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In this issue
  • Africa Records
  • World Championships in Formation Skydiving 2018
  • Tonto Boogie 2018
  • POPS SA record attempt
  • Become a South African Judge
  • December Boogies
  • SA Indoor National Championships 2019
  • New look PASA website
  • Happy Holidays
  • Licences and Ratings
Africa Records

Well done to the following PASA members who have all had Africa Records ratified by the FAI this year:

Status

Ratified – current record

Zone

African

Sport

Parachuting

Subclass

G-1

Category

General

Group

Canopy Piloting Records

Type of Record

Carved Speed 70m

Performance

2,404 sec

Date

04 Jul 2018

Claimant

Christopher Teague (RSA)

Status

Ratified – current record

Zone

African

Sport

Parachuting

Subclass

G-1

Category

General

Group

Wingsuit Flying Record

Type of Record

Greatest Distance

Performance

3,898 km

Date

30 Aug 2018

Claimant

Hendri Liebenberg (RSA)

Status

Ratified – current record

Zone

African

Sport

Parachuting

Subclass

G-1

Category

General

Group

Wingsuit Flying Record

Type of Record

Greatest Speed

Performance

260,3 km/h

Date

30 Aug 2018

Claimant

Hendri Liebenberg (RSA)

Status

Ratified – current record

Zone

African

Sport

Parachuting

Subclass

G-1

Category

General

Group

Formation Skydiving Record

Type of Record

4-way - highest average for ten rounds

Performance

14,4 points

Date

12 Oct 2018

Claimant

Team South Africa (RSA)

Team Members

Carmen Edmunds, Bailey Edmunds, Bernard Janse van Rensburg, Yolandi van den Berge, Ian van den Berge

Status

Ratified - current record

Zone

African

Sport

Parachuting

Subclass

G-1

Category

General

Group

Indoor Formation Skydiving Record

Type of Record

4-way - longest sequence

Performance

28 points

Date

26 Oct 2018

Claimant

HF Jazz Republic (RSA)

Team Members

Claire King, Dirk Venter, Bailey Edmunds, Nicolaas Hickley

Status

Ratified - current record

Zone

African

Sport

Parachuting

Subclass

G-1

Category

General

Group

Indoor Formation Skydiving Record

Type of Record

4-way - highest average for ten rounds

Performance

19.80 points

Date

28 Oct 2018

Claimant

HF Jazz Republic (RSA)

Team Members

Claire King, Dirk Venter, Bailey Edmunds, Nicolaas Hickley


World Championships in Formation Skydiving 2018
Meraki: an untranslatable Greek word, meaning to do something with all your heart, with love, with your soul, with complete devotion.
 
Meraki is a brand new team made up of friends who share a passion for FS. I'm not sure how many teams there are in the world made up of two married couples, but our team is and we like to think of it as couples therapy. 
 
At the beginning of August, the opportunity to go to the World meet was presented to us. Not being a trained team, we were a little unsure at first whether or not we should go, but nothing in life is guaranteed and the question we asked ourselves is: how can we not take up this opportunity? It’s the biggest skydiving event in the world and so few people on the planet get to experience such an event, so the team sat together and decided that we would absolutely, whole heartedly take on the challenge! We feel incredibly honoured to have been able to compete with the giants of the FS skydiving world.
 
Being South African skydivers means that we don’t have a lot of competitions, we in fact only have one - our nationals. 
It’s a daunting thought that being as new a team as we were, with, at the time not many jumps together, we would be going to represent our country.
 
We knew that we would face fears like - will we be ready? Would others think we don’t deserve it? Will we make South Africa proud? All pressures that 4 out of the 5 team members have never had to face. 

 

Photo credit: Stephen Tonson

I myself (Bailey Edmunds) have been fortunate to have attended the last 3 World meets and I know all too well that these pressures can be overwhelming for a weekend warrior team. I can sincerely vouch for my fellow team mates that their mental attitudes towards this challenge have been positive, humbling and dedicated. We gave every ounce of energy and effort that we possibly could in preparation for the World meet.
 
Have we overcome these fears? Absolutely! From the day we decided to go, we would creep and walk skydives midweek between busy work schedules and devoted every weekend we could leading up to the event to train as much as possible. With a limited budget - we put in maximum effort to prove that we were worthy and we did our very best in the short time we had to prepare and make South Africa proud. 
 
In saying that the most important thing for us was to have fun and do our best for the love of the sport. At the end of the day it’s just a game and we play it with passion and for joy! Which is something that all jumpers should remember.
 
As a team we have been humbled by the amount of support we have been given over the past couple of months from Skydive Pretoria namely Peter Lawson, Billy Sharman & Angie Sharman. Without their constant support to ensure that we could be on every second load and, even when there weren’t enough jumpers to keep the PAC flying, shutting it down for us to pack, prep jumps and keep us going, we wouldn’t have managed to fulfil our commitment. They even held a fundraiser on our behalf, which highlighted the amount of support we truly have from our fellow South African skydivers and for that we are truly thankful and blessed. Leaving for the World meet we felt as ready as we could be and so very excited to compete!
 
Upon arrival we were welcomed into what I believe to be the best venue I’ve ever experienced - The Sports Super Center in the beautiful Gold Coast Australia - mind blowing facilities, pristine landing areas, kitted out team tents, huge smooth creeping areas, non-stop smiling staff and support crews. The list goes on and on. 

  

Photo credit: Stephen Tonson

On our first of two training days, the energy was high and our focus was centred. It had to be. We didn't have a choice. At this point, we had never seen or jumped the aircraft that was being used for the event - a Caravan 208. We chose an E-exit as our first as it’s the exit we would most use for the meet. It’s also the more difficult exit for outside center to execute correctly and at the correct orientation. Berns on camera also faced the challenge of having to get the exit shot and be in the perfect spot to ensure no camera bust. 

In the door - ready for the count - adrenalin rushing, I give the count shake shake shake ... shake down, out ....... nailed it! Top pair had to work super hard with a flap-less run in and did an outstanding job and Berns rocked it perfectly. From there we only managed to get a total of 5 training jumps in. Ready as we could be for the World meet. 
 
The meet went really well for us, we had some great rounds and we had some not so great rounds. In the end all our training and preparation paid off and we ended up doing much better than our nationals average of 13.2 and getting a 14,4 average becoming, if I’m not mistaken, the fourth team in SA history to break the 14 average barrier. 
 
The Australian Parachute Federation didn’t hold back and ensured everyone was looked after. Like a perfectly well oiled clock they ran the event like a dream. 
 
We would like to thank UPT, VIGIL, Cookie and L&B for the outstanding support at the world meet. 

  

Photo credit: Stephen Tonson

Team members:
Bailey Edmunds - inside centre -  I have have also taken up the role of coach on the team (for now). I was previously on SAVOLO in the tail slot and now I’ve moved to inside centre. 
3510 jumps and attended the last 3 World meets 
8-Way 2012 - Voodoo
4-Way 2014 - SAVOLO
4-Way 2016 - SAVOLO 
 
Carmen Edmunds - outside centre 
This was her first (beer) world champs.
Carmen has 1250 jumps of which only 340 have been FS. Her FS skills however say otherwise which is why outside centre seems to be the perfect slot for Carms. Her charisma and super fun personality leads to an awesome atmosphere when meeting new teams and making new friends.
Carms is an FS coach and tandem camera lady. Her passion is most certainly FS.
Her role models are both David and Andy Grauwels and claims to be Hayabusa's biggest fan! She’s had the privilege of being coached by David on her previous 4-Way team. 
 
Ian van den Berge - tail 
This was also his first (more beer) world champs. 
2800 jumps. Ian's focus has always been on FS skydiving and he makes an amazing tail. His sense of humour and evil laugh is super contagious and adds to the fun team dynamic that makes Meraki what we are.
Ian is an AFF instructor, FS coach and ensures that the team is never left without a drink at the bar. 
 
Yolandi van den Berge - point 
This, too, was her first (even more beer) world champs. 
1500 jumps, FS coach and an all round wonderful, fun human being. Her FS bad-assery pairs well with Carms in top pair and let’s be honest it was always going to be the wives against the husbands, so it seems fitting that we pair up as piece partners. 
 
Bernard Janse van Rensburg - cameraman 
This was also his first (becoming a free night out) world champs.
Berns has an unbelievable natural ability. We spotted him this year filming a novice 4-Way team and were blown away with his footage. 
Berns only has 700 jumps, with this year being his introduction to FS camera. We snatched him up immediately. Berns shows an eagerness to learn and figures stuff out faster than most. 
We are so happy to have him on the team and hopefully support him to pursue an amazing cameraman career. 
 
Overall, it was an absolutely amazing experience that we all grew from. Thank you to the team and to all our family and friends that supported us.
 
For all the aspiring skydivers out there - the effort is so worth it - The sky is NOT the limit!! 
 
Blue Skies,
Bailey Edmunds
D933

 



Tonto Boogie 2018

The 10th Annual Tonto Boogie was held at the Johannesburg Skydiving Club on the 23-25 November 2018.

This marks the 11th year anniversary of the passing of Skydiving Instructor Eric “tonto” Stephenson, who is honoured every year for his contribution to the sport of skydiving, instruction and safety. Skydivers from dropzones around the country and abroad joined the Johannesburg Skydiving Club members to do jumps over the 3-day celebration.

Tonto was also remembered for his charitable personality, with skydivers donating cash and food for the local disadvantaged community.

This year, the POPS (Parachutists over Phorty) got together to do big way skydives and built a 15-way formation over the Carletonville airfield. The 2 pilots flying the Kudu and Atlas Angel were Johno Gouws and Grant Timms. The planes were flying in close formation to allow for the larger formations.

The Freeflyers got together with Coaching from Andre Du Preez who flew up from Cape Town to spread his skill and plan fun jumps for the crew.

The Wingsuiters, Gert Louis Cilliers, Brendon Nortier and Dylan Hemer joined ranks with Matteo Pagani on his 69sqf Fluid Wings, loaded up with 20kg of weight, to fly some XRW jumps.


Photo credit: Gert-Louis Cilliers


Photo credit: Quinton Henning


Photo credit: Billy Sharman


Photo credit: Dylan Hemer

Many thanks to everyone for the support including Billy Sharman and Skydive Pretoria, the Coaches and load organisers and of course the JSC team and staff for making it all happen.

We look forward to hosting you all again next year.

Bev Cosslett, D802


POPS SA record attempt
Hi everyone!

When I received a request from Jorrie Jordaan to consider a SA POPS record at the 2018 tonto boogie, I just could not resist the challenge! (You can always rely on the coastal guys for their creativity.)

I immediately made contact with our SA Top Pop Ken Elliott who then shared the bad news that he is currently recovering from an injury and that he was actually looking for a successor after dedicating ten years to POPS SA as Top Pop. Ken has done a sterling job having grown the POP SA family to 110 members.

Ken enquired about my interest and previous experience in POPS-related activities. When I mentioned being on the POPS World Record in 2016, that was it! I was to be his successor as TOP POP in South Africa. Seeing that life is just too short to refuse any challenge of any kind, I agreed in total anticipation, humbled by his trust in me to take over his important role.

I immediately started to gather existing POPS members for the tonto boogie while recruiting new ones where I could. The plan: building a POPS 17-way at the tonto boogie hosted by Johannesburg Skydiving Club. We arranged two Angels flying in formation as our jump ships, equipped with oxygen support.

When the tonto boogie eventually arrived, we had some changes to meet and blowing away of cobwebs, but most of all, we had SO much fun! We did run into some bad weather but the spirits remained high and eventually we managed to build a 15-way formation on the Sunday morning.

Despite a few small grip management issues, the formation flew nicely, but we unfortunately could not nominate it as an South African POPS Record.

This has now only increased our excitement to do a next attempt early in the new year, most likely the weekend of the 26thJanuary 2019.

Having that said, calling all POPS members to fun stations!

We have some great plans for next year. In addition to the SA recorda attempt, we’re also thinking of an African continental POPS record at the Makgadikgadi Epic in Botswana as the boogie will be swarming with International POPS Skygods such as Dan BC and others. (Hold thumbs on that one, we are eagerly waiting for some date and venue confirmation from our Botswana connections!)

I will keep you all posted.

Eugene (Pottie) Potgieter
Top POP 3


Photo credit: Gerrie Peyper

If you are over Phorty and would like to join POPS,
you can get an application form here.


  

For further information please contact:
ned.luker@gmail.com / ned@flyaerodyne.com 
031 502 6435 


Become a South African Judge

Have you ever considered what happens on the other side of the competition “curtain”?  Competitions are the convergence of much more than just competitors – organisers, judges, regulators, course directors and many others are busily making magic behind the scenes before the teams can make their own magic of converting training into medals.

Competing in the sport you love is not everyone’s cup of tea. Some don’t have the budget to excel at the level they would like, others don’t like the nerves or stress, or perhaps some like to keep it casual.

Better Judge = Better Competitor 

Judging does not mean you can’t compete but certainly it means you’ll have to decide in each competition whether you’ll be a judge or a competitor – a tough decision if you love to do both, but one that can make you better at both. 

Judging is fun, challenging and as varied across disciplines as taking part in them is. 

Side-benefits

Once qualified internationally, it opens up a world of skydiving, travel and experiences that few jumpers will ever experience. What’s more, you don’t need to be a jumper at all.  It’s a rewarding way to include your family (and let’s be honest, much easier to convince your spouse to spend the long weekend on a DZ for Nationals).

Give it a try

If you’re interested in learning to judge, the path to the various levels of qualification or just finding out more in general, contact the PASA Judges Committee.


December Boogies

It's not too late to make plans to attend one or both of the events below:


The Diaz Beach Boogie, hosted by Skydive Mossel Bay, takes place from 15 to 31 December.

Skydivers at all levels are welcome, including progression students, A licence holders and higher.

There will be jumps from 14,000 feet, 4 different beaches, brilliant prizes, live bands, inflatable boat jumps, lots of beer, good food and good friends.

What you can expect:

• DZ Shuffle to Skydive Oudtshoorn for lunch n punch.

• Diaz Beach landing and pool party.

• Santos Beach landing and boat booze cruise.

• Wilderness Beach landing and breakfast at Beejuice Café.

• Groot Brak Beach landing with dinner at Vette Mossel (eat as much as you can).

• International as well as South African load organizers.

• Freefly and FS coaches.

• Visiting skydivers from all around the globe.

Email Monica to get onto the mailing list for updates and specials on the boogie.

 
 


The Gauteng Summer Jol takes place from 26 to 31 December at Skydive Pretoria.

Load organising:

FS: Claire King and Dirk Venter
 
Freefly: Max Manow, Naomi Kotzee and Billy Sharman
 
New Year’s Braai
 
* * * Join us for summer fun * * *
 
 


SA Indoor National Championships 2019

We are excited to announce that the South African Indoor Nationals in FS Open for 2019 will be held at the Bodyflight World Challenge next year in UK.

Date: Friday the 5th and Saturday the 6th of April, 2019

Discipline: Formation Skydiving

Event: 4-way Open/AAA

Venue: Bodyflight Bedford, Twinwoods Business Park, Thurleigh Road, Milton Ernest, Bedfordshire MK44 1FD, United Kingdom.

Click here for registration and Event Details.

Registrations are open NOW.

Any team competing in this South African Indoor Nationals should inform the SSA FS Committee. This event will be the selection event for FAI/IPC indoor competitions (2020 WCIS etc). Please register your team with Bodyflight Bedford directly, and inform SSA FS committee to keep your team updated about competition rules, etc.  If you have any queries, please contact Mohan.


New look PASA website

We’re excited to introduce PASA members to our new look website. Check it out here.

Huge thanks to Jo Curnow at 1TightShip and Claire King and Dirk Venter at Namespace for making it happen.


Happy Holidays
The PASA admin office will close on 21 December and reopens on 7 January 2019.


Licences and Ratings

Licences

A7689 Leonnard Jacobs Skydive Mossel Bay
A7690 Andreas Berger  Skydive Mossel Bay 
A7691 Warwick Cormack  Skydive Roberston 
A7692 Andrea Koekemoer  Skydive Pretoria 
A7693 Nureen Hoosein  EP Skydivers, Jeffreys Bay 
B3098 Maurice Spilsbury Durban Skydive Centre 
B3099 Stefan Rawlins  Skydive Pretoria 
B3100 Dylan Whitehair  Skydive on the Vaal 
B3101 Christo Fourie  Skydive Pretoria 
B3102 Cabri van Zyl  Durban Skydive Centre 
C1946 Rein Fourie Skydive Robertson 
C1947 Zainab Alibhai  Skydive Mossel Bay 
C1948 Thys Grové  Johannesburg Skydiving Club 
C1949 Mike Swanson  Johannesburg Skydiving Club 
C1950 Dino Paulo  Johannesburg Skydiving Club 
C1951 Tom Noonan  Skydive Cape Town 
C1952 Raymond Phillips  Skydive on the Vaal 
C1953 Max Manow  Skydive Preoria 
D988 Chris Badenhorst  Johannesburg Skydiving Club 
     

Ratings

JM1347 Andrew Yorke Johannesburg Skydiving Club
JM1348 Edward Chambers  Johannesburg Skydiving Club
JM1349 Thys Grové  Johannesburg Skydiving Club 
JM1350 Carolynn King  Skydive Robertson 
JM1351 Max Manow  Skydive Pretoria 
JM1352 Matt Futcher  Johannesburg Skydiving Club 
     
PRO502 Calvin Brian Strickland   Durban Skydive Centre
PRO503 Max Manow  Skydive Pretoria 
     
TM205SG Tom Noonan  Skydive Cape Town 
TM179SG  Sean Schook Skydive on the Vaal 
     
CH182F Jorrie Jordaan  Durban Skydive Centre 
     

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