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WPC 2006

FS and Artistic - Gera, Germany: 6-11 August 2006 - official website: www.worldmeet2006.com Congratulations to British women's 4-way Formation Skydiving Team Airkix - World Champions

Team Airkix - World Champions 2006, women's 4-way Formation Skydiving

CF and Classics - Stupino, Russia: 12-20 August 2006

Canopy Piloting - Vienna, Austria: 23-27 August 2006

The British National Team to compete in WPC 2006 was selected at the selection Nationals in 2005 (except in Canopy Piloting, where no Nationals were held in 2005, and instead the Canopy Piloting World Cup held in August 2005 was used for selection). The British National Champions of 2005 in the above disciplines are invited to represent their country at WPC 2006.

The British teams that took part in WPC 2006 were:

WPC 2006 FS and Artistic - Gera, Germany

FS 4-way Open, 4-way Team  Dave Tyler, Alastair Macartney, Dane Kenny, Aaron Faith, Spencer Hogg (camera), Andy Goodall (alternate).

FS 4-way Female, Team Airkix  Claire Sparky Scott, Amanda Kemp, Emma Beyer, Julia Foxwell, Andy Wright (camera)

8-way FS, Team Connexion  Ian Milko Hodgkinson, Phil Curtis, Marcus Beck, Andy Ibbetson, Derek Thomas, Dave Ruffell, Rob Stevenson, Andy Pook, Gary Wainwright (camera)

Female Freestyle, Team Tumbleweed  Deb Clarke, Jim Weir (camera)

Male Skysurf, Team Insanely Board  Rohan Beal, Richard Wiggins (camera)

Freefly, Team Outbreak  Jim Harris, Mike Carpenter, Andy Newell (camera); Team Avalore  Louis Harwood, David Downham, Rob McVey (camera)

Officials: Head of Delegation - John Smyth; Delegation Manager - Andy Scott; Invited FS judges - Bob Charters, Karla Cole, Ruth Cooper.

WPC 2006 CF and Classics - Stupino, Russia

Classics  Jeff Chandler, Nick Johnston, Stuart Morris, Esther Reynolds, Pete Sizer, Glenn Stephenson

CF 4-way Rotations, Team CFUK - Colin Dickson, Paul Speller, Adam Johnson, Eugene Brennan, Pat Hammond (camera), Paul Yeoman (alternate)

CF 2 way Sequential, Team Outcasts - Steve Saunders, Paul Yeoman, Ian Marshall (camera), Jason Snailham (alternate)

CF 4-way sequential, Team Outcasts - Steve Saunders, Paul Yeoman, Ray Brewer, Eugene Brennan, Ian Marshall (camera), Jason Snailham (alternate)

CF 8-way speed, Team Outcasts  Steve Saunders, Paul Yeoman, Eugene Brennan, Ray Brewer, Ian Marshall, Colin Dickson, Paul Speller, Adam Johnson, Pat Hammond (camera), Jason Snailham (alternate)

Officials: Head of Delegation - John Hitchen; Delegation Manager - John Page; Invited Judge - Bob King.

WPC 2006 Caopy Piloting - Vienna, Austria

British Canopy Piloting Team  Brian Vacher, Paul Rossouw, Michael Holmes, Alastair Macartney, Mark Bayada

Officials: Head of Delegation - John Smyth; Delegation Manager - Grant Richards; Trainee International Canopy Piloting Judge - Kate Charters. WPC Competition Disciplines

World Parachuting Championship in Formation Skydiving

The teams consisting of 4, 8 or 16 members and a freefall camera-flyer have to perform, during a limited working time, a sequence of formations and transition manoeuvres, and repeat this sequence as many times as possible during the working time.

World Parachuting Championship in Canopy Formation

Team members compete under open parachutes (canopies). Once out of the aircraft, they deploy their parachutes immediately and proceed to build different formations by linking together. They connect by putting their feet on another parachute, in the parachute lines or on another jumper's body.

World Parachuting Championship in Freeflying

Freeflying, the ultimate in creative freefall, is one of the latest events in sport parachuting and the only one to incorporate all dimensional axes during the freefall part of a parachute jump. The teams consist of three athletes, two freeflyers and a camera-flyer, who also contributes to the team's sporting performance. Judges score the team for both technical skill and artistic merit.

World Parachuting Championship in Freefall Style and Accuracy Landing

 Freefall Style is an individual discipline where the athlete performs a prescribed sequence of maneuvers in freefall as precisely as possible against the clock, rotating around different body axes, performing turns and loops and using both physical strength and aerodynamic forces. Accuracy Landing is also an individual discipline where the athlete has to steer his parachute to a precision landing on the 3 cm target in the centre of an electronic measuring device.

World Parachuting Championship in Freestyle Skydiving and Skysurfing

 The objective of Freestyle Skydiving is to record a sequence of free or compulsory moves and poses in freefall during a limited working time; the teams consist of a performer and a freefall camera-flyer. Skysurfing is virtually identical to Freestyle Skydiving, except that a board is attached to the athletes' feet.

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World Parachuting Championships 2004

18-24 September 2004 - Rijeka, Croatia: FS, Classics, CF

For FS Results, see: www.skyleague.com

See photos of the British FS team at:http://targetskypics.fotopic.net/c293079.html

13-20 September 2004 - Brazil: Artistic Events (AE: Freestyle, Skysurf, Freefly) - click here for the official site

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World Parachuting Championships Mondial 2003

Congratulations to British Team VMax - World Champions in women's 4-way FS

 click here for the Official Mondial 2003 website

 click here for Omniskore's Mondial 2003 Results coverage

VMax celebrate Gold

UK women's 4-way Formation Skydiving Team VMax has taken Gold at the World Parachute Championships Mondial 2003 held from 6-13 September at Gap-Tallard Aerodrome near the French Alpine town of Gap

VMax - Liz Groucott, Sarah Laughton, Sacha Chilton and Claire Scott, with their camera flyer Andy Ford - beat off tough competition from Norway, the USA and five other nations to come out top in a thrilling competition that, to start with, didn't appear to begoing their way.

The Norwegian team dominated the first five rounds, and by the middle of the competition looked as if they had victory in the bag. Starting round 6 from 2 points behind, VMax ratcheted it up a notch to score a women's World Record 28 and took the lead for the first time, now leaving Norway trailing by 2 points with the USA inthird place. After round 9, VMax had built up a 6-point cushion going into the final round. In a nail-biting tenth and final round, the Norwegian girls were up first and scored a massive 18, leaving VMax needing 13 to win... when the score was posted as a safe 15, the Brits in the crowd were ecstatic. The VMax chicks, all wearing Union Flag sports tops, went wild. The Gold Medals were presented to the strains of the 'God Save The Queen' and the Union Flag fluttered in the breeze. Champagne flowed, and so did the tears - and that included the boys!

VMaxs fantastic victory is all the sweeter because it is the first time the UK has ever won a Formation Skydiving (FS) World Championships. The last time Britain won a medal in FS, it was a bronze and that was 22 years ago!

The BPA congratulates VMax on their world-class sporting excellence. Congratulations also to the other UK teams that took part in the Mondial 2003: 4-way FS team XL, who just missed out on a Bronze; 8-way FS team VNE, and CF 4-way Team Focus and CF 8-way team Hinton-8, and to the Style & Accuracy jumpers in the individual and team events. The UK Delegation did us all proud and made many friends throughout the world parachuting community. Thanks also to BPA Competitions Chairman John Smyth who worked tirelessly to look after the organisation of our delegation. For scores and more information, click here for the official Mondial 2003 website, and click here for the Omniskore event website. A full report on the UK at the Mondial 2003 is in Skydive Mag for October 2003.

Thanks to Andy Scott for the event commentary in this summary.