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For
Starters
Preparing for the Nationals |
June
2004 |
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| How
to peak at the Nationals and get the most out of the meet Familiarisation |
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| Personal
Admin Arrive with your equipment in date and your docs in order to save on any unnecessary flapping! Avoid getting there with your main unpacked, your logbook out of date or your helmet in need of a new visor as this all uses up unnecessary energy. Keep things simple and delegate specific team members to be in charge of the registration paperwork and booking rooms. If you don’t fancy tenting it, book your bunkhouse or B&B accommodation early. Friday Night When you get the draw, start puzzling it by walking the jumps backwards from round 10 to round 1. Stick to your continuity plan, ie, don’t try new tactics that you have never tried before just because you see another team creeping them. If there are a couple of options on a dive, keep them both in mind and check them out on the creepers. Once you are happy with the mechanics of the draw, creep backwards from rounds 6 to 1. Keep it simple by just looking at the angles and keys, then just run through the sequence a couple of times (two ‘pages’). If you do have a couple of options, try them both and discuss which feels best and come to a team decision. For round 1, you will want to creep it in more depth, looking at last grips and any random sprints (potentially high-scoring random sequences) so that you feel ready for your 15-minute call. Try and run through all ten of the exits with rigs and jumpsuits on in the aircraft, as you won’t have time to do this after the meet has started. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. There are plenty of experienced teams that won’t mind giving you some tips. Make sure that you have the first jump of the day firmly in your head. Visualising Visualisation is a great way to experience the jump before you actually do it. Find somewhere quiet where you can sit down and talk through the jump. In Gap, our coach Solly would normally lead the visualisation, but you can take it in turns. Visualise the climb to altitude, your team shake, your position in the door, and what the exit looks like on the hill. We would visualise the first page in slow time, concentrating on last grips and keys before visualising three pages and then 35 seconds of the skydive at normal speed. Team Leader You need to generate a means of direction during the meet. In VMax, we wouldn’t have a team leader, but would nominate a leader of the day, a system that worked well for us. They would be responsible for leading the team stretch, attending meetings and time-keeping, eg, we would meet to creep or walk the dive every 30 minutes. Whichever way you choose to play this, you must give the team leader your support in terms of being on time for team creeps, etc. Coaching Some teams find it great value to have their coach at the competition. Your coach will mechanic the jumps, taking away any doubt as to how you should do things. They will remind you of what to think about on certain jumps as well as keeping you focussed throughout the meet. Solly was a great help to us in Gap and knew exactly what to say to keep us calm! If your coach can't make it, don't worry as there are still lots of people who will be more than happy to give you some helpful tips. Conserving Energy Meets like the Nationals are always good fun and they give you the chance to catch up with old friends. By all means mix with other teams but be aware that this can use up a lot of energy, something you need to conserve for the job in hand. Be sensible when it comes to socialising in the evenings. You don’t want to throw away months worth of training by overdoing it in the bar! Have a couple of drinks if you like, just know your own limits! Everyone has different means of relaxing, such as reading, listening to music or watching the dives. Be aware of your teammates’ habits and respect their wishes. You may want to keep up to date with the scores whereas other people may rather not know. Make sure you have enough water and the right foods to keep you energised throughout the day. You may not have time to order food from the canteen plus you don’t want to eat big meals that make you feel lethargic. It is best to eat meals containing complex carbohydrates in the evening; eg, pasta which will slowly break down releasing energy. During the day you will need food on the go that is not too bulky eg, apples, bananas, dried fruit, nuts. Pasta is great if eaten little and often. Choccy bars are good for an instant energy boost but be aware it won’t last long. You may want to delegate someone to shop for these specifics. |
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| Team
Image Promote your team image by remaining cool and calm, maintaining your professionalism at all times. During team time ie, when creeping or kitting up, move together as a unit. If you have disagreements with your teammates, don’t let them get out of control on the creeper pad, save controversial debate for private time. Keeping It Fresh Keep the dive fresh in your mind by creeping a couple of pages every 30 minutes, or walking it through energetically is just as good. If the jump has lots of blocks, it is sometimes better to walk it more than creep it, so that you can develop a rhythm. Fifteen Minute Call This is the time for your last creep, which should feel completely natural by now. If something doesn’t feel right on the last creep or someone forgets the dive, don’t panic. Give it a couple of minutes and calmly start again. After the creep, get geared up and run through the exit, using the mock-up if it’s nearby. Make sure you have done your gear checks and you’re safe to jump. Before you board the aircraft, do one last walk-through, preferably before the plane has landed… don’t keep it waiting! The Jump On the ride to altitude, stay focused visualising the jump in your head. On your team shake, stay calm and keep smiling, as this will help your teammates! Don’t forget safety; carry out any equipment checks you usually do. In the door keep visualising that perfect exit, be definite if you have the count and keep your eyes open on the hill. Refrain from going faster than you are used to. Slowly build up a team rhythm, which you can then pick up a notch as you get into the jump. If there is a glitch, just press the re-set button (forget it!) and start to build that team rhythm again. When you land, it doesn’t matter how good or bad the jump went, make sure you all do the high fives, keep smiling and walk in together as a team unit. Managing Expectations The likelihood of doing ten perfect jumps is pretty slim! The winning teams are generally the most consistent; no peaks or troughs but a good steady performance throughout the meet. If you do have a bad score, by all means debrief the jump if you feel there are improvements to take into the next rounds, but don’t get worked up about mistakes and start apportioning blame. If one of your teammates does feel they have messed up, then your support is vital in helping them to regain their confidence. How you cope with a bad score will make or break the rest of the meet. You have to remember that the jump is history, and dissecting the scoreboard and saying ‘if only’ isn’t going to help! You can’t do anything about it except learn from it, and then aim at focusing all of your energies into the next round. The same goes if you get a camera bust (NJ) either from your own cameraflyer or a pool camera. It’s all part of the rules you have agreed to be judged by so there’s no point in carping. Be big enough to shrug it off and not penalise yourself further by wasting your energies on angst. Mental Attitude It’s your Nationals, you’ve paid a lot of money to train and compete – enjoy it, and make the most of it. Don’t take yourselves too seriously or you will miss out on the fun and it can be detrimental to your performance. So, go on… join in the action at this year’s Nationals…last year’s 4-way was a blast with 46 teams! |
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Hot
Tips Ask around for another team to do intermediate 8-way with the following weekend. The rules are designed so you can join with a senior team if you like, now go and talk them into it! |
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Article
by Claire Scott / Sparky, VMax claire.scott@purina.nestle.com |
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