Kings of the Sky

 

Like last year, all FAI disciplines will be contested at the same meet and includes Artistic Events, Canopy Formation, Canopy Piloting, Formation Skydiving and Style & Accuracy Landing.

 

Although the national champions in these events are determined every year, this year is what we call an 'off' year. What does this mean, I hear you ask? In skydiving, the World Championships is held every second year, alternating with a World Cup every other year. Only those athletes that win in an 'on' year get to represent South Africa at the World Championships. This year is a World Cup year and as a result, there are less teams and individuals fighting it out for representation rights. Most teams compete in the non-FAI events (local development events) as part of their long-term goals or for the local title and medal, as their representation at the World Championships is never at stake.

 

Even though the Nationals may be smaller than a World Championship, it will be no less exciting to watch, and here's a brief overview of what we can expect at next week's event.

 

Formation Skydiving
Undoubtedly the most contested event is the Formation Skydiving 4-way Open event.

 

Team SAVOLO placed second at last year’s SA Championship and are the current favourites to win in the absence of Team Voodoo, the reigning national champions. This team was last year’s 'new combination of old favourites' who impressed us with their strong – if a little chaotic – performance. They have since flown together a little more, hopefully cleaned up and should deliver some quality scores this year, despite very limited training opportunities.

 

Team Jazz Republic is a new team consisting of members from a few previous teams. They have a lot of promise, but haven’t yet reached the consistency to predict a performance. That being said, they're still strong contenders for the silver medal and they'll be watching SAVOLO like a hawk, as a single careless round is all it takes to narrow a gap and see a change in the leader board.

 

We also expect quite a jostle for the third place in this event.

 

Team Peregrine is starting to reap the rewards of patience and 'foundations first' development over the last couple of years. This is so important in 4-way to progress as a performing team, and their consistency will stand them in good stead in this competition.

 

Team Dionysus has been flying under the radar this year so no one really knows what this team can produce on the day.

 

There are rumours about a strong pick-up team, consisting of previous competitors, which could just smash these predictions. We don’t expect to see consistency from a pick-up team, but bouts of high-speed performance are definitely on the cards and on the right day, with the right draw, this could definitely cause some disturbance in the medals.

 

Canopy Piloting
The current darling of South African Swoop, Chris Teague, is riding a wave of success on the back of his recent performances on the world stage. He will be there to defend his SA title. Chris can expect tough competition from some of the other top competitors from around the country, including previous National Champion Selwyn Johnson. This will be an important training event for Chris, who will be competing in the World Games held at Cali, Colombia, later this year.