as well. So, again, thanks for noticing! Tony

Yeah. What he says. Thanks Tony!

1130
I love CF Sequential almost as much as I love FS and sushi. I've never done it, but watching a good team do the dance is a treat. Put some Enya on the CD player and...hey, check out who's doing a door jam outside. What would a USPA Nationals be without Deguello? Yes, Jack is in there somewhere. What a door jam: nobody is in front of the door except for floaters. Good luck Deguello!

Melissa has just posted today's Spotlight...and Jan has just finished fixing the AE team page links on the results pages, thank you Jan...yes, we will be covering the VFS demonstration on Friday (it's not VRW)...Reener, Bob and Judy say, "Hi Klaus!"...8-way FS Intermediate is done with round 5, and AZ Old Works is about to lap the field...

...okay almost done with round 6 of FS 8-way Open, and while Lock It Up has been skydiving very well, Paraclete XL has crawled back from the abyss to tie them for 3rd place...Paraclete actually outscored the Nuggets on that round, the latter had a busted Taj...

1300
I was just giving John DeSantis some friendly grieCANOPY WRAP! CANOPY WRAP! photo Michael McGowanf about VRW and how since USPA *MADE* me switch from Relative Work to Formation Skydiving, now they've got a Vertical Formation Skydiving event in the works and people are calling it...VRW. Ixnay on the RWay! Oh look, eye candy from Michael coming up...I have to judge round 7 of 8-way so I will be gone for an hour or so.

1440
[Jan] Roy and I are putting gremlins in Tim's computer while he is judging. The judges are rocking and rolling out scores. Roy asks, 'Why did the bust rate go way up when Tim got on the panel?'

Photo by Michael McGowan[Tim] Well, that's a general rule of thumb. Anytime I get on a panel you gotta SHOW ME THE MONEY! Okay, where was I. Oh yeah, some eye candy. Hack hack...HOT HACK...ha, I just managed to grab that fabulous Russian skysurfer on video, check it out HERE. Man is he good! Please be patient with more videos, I'm trying to get 8-way and some more AE. HA! Just got Team Flew-Id round 3 right from the camera. Enjoy.

8-way FS round 8, Paraclete XP round 8 was examined under an electron microscope by the judges, and when the score sheet finally came out it was a 15 busted to a 14. Still a pretty darn good jump...

Photo by Michael McGowan...over at Style and Accuracy, congratulations to Jim Hayhurst for the gold medal in Men's Accuracy, and Stu Metcalfe and Bill Wenger with 2nd and 3rd. In Women's Accuracy, Cheryl Stearns has won her 1 billionth competition medal, another gold, followed by Angela Nichols and Elisa Feldt. Congratulations Cheryl! Check it all out over at www.skydivericks.com

1600
That was fun, I just did a little interview with Sarah Lawrence of SDC Furies for the web site www.skydiveradio.com. Hey Mom, I might be on a podcast! Anyway, 8-way Open round 8 is done, and Paraclete has moved up to 3rd place 3 in front of Lock It Up. There are 48 points separating 1st and 3rd place right now, with the Golden Nuggets parked right in the middle...I am told that FS 8-way Open should finish round 10 this afternoon, but probably not the Intermediate...in CF Sequential, Arizona Frayed Knot and 2 Stupid can stay in the bar for the final round while Dawg Catchers and Glad Wrap duke it out for the bronze...

BigWaz photo by Michael McGowan...8-way Int. round 8 is done and there is a rat-race for the bronze medal, only 2 points separating 3 teams...there are 45 points separating 1st and 3rd place right now, with, well, you get it...

...8-way Open round 9, Paraclete XP rocks and rolls to a 20 if it's clean, got it on video for you here...the judges are still chewing on it and I've already got it posted on the internet, heh...now it's confirmed and they busted it twice to a 18...man, you can't sneak anything past that panel!

photo Michael McGowanA reader provides the definition of the term "bafflegab" used near the top of this page:

BAFFLEGAB “Multioquence characterized by consummate interfusion of circumlocution or periphrasis, inscrutability, incognizability, and other familiar manifestations of abstruse expatiation commonly used for promulgations implementing procrustean determinations by governmental bodies.”

Milton A. Smith, Counsel,

United States Chamber of Commerce

Amazingly, all those words pass my chell specker...

7pm - uh let's see that's 1900
[Jan] The judges are still going at it in 8-way and AE. It may be another hour or so before everything is judged. In the meantime, I'm moving one system over to the tunnel building for Style that starts at 8am, I mean 0800 tommorrow morning. Briefings for 2-way CF Sequential and 10-way speed took place tonight too. There are nine teams in each event.

8-way judging just finished. AE will be going into the next several hours.

Jan Meyer, Chief Engineer and Webmaster
Tim Wagner, Bus Driver