Putting
an FS team together
The first in a series of informative articles from members of Team
97 (subsequently called Sebastian XL).
Pete Allum talks about getting
started with an FS team
There are a number of reasons why people want to start an FS team:
- friends to skydive with
- competition goals, (local, national, international)
- improve personal skills
- Love of 4/8 way
- it's fun!
- And maybe more...
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Most of these reasons will be combined at
some point in time, although I have seen some groups get together
purely for personal improvement, who go away on training camps and
have an excellent and educational time without ever entering a meet.
Getting started
What are the goals of the team, short, mid and long term? If you
can agree on a common goal you can work out how to achieve it as
efficiently as possible.
Long term goals
These should include a dream goal: What can you achieve if everything
goes perfectly (medal at World Meet/winning Intermediate Nationals,
for example).
Mid term goals
Team harmony, point average, consistent exits or enter certain competitions
(regionals or foreign nationals).
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Photo by Steve Houlker |
Short term goals
Good body position, in-place turns, faster exit-to-break times. Hopefully
you can see how focusing on the short and mid term goals can help you
achieve your dreams as opposed to just saying "We need to get more points!"
In order to decide these short/mid term goals you will need to make a
team commitment to the dream goal with regards to the vital areas of Time
and Money. Then you can start working out the details.
Before you start
When working out the costs you need to plan where you are going to train and
this will depend on how many jumps you want to do. For example if you
want to do a few weekend jumps then your local DZ will suffice. If, however,
you are planning more then you will probably want to include a training
camp. There have been some teams that have managed to train in the UK
on weekends, as long as you have an arrangement with the DZ manifest and
good luck with the weather then this is possible. Most people will see
the benefit of a week or more of consistent training either at home or
away. The pros of travelling are; weather and cheaper jump prices: the
cons are; travel and accommodation costs.
Location
Home DZ - as I said before, if you want to train in the UK then make sure
that you will be able to get enough jumps at your DZ. With our 8-way team
(Ricoh Cameras) we were very fortunate to be able to strike up a minimum
load agreement (with a well known drop zone not far from the A1 at Wansford).
Be prepared to make use of your down time, there is a chance of some bad
weather in the UK (and abroad!) so be ready to dirt-dive, plan exits or
study video footage.
Training abroad
I have been training outside of the UK for ten years and the venues have
only changed slightly, due to currency fluctuations and facilities. The
best places that I have trained at are: Florida, Arizona, California,
South of France and mid to south Sweden. All venues have suffered from
bad weather at some point in time! Right now I spend the winter in Florida
as the weather is helpful, facilities great and US dollar manageable for
most Europeans (that's us!)
Should you use video?
No question! As long as you know how to use and interpret it, video is
your most efficient tool. Even if you don't know, you will benefit more
by having it than not! The questions to discuss as a team may be:
- should you use a professional vidoegrapher, pay for their services
and guarantee results? Or...
- are you fortunate enough to have a talented learner who wants to
practice on you? OrÖ
- do you have someone who could be part of your team as a long term
financial or supportive arrangement?
Will you need a coach?
As a full time FS coach I may not be the most unbiased person to answer
that one! However, as a team member I can sing the praises of having someone
to help you decide and implicate your short/mid term goals; plan your
camps, day by day, jump by jump; help you with your briefs and debriefs;
keep you on track so that you don't rip each others throats out; and deal
with all the manifest and organisational hassles that crop up when you
are trying to focus on the 8th jump of the day (which also happens to
be a non-repeater!).
When planning your camp these are some of the costs to take into account:
- travel and accommodation
- jumps plus video (ask about a team discount)
- coach o TV/VCR rental
- team rooms
- packers.
You will need to work on a specific jump programme in order to progress
most efficiently, your total number of jumps will decide how long you spend
on each area. However, as a rough plan:
- basic flying skills (absolutely vital), ie. position, turns, slide
etc.
- randoms
- blocks
- various combinations of randoms and blocks to simulate drawn (competition
dives).
Each plan is closely tailored to each team so it is hard to be more specific
in a general article. These are a few hints on putting your FS team together,
if you have any more specific questions please contact me on e-mail: pete_allum@compuserve.com
Pete Allum
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