I jumped out of a plane for the first time in July 1988. It's amazing what peer pressure can do to a person. It is perhaps even more amazing that I haven't been able to give it up and have been hooked on skydiving ever since. I finally gave in to temptation and bought a parachute rig in June 2000. In 2001, I was invited to join a 4-way RW (relative work) competition team, called "4 Bucks". While we ranked last in the first competition, the handicap and our improvement came together to give us a second place finish in the second competition. Due to poor weather, the third competition was cancelled. Things more or less fell apart at the fourth and final competition. The combination of lack of team practice and picking up a fourth team member five minutes before the start of the competition proved to be detrimental to our score. Still, we had a great time.
In 2002 we decided to start fresh on the 4-way RW competition team, so we selected a new permanent member and a new name: Phantasmagoric. Naturally, with only ten days left before the first competition, something went wrong. One of the team members from 2001 with a fondness for CRW (canopy relative work), got a great opportunity to teach CRW at one of the drop zones. He decided that he didn't have time to do both and so we were a "four-minus-one"-way team again. Oh, and our camera man wasn't returning phone calls. The good news is that we managed to pick up a fourth and a camera in time for the first competition. Poor weather cut the first competition short at one round, but we were winning the AA class after that one round. Hopes are running high for the second competition.
Well, hopes weren't the only thing running high at the second competition. We had high winds as well. With winds running steady at 25mph with gusts up over 30mph, our team committed to sitting comfortably and safely on the ground. Sure, we didn't have a fourth, but that didn't really matter with the winds. Personally, I was glad to see that injuries due to the winds were minor with the exception of a dislocated ankle. Sometimes it is best to just sit things out and wait for good weather.
The third competition was at Cleveland Parachute Center. I hadn't been there since I did my first skydives under a round parachute. It was wonderful to see many of the same people after fourteen years. Adding to the excitement was the fact that we had a fourth member of the team and a person committed to camera. Finally, we were looking like a real four-way team. Even the actual competition dives went pretty well. We took second place and averaged 4.3 points, nearly meeting our goal of 5 points.
The fourth competition was at our home DZ, Aerohio. Our committed camera guy didn't show up on time for the competition and after waiting for an hour, we hired a replacement. Naturally, not five minutes after we got everything arranged, the original camera guy shows up and wants to know why we're upset; after all, he had arrived. We elected to keep the new guy and let the first one go. The weather cooperated with a warm but comfortable day after weeks of unbearably hot conditions. The competition went well, but not quite so well as the previous one. The dive pool was a challenging one and we missed getting an additional point on three of the dives by less than two seconds. We took third place and a great time was had by all. We'll be skipping the fifth competition due to personal commitments, but we're looking forward to the sixth, and last, competition of the season.
The sixth and final competition was held at Aerohio. We had a good time and learned a few important lessons. The biggest one was, "Performance is improved with practice." Ok, so that's not exactly the lesson that we learned. The one that we actually got was, "If one of your team members has been sick and hasn't practiced in the six weeks prior to the competition, don't be surprised when the scores turn out lousy." But you can see where a positive-minded person might get that other lesson instead. Overall, the team had a lot of fun and we all improved in our skydiving, even if the scores don't consistently show it. Personally, I had a terrific time this season, much of which is due directly to the patience and positive attitudes of my teammates: Brian Smith, John "Foggy" Fogg, and Craig Coben; the support of a loving wife; and hints, tips, and a few hard lessons from the other talented skydivers at Aerohio.
Well, 2003 saw the end of my skydiving. In November 2002, during training, I lost consciousness for no obvious reason during a perfectly ordinary four-way. After months of tests, it turns out that this is due to a blood pressure regulation problem. Not normally an issue, but it turns out that I have passed out much more frequently than I knew. Awareness is probably the single key safety issue in skydiving, and it seems that I cannot guarantee that until this problem is resolved. So, for the time being, my gear is on the shelf. It sure was fun while it lasted.
Blue skies!
Some links to videos:
Lori's AFF Level 1 video (8MB)
4 Bucks at competition 2, fifth round
(1MB)
Here are a few pictures.
