National Perspective April 2018

Nationals 2018

Can you believe we had 30 4way teams competing at Nationals in Nagambie?! I’m sure back in the day this may have been usual but this is not the usual in the 15years I have been skydiving! Wow, what a blast! Teams came from far and wide to compete. I can name names of who was committed and focused, who trained the hardest, who laughed the most and who won but I truly wanted to highlight here the journey. I’m not sure if there were any super trained teams competing at Nationals this year. It appeared most teams were forming and training only a month or two out. It was a ‘train hard & fast’ mentality in most cases. I know speaking to most it was loads of fun for these teams. It became who-could-pull-out-their-best during competition. That Forrest Gump saying comes to mind, “… life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”

I want to officially thank the Aussie Bigway Team who supported this endeavour of taking a 4way team to nationals, in one or two of the new 4way divisions; some competing for the first time at Nationals. You guys brought a sense of community and fun! It is what we are about and so good to see that same inclusive energy being brought to a national competition. I love you guys….sniff, sniff.

I want to also thank Rob Libeau and the APF in supporting Craig Girard, Eliana Rodriguez and Mossy in ground coaching the 4way teams. We could not have done it without them!

Thanks to Don & Louise, all the staff at Skydive Nagambie, the APF team and awesome judges for putting on a good show.

What’s next in 4way?

Let’s keep the momentum going! 4way is THE BEST training platform for Bigways. If you want to give yourself the best chance of making it through to that last record jump in Perris 2019, then pick up three others and start jumping 4way.

If you are a novice flyer, get some of your buddies to fly 4way with you whilst hunting down someone who can give you some tips on 4way. If you know something about 4way, pick up three novices and take them through to Blast and / or the A division. If you know a little more, then pick up another like you and two intermediate 4way players and train for the AA division. Or if you want to jump with your peers in Open, grab a AA or AAA division team. There are so many options now to choose from when it comes to 4way and here are some key events to aim for to strut your stuff:

• POPS World Meet Nagambie VIC 19 – 28 April 2018
• iFLY National Indoor Championship Sydney NSW 24/25 August 2018
• State Meet Championships – check with your State Mentor, the APF Calendar, State Calendars for the dates and venue
• Nationals 2018 Moruya NSW 11 – 17 March 2019

Kate Vaughan, Steve Smith and Laurence Garceau (LG) have an awesome 4way program for those who want to progress with their 4way skills. You can track these guys down on Facebook and send them a message, or flick me a message and I can forward it to them on your behalf. There are some awesome Aussie 4way coaches you could track down to help your team, such as Craig Vaughan and Melissa Harvie. My personal tip – go for the best 4way coach your team can afford!

What’s next with Bigways?

LOTS! For starters we have our next Aussie Bigways Premier Event with Larry Henderson at Skydive Ramblers 29Sept – 5Oct. Information has been posted and more to come so stay tuned. Currency will be a key qualifying factor for Larry’s event. Number of jumps within the last 6mths will be important. Of course, type of jumps are important too – the jumps will need to be Rel jumps of some sort, either 4way, 8way, Star Crest or Bigways. You may feel this is harsh but it is a point of safety when we are stepping up with three plane formation loads. We want to also start from where we left off at Moruya. Let’s not waste a few days, not even one day of Larry’s event getting current. This just disadvantages you and the team.

Registration opens 1st June at 5pm EST. Slots will be limited and given on a first in, first served basis to those who qualify.

For more information about the Premier Event 2018

There are Bigway Events happening around Australia leading up to Larry’s Event. Plus also check out our Calendar of Events, the APF Calendar, State Council Calendars and Facebook for ways to keep amongst it.

For list of Bigway Events Nationally

You may cringe somewhat as it is coming into Winter but tunnel may well be considered part of your currency when it includes personal flying coaching such as in the Supercharge format, or 4way in a team training format.

For Supercharge information

To escape the winter blues for skydiving there is the P3 Bigway camps in Perris, also the event in Botswana with Dan BC and our homegrown Bigway Winter Escape Boogie at Bowen in July (near Airlie Beach, Far North QLD) with coaches Mossy and Stretch. See our Calendar of Events for links to find out more and to register for these events.

For Aussie Bigways Calendar of Events

APF Conference May 2018

This is going to be a super duper Conference this year. For starters, it is going to be popular with all the activities going on in preparation for the World Meet. Busy is good; more conversations to be had, good networking opportunities and catching up with skydiving companies from overseas attending such as Sunpath, Cypres, NZ Aerosports or our homegrown companies Cookie Helmets and Manufactory Apparel.

The Symposium program and registration can be accessed by clicking the icon below

Spirit Skysports Jumpsuits

Douglas from Spirit Skysports is making jumpsuits suitable for 4way and Bigways at a decent price of AU$500. I recently spent some time with Douglas to hone his jumpsuits to be more in line with the current market of boosters from the knee down and grippers that are more useful with solid internal padding. The attention to detail and service from Douglas was amazing. He measured me in a minute and had the suit to me in 4 weeks. I have trialed the suit in the tunnel, team training and competing at nationals. I find it flies really well and can certainly give it my thumbs up of approval. There are additional options too for larger grippers for those macho men and outside arm pockets – classy.

I like that Douglas is local, the turnaround is only 4 weeks, and we are supporting a local skydiving company.

For his contact details click the icon below

 

The Aussie Bigway Team

We have a vision of a new Aussie Record come Perris 2019. It is a great goal to work towards with incredible support from the APF and State Councils. We welcome all new and existing jumpers in the fold of our community. For any assistance with the journey to Perris 2019, please don’t hesitate to contact your State Mentor or person on our Aussie Bigway Mentor and Leadership Team.

For the Aussie Bigway Team Contact Details, click below

Here’s a quick look at the journey thus far and what you can expect. Video produced by Kelly Brennan.

Aussie Bigways Website

Our website is building into an incredible resource of material and information. Check it out! http://www.aussiebigways.com/

I have just finished loading the sequential record information for –

• Bigway Camp and Sequential Record Event at Moruya click here… 
• Bigway Camp and Sequential Record Event at York click here… 

The latest video produced by Kelly Brennan – this short instructional video for Star Crest and Bigways is posted in our Social Corner under Videos click here… 

 

We are just over a year out now to Perris 2019. Lots going on in Australia. It is a fun time to be skydiving!

Enjoy the journey and see you real soon.

Tracey Basman – National Events Coordinator and Mentor