ntacfreefly

Thanks Dave. It's good to finally be able to watch it all and debrief ourselves

Who's that moron losing his shoe here Oh wait To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

I'm busy compressing the raw footage of the CPC competition (no freestyle or pro stuff) right now. It's a little over an hr long and I would imagine quite boring to those not interested in competition swooping. For those that are interested it shows as much of the swoop as was video'ed, along with Jim Slatons commentary (which he did a spectacular job at btw) for audio. I will upload it to skydivingmovies tonight and keep it in 1 file if I can keep the size of the file down, otherwise I'll split it into 3 (a file for each event). Blues. To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

I plan on posting up the entire CPC meet (at least all the video I have) which will include all approaches filmed as well as landings. It won't be edited or anything (other than cleaned up) and will be a large download but for those interested in watching and listening to the comp it should be an interesting watch. Glad you are all enjoying the vid so far. Blues. To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

I know not everyone visits the swooping forums so I thought I'd post this here. If you're interested there's a short vid from colorado here Blues. To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

I threw together something short over the last few days and uploaded it to skydiving movies. Thanks to Nick for supplying the footage. Some good swoops, some carnage and always good times

The weather changes here at a drop of a hat. I wouldn't be too worried at this stage To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

Not in the least. I think most swoopers realize that the top slots cycle regularly. It's almost, if not, impossible to walk into a meet knowing you're going to win it. That leaves it just for fun, and if you win money then sweet - if not then you just had another weekend of fun jumping

Just so everyone is clear I do not think The Farm is unsafe. They have always been really good to me whenever I have visited. I plan on going there again. There are things I like and dislike about every DZ, including my home DZ. The rest I'm not even going to bother to respond to. To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

Bullshit. The first post offered up a potential solution too. It just happened that it wasn't what you wanted. To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

First of all I'm not the one grandstanding. As for helping other jumpers I do plenty and spend a lot of my own time and money doing coaching for free. If you asked around you'd know that. This isn't, however, about what I or you do for other jumpers. Mark, the ones that think that are the ones that I tell them things they don't want to hear. If they aren't ready for a canopy then they aren't. Period. I don't want to have your record for putting people into the dirt thanks. Mark, you are a quite incorrect. I don't publise my help to others shamelessly. I help where I can, when I can without pay or 'glory'. I think it's quite clear here what the real story is. Not the Shimell twist on reality version. Keep talking, it's only looking you look like a bigger ass than you already are thought to be. It never ceases to amaze me how much you'll take credit for. Just like the reason Jay beat the world record was cause of you....remember saying that in Colorado? Seriously Mark, you need help. Either you're on drugs or you need to be. Cause reality and what you see are 2 entirely different things. Mark, you're not calling out anything on a public forum. I have no desire to get an AFF rating and I really don't give 2 shits if you think not having one makes me a bad teacher. Having one hasn't made you a good teacher. No Mark, after this last post from you it's quite apparent that our goals are not the same. Like others have already done, I'd rather distance myself from you. You're on your own buddy. To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

Good thoughts and good post Chris. I do hope that at least by getting this discussion out there that upper management is thinking about the issues more

Mark I may have known you for a long time - that doesn't mean I agree with everything you do. From my perspective it is YOU who is being counter productive here. I don't doubt that we both feel something needs to change to clear these sorts of things up. Where we have the issue is between what the 'the right thing to do is' and what's 'ok cause the rules say it's so'. This is still a sport. As such I expect sportsmanship from my fellow competitors. That means, IMO, ethical play, not standing laughing when people have a bad run, and generally trying to have a good time with friends while learning something about them, the sport, and yourself. Different perspectives I suppose. To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

I don't disagree with that at all. I think it has merit and deserves discussion. However, as you so often point out, it's not currently a rule so that doesn't change the ethical discussion we were having earlier. I wouldn't care about my individual respect either. But I do care about the respect of my fellow competitors as a collective. There's a difference but as usual you miss the point. To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

Ones that I know of: Already Pro qualified Brian McNenny (I'm sure we'll see him at a few CPC events) Plans on Pro card Qualification Nick Batch Stu Schoenfeld Chuck Owen (so the rumor mill has it) Ian Drennan Unknown Jim Vance Ray Dutch Tyler Lawson - I expect Tyler will compete on the 5ft gates. He did so in the FLCPA in it's first year so I expect that he'd continue his trend. Ryan Brownlow Sandbaggers Mark Shimell Blues To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

So come join the pros...Or at least try and qualify. If you don't make it - fair enough, go back to the CPC. If I fail the pro qualifier I certainly plan to (and if I fail it then I obviously need to). Get your panties in a bunch all you want but not many people support, or are going to support, you in the CPC for another year cause you 'cant afford pro' or 'have your own agenda'. If you're going to run camps with references to your 'world record swoop' don't expect too many people to feel that you should stay an amateur. Yeah you're right, there's more than 1. I doubt I, or anyone else, can get through to you so go ahead and do what you want. Just don't expect to get much respect from any of your fellow competitors. To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

I want Tyler to autograph my ass See you there dude. Looking forward to flying with you all again. Blues. To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

I'll be going for my pro card this year. I will also be attending the CPC meets, whenever possible, as a guest. Personally I'd like to give someone else a chance. I had my turn and I didn't win but I did well enough to advance. I plan to. No one can make you do anything the rules don't state, but that doesn't make what you're doing any less shitty. Blues. edit: Try and tone down the language To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

Doesn't sound unreasonable to me. Seems like a bit of a logistical nightmare but still at least it changes the rules for 'repeaters' To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

No one needs to hand anything to you. It is not a right. Now, notice that no one is saying that you can't compete, or that you can't compete in the finals - simply that you are not eligible for 'standings'. Now if that's not good enough for you then you're a perfect example of why there needs to be some sort of guideline on who gets to repeat the CPC over and over and over again. Blues. To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

Thats exactly the point of the post. To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

Thats great, but it still doesn't account for ringers in any way. Top 10 pilots from the finals should not be allowed to compete, other than as guests IMO in the CPC and/or the finals for the following year unless they fail the pro qualifier. To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

Hey Chris, Currently the way it works is that each region in the CPC sends it's top 5 pilots to the finals at the end of the season. From the finals the top 10 pilots are given the opportunity to try out for their pro card. The only pro card given away without a qualifier is for the person who wins the CPC Nationals. So, the only way to get into the Pro circuit (as of now) is to place in the top 10 of the CPC and pass the pro qualifier. Blues. To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

Are there any changes to the way pro (or pro eligible) pilots will compete as guests in the CPC? Just jump costs? Glad to see the 2 regions merging, I hope that there will be a good balance between the meets in the GA, TN, FL and AL regions as I hope to see good representation and attendence from ALL the regions from both the pilot perspective as well as the venue choice. Blues. To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

Nice Dan, thanks. The ProAm video is still mysteriously absent though - did no one get any? To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer