Vic (Barwon Heads) Mentor update
by admin
By Kelly Brennan
Doug Forth encouraged us all to learn through travelling and I’ve been doing my fair share of that! In recent months, I’ve jumped 28 ways with Dan BC from a Herc in Botswana, I’ve enjoyed 16-ways with Dave Loncasty in Batchelor, I had an uber-fun ‘record’ 12-way from the C17 in Brisbane, and I came home to an awesome 8-way over Melbourne. This was followed by 4 days of 8 to 16-ways at my own DZ, Barwon Heads.
So, by the time I was in Moruya for the Aussie Bigways event, I was well and truly feeling the love for bigway and all the amazing friends it has given to me! I couldn’t refuse when Tracey asked me to return as an Aussie Bigways mentor.
When Doug talked to us about travel, it was all about learning new skills from others. I totally endorse that, of course, but I also never underestimate the fun factor along the way. And I hope that’s the case for everybody who plays with us.
Is there actually a point to my indulgent travels and boastful ramblings? Most definitely! Bigway skydiving offers amazing opportunities, lifelong friendships and the chance to excel while having a huge range of adventures along the way. Who wouldn’t want that? Please help spread the gospel to newer players!
We are fortunate to have the coaching expertise available and the lifting power to help people who want to make a go of it. Take Tom Woodley, for example, as a man who was committed to achieving his goals. Tom came to Barwon Heads (from China) for his Star Crest in the first week of November. On that first day, he achieved a 6-point 8-way. Over the next three days, he did 14 to 16 ways with Stretch. Three weeks later, he had a 3-point 32-way sequential record in Moruya! Plus, he’ll always have Aussie friends to visit in future.
Victorian players had much to celebrate in Moruya. Our local camera guru, Paul Barker from Torquay DZ, made himself popular, producing fantastic images from larger and larger formations. Carlos DGH did his 500th, and many of the players from the Stretch weekend added new records to their name.
Bigway is a very inclusive discipline in skydiving. We’re about as diverse as you can get. Women make up 14% of licensed skydivers, but they represented 31% of the jumpers who achieved a Moruya record. Players were aged from their 20s to 60s. Some of them looked svelte in tight and bright outfits on party night, while others looked a little less athletic.
In contrast, this update is somewhat thinner than hoped because our December 2 Star Crest day was lost to Melbourne’s famous ‘Stormageddon’. We had another go the following weekend and only managed a couple of jumps, but one of them was Paul Murphy’s 11000th.
Thankfully, there’ll be more bigway opportunities to come this summer.
I’ll be running Flatty Fun at the Fly Hard 2.0 boogie at Barwon Heads from December 28 to 31. I’ll be aiming for some fantastic bigways from our newly re-engined Caravan that takes 11 minutes to height when fully loaded. We’ll do baton basses to test your assertiveness, mystery jumps to challenge your understanding of different slots, and a whole lot of other silly things that will be great for both the fun factor and the learning.
Plus we have our next Star Crest and Bigway Skills Saturday on January the 6th. Nigel and I have run out of things to sell, so our travels are thwarted for a little while.
Here’s hoping all our flatty friends have a wonderful festive season, without too much change to their fall rate!
Kelly Brennan
VIC Mentor
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