8way campers at Paraclete XP

posted Jan 6th, 2013 - The NSL News mentioned earlier that Paraclete XP was running another 4-on-4 indoor training camp this weekend. These camps are an opportunity for skydivers to get familiar with the 8way event.

Four campers are teamed up with four player coaches who work with their 8way teams very carefully. Two current Golden Knights 8way world champions, former team captain Brian "BK" Krause and Justin "JB" Blewitt, were the player coaches, together with Paraclete head coach Kirk Verner, former Airspeed 4way and 8way world champion, and John D'Annunzio, member of the Paraclete XP 4way and 8way lineups.

POPS big way organizer Andrea Curthoys, Chad Salo, VPC Director Elizabeth Kang and 21-year old Christy Hite with just over two years in the sport were the players in one of the two 8way teams. The second lineup consisted of Tina Richards, Keith "Kramer" Fay, Bruce Travis and embedded NSL News reporter Kurt Gaebel.

Briefing after a training session

The format of the camps is extremely efficient and productive, and the results are impressive, as the videos are showing. The participants at this training camp arrived at Paraclete XP with hardly any 8way knowledge or experience at all. Only Bruce Travis had competed with Deguello's 8way lineup at the USPA Nationals 2012 where his team had finished in 3rd place of the Intermediate Class with a 6.3 average.

The extremely experienced 8way experts as the player coaches forward their knowledge very directly to the participants. First they engineer the dives and explain the techniques during the first dirtdive. Then the 8way team splits up in four 2way groups with the respective piece partners. Each participants has a world class piece partner who explains the tricks for each technique in a brief personal 1-on-1 conversation. Then the whole team gets back together and completes the dirtdive.

The quality level of both groups was impressively high, and both groups covered almost all blocks and random formations of the 8way dive pool during the first four flying sessions, which added up to one hour of total flying time. Both groups finished on a very similar performance level at the end of the first day and will continue with new sequences for both teams on Sunday morning.

You can comment this article and discuss it with your friends on Facebook or share with even more: