How Big is Big and What Makes a Record?
If we consider Big Ways then we need to look to the world stage. A single point formation 400 way and a women’s 181 way; sequential records of a 2 point 219 way, 3 point 217 way, 5 point 106 way and a women’s 2 point 117 way, which was also an open record for a short time.
In Australia Big Ways are still big. A single point formation 130 way and a women’s record 47 way; sequential records of a 2 point 45 way, a 3 point 32 way and a 3 point 54 way (this was achieved before the sequential rules were included in the sporting code) along with a women’s record of a 2 point 19 way. It’s all relative!
In WA we are happy to acknowledge our Big Way records and we do things slightly differently. WA’s largest formation is a 2 point 41way. This was achieved in 2003 before the sequential rules were included in the sporting code and we have a women’s single point 27 way formation, achieved in 2000. For sequential records, besides the 2 point 41 way we also have a 3 point 17 way and a 2 point 19 way as well as a women’s 3 point 10 way and a 2 point 19 way.
I don’t know whether other states acknowledge their state records, but I think they should. Records are a point of celebration and a means of measuring participation and success within the skydiving community. It gives skydivers an opportunity to hone their skills in a smaller arena and an opportunity for a little bit of interstate competition. Not that I’m competitive and remember it is all relative.
I know that the APF’s sporting code does not recognise state records, only national records, but does that matter? In WA, we merely apply the rules to the state and, hey presto, we have state records, which we present to our regional council, through our state judge, to acknowledge in some way – even if it is just a case of keeping a list of the records and congratulating the participants at the next council meeting. Every state could do it.
All of this brings me to the successful WA State Women’s Record Event held at Skydive Jurien Bay over the 17th and 18th of April: more commonly known as VayJayBay2. This was the follow-on event to the successful Women’s Record Weekend held in November 2019. The success of the first event resulted in media coverage all over the world, which was overwhelming for an event that involved 15 women achieving a State and Australian Women’s Record for a 2 point 15 way formation.
At the conclusion of the 2019 event there was a desire to go bigger but lift capacity was the problem. There was also the fact I wasn’t prepared to make the event an annual occurrence. I wanted the jumpers to be hungry for success, to have fun memories of the previous event and a desire to be a part of the next one. So when Pete Lonnan, one of the owners of Skydive Jurien Bay, approached me to organise the next event and promised me a lift capacity of between 20 and 22, depending on weights, and the thrill of a two-plane formation I said “Let me check my diary and see which weekend works best”.
The aim of the event was to achieve a WA Women’s Sequential Record but I also prepared for the possibility of an Australian Women’s Sequential Record. I asked my good friend Kelly Brennan to join me. We had been so successful in 2019 it seemed only right to join forces again. It also gave Kelly something to look forward to during her time in lockdown in Melbourne and an incentive for her to get current as soon as jumping commenced in Victoria.
Kelly and I work well together and both believe in an inclusive approach to our big way jumping but we are prepared to have the hard conversations, if needed. We were well aware that the odds were against us. What are the chances of taking a group of women, many who spend more time doing freefly than FS, ranging in experience from 1 year to 30 years in the sport and ages from 21 to 61 and achieving an Australian Record with only 2 days of jumping?
The first three jumps saw us achieve two successful 3 point 10 ways which were recognised as a WA Women’s Sequential Record and on the third attempt at the 2 point 19 way formation taken out of two planes (Cessna 208 and 206) we achieved a WA and Australian Women’s Sequential Record as well as a WA Open Record. The whole weekend comprised 7 jumps. The last jump of the weekend was an attempt to break the 16 way star women’s record set over the Easter weekend at Nagambie. We got to 14 and it broke apart. But look what we had achieved!
Peta Holmes, our event judge, didn’t announce the decision of the judges until after the last jump of the weekend. We tried to build up the anticipation. Before the announcement I explained to the participants that records are not easy and are not always achieved. I asked them to consider the fact that the 2 point 19 way jump was not smooth and we had not presented the grips clearly for the judges, which meant that the judges might not be able to confirm the record. I asked them all to consider how much they had achieved over the weekend, even if the record was not awarded. I then asked Peta to announce the decision of the judges. The ladies were ecstatic. It was wonderful to see the sense of pride, achievement and success in each and every one of them. That is what it is all about isn’t? Nothing more needs to be said. Let’s make big ways and if they result in records, at any level, then let’s acknowledge them. It’s all part of the fun.
Photo acknowledgement – Adam Fiannaca
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