Skydiving Championships Land in Baldwin
By: Pat Brimblecomb, Special to The
Era-Banner
Why jump out
of a perfectly good airplane?
Surprisingly, there are a number of good reasons: the door was open, it
seemed like a good idea at the time, there are no perfectly good
airplanes.
But the fact is, nothing leaves people wanting more like the taste of
adrenaline.
Then there’s the almost contradictory peace and quiet of being under
canopy, floating down to Earth with great appreciation for the world
below, especially at sunset.
One of the most common responses of someone who has just landed his
parachute is to want to get right back up on the very next load.
Skydiving is one of those things where the more skills you develop, the
more you realize you don’t know. But it’s a lot of fun learning.
Once you earn your solo licence, enabling you to jump without a coach,
there are various disciplines in which you can specialize.
Relative work is a term for formation skydiving, relative to at least
one other person in the air, typically preceded by a dirt-dive or
practice run on the ground.
Two or more people earn points by docking on each other, that is,
holding onto the other’s grippers on their jumpsuit.
A solo skydiver in the traditional belly-to-earth position falls at an
average of 120 mph or almost 200 km/h.
Free flying involves transitions from that basic arch position to sit
flying or vertical flight, either head down or feet first and increasing
speed. Canopy piloting incorporates distance and speed, as well as
accuracy, which is the attempt to land as close as possible to the bowl
or target, frequently filled with pea gravel for its forgiving nature.
All these aerobatic skills and more will be demonstrated Aug. 22 to 24
when skydivers from across Ontario compete in the 2008 Ontario
provincial championships at the Parachute School of Toronto in Baldwin,
on Hwy. 48 just north of Newmarket. This was made possible by the
efforts of Steve Collin, who revived the Sport Parachute Council of
Ontario (SPCO), the organization hosting the event, after 15 years of
inactivity.
Asked why he took on the challenge, Mr. Collin recounted: “Skydiving has
changed my life in so many positive ways, I felt that it was time to
give back. When I heard there was an old Ontario Association (SPCO), I
thought, ‘here’s my chance’. I reformed the association and
started planning the 2008 Ontario provincial championships.”
As well as having obtained the ratings that entitle him to coach and
dispatch students, Mr. Collin is a qualified examiner, which means he
meets requirements to be one of the judges for the competition.
“My hopes are to continue promoting the competitive spirit throughout
Ontario by hosting annual championship competitions,” expounds Mr.
Collin.
“In addition to that, I will also continue encouraging new participants
to experience the thrill of free fall and the wonderful feeling of
independence that comes with it.”
To enable any solo-licensed skydiver to compete by themselves at their
home dropzone using the student gear they are used to, the Canadian
Sport Parachuting Association, Competition & National Teams Committee
has introduced the Identification of the New Talent Competition.
“The idea is to promote competition and allow new skydivers a venue that
does not already exist. It is designed to introduce a competitive
spirit and a sense of accomplishment,” according to the association’s
website.
Participants will compete in rounds of individual style, two-way
relative work freestyle, landing accuracy and packing parachutes.
Parachute School of Toronto president and chief instructor Adam Mabee
welcomes the flurry of activity this season.
“Since we started flying the Grand Caravan this past May,” reveals Mabee,
“many more experienced skydivers from all across Ontario have been
jumping (in Baldwin). Teams have been training here since the
competition was announced. Holding the provincials here
gives us a great opportunity to promote the sport, and it’s a fun way
for skydivers to further develop and showcase their skills.”
Bring your binoculars.
Participants exit the plane, which holds up to 21 jumpers, at 13,500
feet or more than four kilometres above Earth.
There will be two and four-way formations in freefall, multiple
colourful canopies flying in the air and exciting landings on the swoop
course, where competitors approach at high speed and maintain a fast
glide while levelling off parallel to the ground before landing.
Ryan Jambrich plans to enter the accuracy competition.
“I’ve been swooping for about four years, seriously for two or so. What
I like most about the sport is the variety of different people who make
it up. It’s such a free sport that lets us express ourselves in so many
ways.”
It’s a pursuit of passion in which people continue to learn and grow
throughout their skydiving career. “Every time I get out of the
plane,” Jambrich said, “I’m practising.”
Spectators can look forward to an exciting air show, but if you’ve ever
thought jumping out of a perfectly good airplane was something you’d
like to try once in your lifetime, Parachute School of Toronto offers
tandem and solo jump training for first-time jumpers.
As a tandem passenger, you get to experience almost a full minute of
freefall on your very first jump while remaining harnessed to the
instructor throughout your descent.
If you choose to do a solo jump, your parachute will be opened by a
static line attached to the plane. Weather permitting, you can
train and jump the same day.
Like many people, you may just find out that once is, quite simply, not
enough.
Pat Brimblecombe is event organizer for the Sport Parachute Council of
Ontario and can be reached at
pat@spco.ca. She frequently
jumps out of perfectly good airplanes, simply because once wasn’t nearly
enough.
