CanuckInUSA

Once again we just need to make some adjustments to our courses for you guys. Distance is a no brainer (no adjustments are needed). We can likely eliminate the toe dragging zones from the zone accuracy course for you guys and I think that the reduced distance will make it runable for you. And instead of running a carving speed course, you could run a straight speed course. But it's important for people to practice hitting gates before the competitions. Competition is not the time to be learning how to run the gates, you should already know how to run them to reduce the "object fixation" risks. It's going to be very interesting to see where competitive swooping goes in the years to come. But I can tell you from personal experience that the CPC rocks. Maybe we just need a "B" division if there is enough demand in a given region. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

There is a lot of young blood waiting to join the competitive swooping scene here in Colorado. I'm not sure what's going on in Canon City but I've been told that it's not serious down there. There's definitely a few Brush canopy pilots with the skills to run gates and then there are the existing Mile Hi CPCers (all on cross-braced canopies) with Justin Thorton and Chris Gray poised to join the existing CPC pilots as well as the new up and coming blood (some of whom are already flying cross-braced canopies and some of whom will be under something else for at least one more season). But if enough junior swoopers were to step forward and say "hey can we compete too but our wings aren't fast enough to fly your zone accuracy and speed courses", then who knows what could be done. But there needs to be sort of the grass-roots effort for these people. You need to know how to safely swoop first, then know that you can consistently hit the entry gates in practice (safely) before you step up to the plate and add the stresses of being in competition to your swoops. Competitive swooping is very much a mental game (this I did learn this year and put it into practice during the CPC Championships). I just decided to crash on my first speed attempt, got hurt and had to pull myself from the event before it was over. What if? But everyone except the winner can play the what if game right? The reason why I say that I'm not ready to be a pro pilot is that I haven't practiced 5 foot entry gates at all this season. I have become very good at hitting the 10 footers (I rarely miss the entry gates any more), but the 5 footers add tons of spice to the stresses and dangers of competitve swooping that 10 foot gates don't have. So I need more practice. Imagine that ... the only way I'll become a pro swooper is if I practice more and do well in competition. Go figure. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Yes this is true, Travis asked me if I could video tape the action with his camcorder and I aplogized saying that I wanted to watch it though my eyes and not a viewfinder. Sorry dude ... but there were plenty of other cameras out there. I need to take a shower and make the 40-60 minute drive to the DZ. Today is the Pro-Am distance and speed events (plus dirt water dirt) which I can only be a spectator to. But I may get bored, get a little foolish and try a on purpose water landing working on my supermans where I land on my belly instead of my injured butt. We'll see how I feel later today (I still need to pack my rig before I can jump it). I'm still injured from my crash in the first speed round last Wednesday, but I might not be out that much longer. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I love my velo(s), but for sure would like to demo a JVX. It will be interesting to see what PD does next. Jay (and the others) are obviously under their own badass wings, but when will the common mortal velo pilot see what they've got. Or will people run off to the JVX? Sorry for rocking your world folks with our high density altitudes. We knew we had some fast conditions up here. It just took y'all so long to get around getting your butts up here to see what we were talking about. Where is will this sport be 5-10 years from now? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I do have to say that we should apologize to those not there. We supplied you guys with plenty of pre-competition pics and nothing since. Our bad!!! But I'm not the one to talk to. Hopefully somebody who was there with a camera can come forward here and post something for the curious to see? Anyone? My camcorder is broken so no video from me this week. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

People with aspirations of competitive swooping need to get the "I'll only compete if I can win" attitude out of their heads and replace it with a " what can I learn from this comp" attitude. Only one guy can win a swoop comp (I've yet to win one). Besides the different course requirements issues for the different wing types, it really comes down to who can fly clean. Swoop comps are marathons not spirits. Who's going to run clean and who's going to run dirty. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

The concept of a swoop meet where some sort of canopy size/wingloading class was establish to help level the playing field was discussed many times this week in Colorado. How cool would it be to have everyone on the same level playing field and it really came down to who's the best canopy pilot. But this is an extremely difficult thing to do at the elite and/or CPC level (or is it). If enough people in an area exists who fly similar wings want to compete against each other, then go at it. Setup some gates, learn how to make them safely. Start feeding off of each other (like the Georgia and Oregon boys seemed to have done). But remember that the CPC is the premiere amateur league feeding future pro pilots into the PST. So the best CPC canopy pilots will be flying ultra high performance wings. But competitive swooping can be a grass-roots thing too. The course requirements for the wings you ask for dictate that you and I compete on different courses to begin with and could very well be different swoop meets (even though I think you can find ways to coexist). Distance is not difficult to overcome, but you'll need a smaller zone accuracy course and I question whether you should even attempt the speed carving course in this class that you ask for. But if enough interest is there in a region, sure why not setup a "B" division for the lesser performance wings to compete with. We usually run speed last, so the "B" division does less jumps. And if there are no "A" division canopy pilots around, just start feeding off of each other on the "B" courses until you're ready to run the "A" courses. I learned three things this week so far competiting at the CPC Championships and watching the Go-Fast Challenge and that was: 1) I know shit about swooping compared to the pros. 2) I know shit about the new gear the pros and some amateurs are using. 3) I'm not ready yet to be a pro pilot, I need more practice. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

The smart ones recognized the benefits of good coaching. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Oh Canada. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm totally impressed with the pros I've been able to talk to this week. Not only are they true bad asses, but they have humility that they portray which is something that most of us up and coming jumpers really need to follow. This has been one hell of a fantastic week of swooping and it's not even over yet. Today is pro freestyle ... I must get off of DZ.COM and get out to the pond to watch the action. I wish more of you were out here sharing this great event with us, but you're not. Pond swooping rocks!!! Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

If you're looking for too big of a post jump buzz too fast, it will bite back and bite back hard. This shit we do whether it's a normal skydive, a wingsuit jump, a BASE jump, a pond swoop, etc, etc, etc is all fun. But it's not safe. It's hard to read you in terms of how serious you are about this shit of being boring. If you trivialize what we do and become complacent thinking you are better than all of this: "I guarantee you a ride out of here, in a body bag" - Tom Berringer - Platoon. There's no harm in you wanting to be a BASE jumper. But don't rush into it cutting corners. Having solid canopy control skills and gear knowledge is paramount to surviving each jump. And these skills aren't obtained over night. Good Luck ... but be smart. You only get one chance with life. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Happy Birthday Monkey Man. You're 3 weeks older than I am. 1963 was a good year wasn't it? Oh and I totally agree that it's just another day. My mind gets younger every day, unfortunately the body doesn't feel so young after a summer of some serious swooping here at altitude. But I'd never have it any other way. Happy 42th Chuck ... and it's too bad you couldn't make it to CO for all of the fun. Next year right? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

A new standard in the swooping world was set today. Part of the confusion with swooping here in Colorado likely has always been that this is the first time the best in the world has come to town and we only thought of what the locals could do (there are currently no pros in Colorado). We up and coming local swoopers haven't had the best in the world to feed off of and to learn from. But I think you will see this change soon. I've always known that swooping in Colorado rocked (this is where I learned to swoop). But it's only now that the rest of the jumping world is beginning to realize this. 678 feet is awesome, but they (he) can go even farther. Shit Jay swooped with only a 5 mph downwind. Imagine what he could do with more downwind ground speed. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Not only was Nick on my load, but he and I were on the same pass where he landed after myself on every jump. So I got to watch the boy's skill level all day long. Nick flew very well. He's a great canopy pilot. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Not sure how the average jumper is going to feel about our fast landings here in CO, but the swoopers like it and have already spoken about either returning as a visitor or better yet ... moving here. I grew up jumping in the thin air of CO and liked it. Now more people are getting to know why we like it here as well. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

The easiest example was that the world was created in 6 days and that God rested on the 7th day. Hmmm ... carbon dating shows us that your bible is 100% wrong on this matter. As far as I'm concerned, this invalidates the entire bible. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

We got several practice loads up today, but the start of the CPC Championships were canceled due to cool temps, winds and light rain. Hopefully Mother Nature will be a tad nicer to us tomorrow. Nevertheless, it has been tons of fun so far. Tomorrow looks to be a little cool, but the WX forecast is looking good for the remainder of the week and weekend. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

It's a great movie ... I really like the dueling-banjo scene. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Just looking for whatever home field advantage I can muster up. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Would I be a bad person if I got my wish for a strong crosswind throughout the comp? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Absolutely not!!! When I lived in Colorado Springs a few years back I was exposed to some "Focus on the Family" people and those folks were obsessed with the Devil. They would claim that whenever I would do something that went against their morals, it was the Devil who was possessing me. I tried to explain to them that it wasn't the Devil who just did this or that, it was my own free will. But they won't have it. Thank God I've put some miles between myself and those folks. As far as I'm concerned, the Devil like the Easter Bunny, Santa Clause and yes Jesus are all figments of people's imaginations. I can buy that a fellow by the name of Jesus walked this earth and was crucified by the Romans. But I don't buy into the Christian message because as far as I'm concerned the bible is fictional book. No the Devil does not exist ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I landed just before Joe on that load and had a great view of his chow. He wasn't reaching, he just got caught low on his roll out, tried to go to toggles but didn't have enough to avoid his slammer. But I can't criticize Joe for his chow as mine last Monday (there was no video) was apparently even more violent based on an eye witness who saw both chows. Dang this event is going to be fun. Less than 24 hours to the start of the comp. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Yes ... in fact my DZ.COM profile often acts as a backup log book for when my paper log book is not updated or if my Neptune was to malfunction. So when you see my numbers here, know that they are often accurate in terms of the number of skydives I have made. I would save money of log books if I grouped the jumps together, but I've always logged them individually. My logging style has changed over the years towards briefer and briefer entries all the time. Currently I record the jump number, date, location, airplane jumped from, equipment (this is important to me as I do have multiple rigs and mains and I like to keep track of how many jumps are done on the gear), then I record what type of jump it was (Hop n' Pop, Freefly, Tracking, Wingsuit, etc, etc, etc). I usually don't say much more unless it was some sort of special jump. Oh and I do like to keep track of the number of times I swoop the pond or the number of times I make a wingsuit jump (I'll just write a number down to know how many of done of each). People who don't log their jumps often end up with inflated jump numbers. To some they rationalize this as "who cares" and to others ... well let them explain why they do what they do. Shit I've got 7 jumps from yesterday that still need to be logged on paper. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Hey Abbe I'm happy to hear that you're beginning to enjoy many different activities in life and I think your recent travels must have some influence. Skydiving is a lot of fun. It's not BASE and it doesn't have to be. I'm itching to do a BASE jump soon (I haven't done one in a few months), but I've been a little busy this summer refining my swooping skills and have recently been able to swoop a very big pond a lot. Of course these are two completely different activities, but the rush of swooping a pond and the rush of BASE jumping cause similar life time pleasures to myself. I'm slowly learning that one needs to find a balance in life after my own personal jumping obsession is coming into better perspective. Jumping rocks (being it BASE or skydiving) and I hope to be doing it many years from now (being current all along the way) but there are many many many other cool things to do in life and I've seen the negative aspects of jumping obsession both in myself as well as in others when we let jumping consume us too much. I hope to share an exit point with you soon bro ... oh and nice job to you and the other 20 people up in Twin Falls last weekend. I love the pics that were posted. Have you seen our swooping pics in the swooping forum? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I think I need to talk to Jim about letting Steve demo one of Jim's new canopies. Even though Steve's currently an unemployed bum wasting all his savings on swooping this summer, he's seen evidence that this is one bad ass canopy when piloted properly. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over