VIC – Barwon Heads Mentor Update February 2018

Team building for 2019 …

Imagine if an event, any event, lost half its participants from one effort to the next. It would need an awesome influx of NEW participants to make up for the loss, right?

The same thing goes for our Aussie Bigway record effort for 2019. First we have to get all of the numbers and enthusiasm that we had in 2015. Then we have to add an extra 50 or 60 people, PLUS an extra 60-70% of skill factor overall to make up for the harder target that we’re chasing.

Records don’t get broken by doing the SAME thing that we did before. They only get broken if we do BETTER. Much, much better!

Our current Aussie record of 119 involved a Victorian team of 27 people who spent their money, did the hard yards to lift their skills, and found their way to Perris Valley California. Next year, we’ll be chasing a 150 way, so we need to round up a larger team overall. And each bigway player can do their bit at state and local level to crunch those numbers.

When I look at the lovely team pic that the Victorians gave me in 2015, I remember all the hard work and hope and excitement that we had together on that journey. I wonder how many of those smiling faces will be there in 2019? Half of them? More than half? I know that we have lost some of the group to health issues and interstate moves. One or two have drifted out of the sport or into other disciplines. There are houses to buy and careers to pursue. A few are just luke-warm about the whole exercise because it seems so far away.

And then I wonder about the newer faces in my skydiving life. The ones who came to the Dan BC camp and also the Doug Forth event. The ones who attend Star Crest days at every opportunity to share their skills and spread the bigway love! We are SO much more prepared this time around. So why wouldn’t more and more new people want to get caught up in this momentum in the year ahead?!!

Can I ask everybody who has this 150 way goal to please help build the team. Spread the word. Get people to show their commitment now and focus on building their bigway skills, knowledge and attitude. Now is the time to start that Perris 2019 savings account, and list your personal goals for the next 15 months.

It’s also the time to support people who might just be a little reluctant to say out loud that they too have this goal. Help them learn what they need to learn, and encourage them as they set about doing it.

Just like every person on the skydive contributes to the quality of the jump, every person on the team list contributes to BUILDING the team list!

We’ve been busy with activities at Barwon heads which will help build this team. An example was the 4W4E (4-Way 4 everyone) on the Australia Day weekend, organised by Jan Nejedly. Relworkers runs these great events, where people of all experience levels get to learn 4-way from seasoned coaches in a fun environment. It isn’t bigway, but it’s all part of the same grand plan. Coaching, building skills, and working together. We’ll only gain new players if we keep the fun and the learning going strong!

We’re also working on a Star Crest promo video, which should be finished in the next few weeks. The idea is to promote bigway as fun, and to get newer skydivers thinking in the right direction before tackling their Star Crests.

We’ve just had another wonderful Star Crest weekend of our own. Four players completed their Star Crests and a fifth player is two thirds of the way there. We don’t get picky about what motivates these people, or what they plan to do after their Star Crests, but we ask them to do it like they mean it on the day. A handful of freefly regulars even came back on board for the day to help out. Some of the Star Cresters did it because a Downunder Dynamic camp is coming up. One wants to be an instructor, and the others just wanted to learn new skills. Whatever their motivation, it’s all working towards lifting the flying skill set overall, and that might just help towards that bigger and better team in Perris in 2019!

Kelly Brennan