OmniSkore! coverage of the 2007 US Nationals.
Omnibits by Tim Wagner

0700
Cool and overcast with a light breeze and 4,000' ceiling. Perfect to finish up accuracy. 10-way FS speed when the clouds go away.

0830
The skies have cleared and it is very cool and breezy. 10-way speed and CF are under way. Taking team photos and trying not to spill my coffee...

...Airspeed took a maximum time of 40 seconds on round 1 of 10-way because the video showed only part of the line inside the door and the judges could not see which team member crossed the line first...

...a nice email:

I spent the weekend there at SDC and I was very impressed with their operation of the DZ. I was able to sneak in 5 jumps Sat/Sun among all the competitors and never felt crowded under canopy or on final approach. My compliments to all the folks running the DZ and to the USPA people organizing this national competition at a great location.

I second all that, they've done a great job here.

John Kallend is reporting that WGN Superstation will be broadcasting some coverage of the 16-way at 9:00 CDT tonight.

1130
I have been drafted for jury duty now. Apparently Airspeed is protesting their 40 on round 1. Let's see, part five of the SCM says...

1300
Jury duty is painful. It is where the competitor in me and the judge in me come to odds, and the outcome is seldom satisfactory to everybody. More coming up later after the president of the jury has his written report.

It looks like the CRW CF dawgs are having a good Rotations meet. Fayard 4 took a zero on round 2 because apparently the camera got zoomed on exit.

A reader asks if I will able to show the video of the Airspeed jump under protest. The answer is no, unless their video guy wants to bring me the tape. I was out taking team photos when the jump was judged and had no chance to record it.

Another 10-way team got a 40 for not showing all of the line on the exit, and it wasn't even the same judging panel. I said it before here recently, you can't slip anything past these judges.

Passed these judges? Past these judges? Hmm. Pass refers to like one car passing another, while past refers to time. But somehow passed these judges doesn't seem right. Any English professors out there? UPDATE: Past is correct. You can pass the judges by, and they might have passed you on the freeway, but you can't get anything past them.

The jury decision is now official. The jury was composed of Larry Bagley, Keith Bergeron, and myself. The unanimous decision determined that the team did not show enough of the line to allow the judges to get an accurate start time, so Airspeed lost their protest. I feel their pain (I would have protested too if I were them) but the judges are just going by what they see, and they couldn't see enough of that line to get an accurate start time. They could get a start time, to be sure, just not based on a team member crossing that line.

What? More jury duty? Who is it this time, back shortly...

...and that was Fayard 4, protesting their score of 0 and requesting a rejump. The rules are very clear and simple here: Problems with competitors' equipment is not grounds for a rejump.

1400
Airspeed is working hard to make up for that 40, they blazed a 10.08 on round 5, fastest 10-way of the meet so far...THAP BOOM POW the Golden Knights just got a 40 on round 5 because they failed to show a two-way base and pin. Perris 10 takes over first place! They lead Airspeed by 5.05 seconds, setting up a round 6 showdown...

...aw dang, Bagley just called me back to the jury duty corner, who done did what now? Oops not yet, waiting to find the other juror...note to all you grammar police coming out of the webwork: this is not a term paper, and I don't care what the grade is ;-) ...

1515
Round 6...here we go...Perris 10 needs a good skydive to keep Airspeed at bay...they have one guy go a little low and they post a 18.38, so Airspeed needs what, something under a 13 to win...

...jury just got out; one team was protesting that another team was practicing the next 10-way formation after working time expired. The jury was unanimous: Building another formation, regardless of whether it's the next competition formation, does not constitute training, especially since at the 10-way briefing the chief judge had invited the teams to go crazy and try to win the Judges' Choice Award after working time expired...UPDATE: One of the things the jury discussed was that training 10-way requires (loosely speaking) an exit, a base and pin, and the speed necessary to simulate the exit conditions. Just building a pool formation did not constitute training as far as the jury was concerned.

...so here's Airspeed now, needing something around a 13 or under to win the gold and finish a dramatic comeback...it's a good jump, under a 10, but is the two-way base/pin there...the judges are watching it about 10 times...and it's official: a 9.84, and Airspeed has swept the FS events! Congratulations Airspeed, what an accomplishment. Perris 10 wins the silver and Golden Knights the bronze.

I don't think I've ever seen a 10-way take a 40 and still win the gold medal. Wow...streaming 10-way videos coming up...okay, yet more streaming videos posted on the main page, including some Style and Canopy Rotations.

Well I think that's enough for today. I'm headed for the Tiki bar. See ya'll tomorrow!

Well not quite. Beer showed up at the judges' cage (imagine that!), the CF Rotations are driving on and it looks like they will finish up tonight. That's a lot of rotes in one day!

Okay now, Fayard 4 wins the CF Rotations with 2 Stupid and Frayed Knot in 2nd and 3rd. The Golden Knights won the Judges' Choice Award for their after-action shenanigans in 10-way, with Airspeed getting a well-deserved Honorable Mention. They did a sit-flying move that was amazing. All done now, see you tomorrow.

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Note: All Omnibits commentary are the expressed opinions of the writer, not USPA or Skydive Chicago.