Wednesday, September 22
7:00
a.m.
At 7:03 a.m. this morning, the morning dawned clear blue & 72, and
4-way teams are boarding the planes to begin what will probably one very
long day of nonstop competition. I predict that the meet director will
push for all willing teams to do more than six competition jumps as the
day progresses into 8-way.
You can see most of my DZTV
gear in the picture. I have one laptop running team photos, one laptop
running the webcam, one desktop for webmastering, a Panasonic WJ-MX20
video mixer for DZTV, three TVs a VCR and a camcorder. And a bottomless
cup of coffee. I made sure Andy put a porta-potty right outside the
building. Several
people have asked what happened to Airspeed on round 4 (their 13 is the
lowest competition score I've seen them do in years). They had a fumbled
grip building a monopod, it was keyed, and the result was the dreaded
double-bust-from-one-mistake, so they went from a 17 to a 13 because of
one bad grip. To understand why a single mistake results in two
penalties, know that the team must show the correct formation to begin
the block (they didn't have the grip, that's one bust) and they
must show the correct pieces during the inter (same missing grip in the
three-way piece, that's a second bust). If the missing grip had been
between the two subgroups instead of within one subgroup, it would have
been a single penalty. The penalty for a busted inter is applied to the
formation that follows it. Boom, tie ball game.
9:00
a.m.
We're into round 5 now, and boy did FX smoke some diamond >
bunyips on their jump. Fastest ones I've ever seen! They posted a very
nice 17 on that one, not an easy skydive. Guest team Optic Nerve also
had a nice round 5, they are skydiving well. Sure hope this sun holds
out for a few days! An
hour later...rumor mills says the DeLand Norgies have set a Norway
national record on round 6...they are judging it now and...smoking an
all-random dive...crisp...clean...wow...yes I'm typing as I watch
this...nice video work too...a glitch near the end, but a Norway
national record 34 points! Congratulations Norgies! Can't wait to
see what the AZ and FX teams do with this round!
We have
both 4- and 8-way going right now; teams that aren't doing 8-way are
continuing with 4-way. The buzz going around the DZ is we might have
world records set in both events at this meet. Who remembers the 56
pointer that FX did on that random drill dive last year? Can they
reproduce it in competition? Okay, they're up...cruising...a little
rough there...moving now...fast...37 points! A new
world record! Way to go Space Center FX! I
have been informed that at the conclusion of round 6 of 4-way, who ever
has the highest score will be rejudged with a full 5-member judging
panel to determine the new world record. FX's 37 is not yet official,
but someone WILL emerge with a new world record here, pending FAI
approval.
12:00 Noon
Can I come up for air please...I can't wait for the tepid pace of
16-way...after two rounds of 8, Airspeed and the Knights are in a dead
heat, both teams posting 19s and 22s...the Knights look smooth as silk,
Airspeed is slightly rough, both teams look good. Just
watched FX do their round 7, and they did the best Danish T -> Murphy
out the door I've seen. It was good because the solo guy going downhill
over the top did an outstanding separation flash. Cross Keys Cat 4 had
just been busted for not showing that same separation, and I busted AZ
Purple at the "Beat the Heat Meet" two weeks ago for the same
thing. Gots to show the separation. The judges are giving no quarter at
these nationals!
I think one of the more interesting
battles at this competition is the one for the third medal slot in 8-way
open. It's basically between Perris Passion 8 and Deguello, and right
now the ladies have a big lead after two rounds. In 4-way round 7,
Hedonism got the big goose egg for trying to sneak a substitute into a
slot. They might have got away with it but the guy they put in was Ron
Mills, and who could miss that rig? I
would be remiss in my coverage if I did not mention the presence of long
time judge Dick Barber. Dick suffered a heart attack at last year's
nationals and at one point we didn't think we were going to see him any
more. Well, Dick is back! I thought I was going to show my age wearing a
T-shirt from the '86 nationals, and he shows up wearing one from the '77
nationals. Quick, where was that one at?
A
note for all you future 4-way competitors out there - there is a common
misconception that 4-way is just the first couple days of competition.
In reality, any published schedule is merely a guideline, and
competitors must commit to staying at the competition site from the
event registration all the way to the end of the nationals.
The
Knights are doing a rejump for round 3; they hit some industrial haze
near the bottom of the skydive. AZ8 did a very sweet 19 on round 3. For
those of you wanting to know when the rest of 4-way will be completed,
the answer is probably tomorrow, so you'll have to sit tight a while to
see if FX hangs on to their world record. The man to the right is well
known as Dan the manifestor from Perris, and he's running it great over
here.
4:00 p.m.
Did I say how much fun I'm not having? Sitting in here all day
watching all this cool skydiving? I swear I'm going to compete again one
of these days, and Purple Virga will return! Okay,
the Knights just did their round 3 rejump and posted a 17, so AZ8 takes
a 2 point lead after 3. AZ8, wow they just *SMOKED*
round 4 with a 23 pointer, that was nice. The Perris
ladies...will...get...a...13! Very nice girls!
6:00
p.m.
Things are a bit muddied in the 4-way Advanced event has half the
teams continue and the rest do 8-way. Guest team Optic Nerve is
outclassing the pack in performance, turning in nice smooth jumps
highlighted by Rickster Powell's superb videography. In the medal race
for this category Euphoria is being chased by Z-Spot and Cruise-O-Matic.
In 4-way Intermediate, it's a dead heat between Tonic, Nemesis and Chain
Gang. I smell a possible jumpoff coming up in that one... 7:30
p.m.
After an even start, AZ8 has pulled in front of the Knights by 4
points after 4 rounds. They look more like the Airspeed we know than the
one we saw in Cross Keys last month! Ooh, hey look...Passion 8 is doing
round 5, and they just did a 14. Looks like they'll have that bronze
medal nailed down soon! Airspeed also shined on round 5 with a 25. They
are looking like a team ready for Australia! Oh and let's not forget
8-way Intermediate; Converging Gangs
has a comfortable 6 point lead with one round left to go. Is the beer
light on yet? Damn! Where'd that stack of tapes come from? We're
starting at WHAT time tomorrow?
Many thanks to all you
who sent us e-mail, we
really appreciate. How about sending some money? No? Okay, I'll think
I'll have me a beer now. Good night!
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