The new AMD
By Tim Mace D775

For several years, the Style and Accuracy sub-committee has been saving its SSA funds to get more equipment. The SSA has never had its own AMD (Automatic Measuring Device), having borrowed the SANDF one for years. Theirs is now out of date (wrong size target) and in need of a serious service, which it is unlikely to get because the Russian manufacturer is uncontactable. So the sub committee has now bought its own AMD, using its SSA funds and a loan from the SSA savings account. Its got an international spec measuring pad, plus a spare, and a big score screen so people can immediately see what someone has scored. The pad is put in the middle of a 5m wide soft landing mat so you can really go for it and get away with hard landings. The pad is the round black thing and it measures out to 16cm. But the real target is that little yellow dot in the middle; It's 2 cm across. There's a R1 coin next to it for an idea of the size. So what you're trying to do is hit the yellow dot, so you get a score of 0.00cm. You are allowed to wear specially modified shoes to make it a bit easier but 2cm is still really small target. Impossible? At a world meet you'll see people doing it all the time. And in Paraski the pad is set up on the side of a hill between 25° and 35° just to make it a bit more challenging, and the top jumpers still hit the yellow!

Yes! That’s a R1 coin

We're now planning to visit any DZs that are interested, to demonstrate Accuracy Landing, hold a seminar, and let people have a go. Because we've got no money left after buying the AMD (in fact we're going to be paying back the loan for a couple of years) we'll be doing that at our own expense. So if you or your DZ are interested in finding out what this Accuracy stuff is about, and having a go, let the S&A committee know (Tim, Nic and Cornette). We're also on the lookout for potential team members for the next World Accuracy Championship in Montenegro in 2010, and World Paraski Championship in Austria in 2011, so let us know if you're interested.