Monday, November 2
10:00 a.m.
Today is official practice and opening ceremonies, and we will have it all on the webcam.
There are thirteen teams here for the championships, the weather forecast is very good and
we are looking forward to some great Canopy Formation skydiving!
2:00 p.m.
The practice jumps went very well; I didn't get to see many jumps (as I was madly setting
up equipment) but I did see that the French once again look very good in all events. In
rotations, Russia did a 20, France and Italy did 19, and USA did 18. Sequential, USA did
11, Canada and France did 10. We have the opening ceremonies at 3 followed by the
competition draw.
Did I say the Russians did a 20 on the practice jump? This is shaping up like a great world meet!
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The USA rotation squad and Colonel Joe. |
0900
Round one of Rotations just completed, and Russia has apparently set a new world record
with 20 rotations in time! Italy, France, and USA are one point back with
19 points each. An exciting round one!
1000
Round two is finished, and it is horse race, with Russia holding a one-point lead over
France, Italy, and the United States. Photos coming soon.
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The judges pose between rounds. What beautiful weather in Arizona! |
1115
Round three: The USA matched Russia's 20, but Russia posted another 20 to stay a point
ahead. France and Italy did 19s again and are tied at third. The conditions have been
perfect for CF, will they hold? One hour later - The Russians are consistent, with three
20s and a 19, and hold a two-point lead going in to round 5.
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The ground-to-air operators, Zane Parker and Jim Nipper. |
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The video dubber, Glen, and observing judge. |
1400
Did I say that Russia is consistent? France has nothing but 19s on the board after five
rounds. And if Russia keeps doing what they've started, they're throw-away round could be
a 19! That's almost obscene! Of course, that's also the low rounds for France and USA
through 5.
1615
What a race on the leader board for Rotations! The Russians are about perfect, and USA and
France/Italy are 4 and 5 points back after six rounds. Discarding the lowest rounds,
Russian has nothing but 20s, USA has all 19s and a 20, and France and Italy have nothing
but 19s. The next closest team is South Africa with 75, so it looks like a four-team race
to the finish line. Stay tuned for 4-Way Sequential tomorrow!
0730
To everyone who has been asking me to please post a link to the sequential draw, I am
sorry I do not have those graphics. If someone sends them to me I will be happy to put
them here. Now, on to sequential!
0845
Hey, somebody forgot to tell this old RW/FS dog how much fun CRW/CF can be! Sequential CF
was never my cup of tea, but watching these pros is really something. After one round, we
have a three-way tie on top with Canada, France, and USA all at ten points each.;
Switzerland is right behind with nine. The USA had a spectacular jump after a horrible
start, they almost wrapped building the first point.
1015
I was making some ID tags in the office when the viewing area erupted in applause. The USA
team had just put an 11 on the board to take a one-point lead over France; Canada and
Switzerland are tied for third at 17.
1110
The USA sequential is looking a lot like the Russian rotations - fast and consistent. They
did another 10 on round 3 to take a 3-point lead over France and 5 ahead of Canada. The
Czech Republic has the first reserve ride of the meet; it's been a long time since we've
seen a round reserve!
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The German sequential team in round 5. |
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Chairman of the IPC subcommittee for CF, Bob Card |
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The IPC controller, Graham Windsor |
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President of the Jury, Patrice Girardin |
1215
The USA is still clinging to a slim one-point lead over France; Canada is five back. Round
four looked more difficult than the other rounds, and France looked really sharp on it.
And their air-to-air camera work is excellent, I will try to capture some images from his
camera later. We have live air-to-ground transmitters for the camera flyers, and we put
the signal up on a TV in the DZ TV viewing area, so spectators see the live ground-to-air
and the live air-to-air at the same time, side-by-side. Very cool!
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The view of the championship site from under canopy. |
1:30 p.m.
France just posted an awesome 11 points to charge into the lead; USA had a nine but it was
busted to an 8.
3:30 p.m.
Round 6 of sequential has been completed, and we have done six rounds in one day for the
second day in a row. Tomorrow we try the same for 8-way Speed. New national records set
today: New Zealand with 7, Czech Republic with 8, United States with 11, and Canada with
10. If I missing one, I'll get it here soon...;-)
That is all for today, see you tomorrow!
8-Way speed today on another crisp, sunny day in Arizona.
8:30
The current world record holders, French Team, have set the early standard with a 29.67
second jump, less than 3 seconds off their world record. Russia also had a strong jump
with 35.3 seconds.
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Jim Nipper on primary G2A. The flat panels are microwave antennae for picking up the A2G from camera flyers and the "cabin cam." |
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Recording all the action. |
11:45 a.m.
My apologies for lack of commentary, but the number of hats I am wearing makes it hard to
be here...it looks like France and Russia are way out in front of the pack. USA has had
some good jumps but a bad dock on round 3 pushed them from 3rd place to 5th. Germany has
been very consistent and is now in 3rd place.
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Chief Judge Caspar Burger |
2:30 p.m.
8-Way is a wrap (I can hear you ALL laughing at that one) through 6 rounds with France and
Russia way out it front and Germany holding the third place.
Word comes from the Canadian tent that yes, it really is easier to do rotations when your brake lines aren't wrapped over the slider. Docks a little softer with brakes intact.
That's all for now, see you tomorrow for the grand conclusion of these events!
3:40 p.m.
Oops! Caspar just handed me an updated score sheet with the throw-away round taken into
account for 8-way, so the standings have changed.
Today is to be the final competition jumps! We are starting with Sequential, then Rotations, then finishing with Speed.
8:45 a.m.
France and USA both posted 10s on round 7 of sequential, very nice jumps! France holds on
to a 2-point lead going into the final round.
10:10 a.m.
Congratulations France, World Champions of 4-Way CF Sequential! They very nearly set a
world record of 12 on the final round and finished well ahead of USA and Canada. On to the
Rotation finals!
11:00 a.m.
Rotations are under way, and Germany set a new national record with 14 on their
jump...Italy posted a 19, so did France, and the USA slipped into a 3-way tie for 2nd
place with them with an 18. Russia? You'd never guess, they did another 20 to take a
commanding 6-point lead going into the final round.
1:20 p.m.
Round 8 of rotations. The USA and Italy rode the plane down because of turbulence while
France and Russia jumped. France did a 19...anybody want to guess what Russia did? Anyone?
Beuller? Beuller? That's right, Ferris, another 20! They have won the gold medal in
Rotations with an UNBELIEVABLE 20-point average. They're throw-away round was
equal to the previous world record of 19 points! WOW....and now we are on a wind hold
while Italy and USA wait to complete the final jumps.
4:30 p.m.
They have sent the South African team up for their last rotations round, and if the
conditions are good the USA and Italy teams will finish the Rotation event. Stay tuned...
...what a finish! The USA suffered their third bad jump in a row to finish out of the medal race. France and Italy both did 19s, but the judges did not like the Italian performance and their posted score was a 17. Russia takes gold, France takes silver, and Italy takes bronze. 8-way finishes tomorrow, see you then!
Last day of the Championships? We have only two rounds of 8-Way Speed to do, so we will hopefully finish quickly this morning. There are many who want to finish as fast as possible - there is a day trip to the Grand Canyon scheduled after jumping! The organizers have also planned day trips to Tucson and Tombstone. The finals for 8-way are coming up soon....
8:30 a.m.
Round 7 of 8-Way Speed is done, and France has a commanding lead over 2nd place Russia and
3rd place Germany.
9:30 a.m.
It's done, done, done! 8-Way Speed: First place, France; Second place, Russia; Third
place, Germany. Germany nudged out the USA for a medal by just a few seconds.
To all of the counties who set National Records at this meet, I apologize for not having them all mentioned, as there is no provision for notifying the webmaster when new records are set. Something to fix next time!