Robertson Rumble
By Phil Weaver, Karl Hayden and Lara Kruger

WPSPC recently hosted the inaugural Robertson Rumble, at one of the loveliest airfields in the Western Cape. Six teams were drawn by the organising committee from experienced and junior pools of entrants.  Thanks to the slick organisation the two way FS event got off to an early start - first load up at 08H20.

  

The first round saw some interesting dives with most teams battling with fall rate issues and some interesting dive planning! (Sometimes the longer route is the faster!)

With the second round being completed we saw a lot more lead coming out and issues were although not solved, certainly improved. An example of this was Team Best 2x2xfar who had serious fall rate issues in round one scoring just two points then going on to score eight in the second round.

The event was called on two jumps instead of the planned three due to the wind on Saturday afternoon.  The event had to be finished by Saturday night as we knew the weather for Sunday was going to be bad and so it proved.

Bearing in mind this was for all the inexperienced jumpers their first competition, and a scratch meet; they were all in high spirits and have hopefully been converted from the dark side!!

The prize giving started promptly at 19h30.  The event committee must be praised for their hard work in organising fantastic prizes.  Each team received a prize; this I think symbolizes what the day was all about, competition, fun and learning.

Robertson Rumble 2008
Results
Team Name	Participants	Dive 1	Dive 2	Total
Javelin	Karl Hayden	13	11	24
	Lara Kruger
Dodgy Washer	Andre D'Argent	6	7	13
	Rob van Niekerk
Mr F***g Paki	Steve Norris	6	5	11
	Ria Moothilal
Chaos	Werner Deetlefs	5	6	11
	Tania D'Argent
Best 2x2xfar	Dave Whittal	2	8	10
	Brian Baxter
2 People Of Extreme Speed	Anthony Malherbe	3	4	7
	Ian van Riel

Besides the prizes, a floating Robertson Rumble Trophy was handed to Karl and Lara!   A special thanks to the event committee, competitors, cameramen and in particular Judge Phil Weaver and Chief Judge Martin Phelps.

A special mention from the two winners

Karl Hayden - It’s not often these days I look forward to doing a 2 way, but with the competitive edge added to the jumps at the Scratch Meet it brought back recollections of my early days in skydiving. Having completed my student progression the world of RW waited.

Little did I know that what would happen is once I had reached Cat 2, my jumps that followed revolved around chasing another low time jumper around the sky? Neither of us would have a clue as to what had just happened in the air, with the result that many jumps were wasted. (If there’s such a thing as a wasted jump!)

Many jumps later those of us experienced enough, now have the opportunity in helping others moving up through the ranks. From ISP’s to helping even more experienced jumpers complete their requirements for C and D licenses, the obligatory 8 ways.

My personal favourite is the big way sequential skydives, or multi-plane loads which seem to have heralded a new passion in the sport we all enjoy.  So much to my surprise I found myself really enjoying the spirit of the 2 way Scratch Meet. Of course having a very capable partner as I did made things a bit easier to win the event.

To those involved in organising this event, well done. I think it’s something we need to do regularly as it seems to bring people out of the woodwork!

Lara Kruger - The Robertson Rumble not only constituted of excessive fun (Still can’t believe it’s legal!), but also presented an enormous learning experience, especially to someone with my level of (in-) experience (recently received my A licence). At the start of the weekend I had the sum total of 3 FS (not counting ISP’s and including one failed attempt at a 3-way) jumps to my name, so even basic terminology was foreign to me: what is a point, what is a block, and what on earth is a compressed accordion?
 
My team mate, Karl Hayden, was very generous with his knowledge and time and made an effort (in his effortless way) to teach me much more than what was needed for each jump, without making me feel overwhelmed. He stayed calm, controlled and patient throughout the experience – from dirt dive to debrief. I appreciated his approach to the concept of a competition and his focus on headspace as much as on technique. It was the excitement surrounding the unknown in combination with the security of exiting the plane with a highly experienced and respected skydiver that created the eager anticipation of each jump.
 
The footage of our dives was an added bonus, as I have not often had the chance to learn from my own footage and it does make a huge difference to one’s perception of body position and movement, when seeing your skydive from a third eye view. I can’t wait to get into the sky again to practise and build on what I’ve learnt at the competition and of course to just indulge in the thrill and beauty of the sport.
 

Thank you to everyone who made this competition possible and especially to Karl. The experience was priceless.