2008 Series: Jumper Information

Here are the major points with regard to the competition season. Full details will be published before registration opens, but please read and digest the following points so there are no surprises on the day. Any questions are welcome, to Max or Dave via the usual channels or if you want phone numbers a PM via the UK base board will get you these. Don’t wonder, ask! All questions and suggestions, as well as offers of help, greatly appreciated.

Registration

Registration is now closed (13th June 2008)

All those who are allocated slots on the competition will be emailed in the next few days along with a paypal link. Your slot will only be finally confirmed when payment has been received by UK Pro BASE.

Jumper numbers

The maximum number of competitors for any one round will be 30. We will also allocate 5 "lurker" slots whose job will be assist with the running of the event, and jump when/where/if possible. There will also be a "standby" list for cancellations, and this list may also be activated if the weather forecast for a given event is perfect, thus opening the possibility of increased jump numbers.

Jumper experience

A minimum of 100 prior BASE jumps will be needed for registration. We will consider exemptions for jumpers known to us through prior attendance at a UK Pro BASE event, or in exceptional circumstances. If in doubt, ask, preferably before registration opens.

Place allocation

This will be on a "first-come, first-served" basis. With the filters of experience and suitability applied, the following factors will also be taken into account:

1. Jumpers wishing to attend all 3 rounds will be bumped up the list.
2. Jumpers who registered for the cancelled 2007 boogie will be bumped up the list.
3. A number of slots will be allocated to jumpers from outside the UK.

If you do not make the cut, you will be offered a slot on the standby list. This will be filled using the same criteria as above.

The "lurker" slots will be offered, at our discretion, to those who were:

1. Real close to a slot, but missed it. (In an ideal world, numbers 31-35 on the list would accept and attend on this basis.)
2. Or, have made significant contributions to the success of the events.

The Locations

Round 1 – Bedford River Festival
Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th July 2008.

The jump platform will be a crane, with an estimated exit height of 300’ (90m). The dropzone is a grassy field, bordered by trees. It is approximately 125m x 75m and can be seen on Google earth at 52 7’54.07N, 0 27’ 11.74W.

Camping for jumpers is included in the entry fee, in an area adjacent to the DZ. Cars will be allowed to drop-off kit but then must be removed to a public car park for the duration. Jumping will not commence as long as cars are still on site. We are grateful to Bedford council for allowing us this informal camping arrangement but they will not allow the site to develop into a campsite with dozens of cars present!

Car access for the site will be via an entrance off the roundabout, 250m west of the DZ. This gate will be given a name by the festival organisers close to the time, and we will publish that info as soon as we get it. The best parking for cars is at the Tescos superstore 100m south-east of the site.

All jumpers must attend a briefing starting at 9am on Saturday, and jumping will start at 10.30am. If you miss the briefing you will not jump at the event. Don’t be late!
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Round 2 - The "Where's The Beach?" Boogie
Friday 15th, Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th August 2008.

Round 2 of the 2008 series was scheduled to be held at Eastbourne this year, but we have pulled out of the event and are moving the venue. The dates will stay the same (16th and 17th August), with the addition of a third day of jumping on Friday 15th.

We are returning to the venue of our last crane boogie, a large field In Keeley Green, Wooton, near Bedford. The drop zone is a large grass field, approx. 160m x 200m, with no obstacles. The jump platform will remain the same with an exit height of 300’ (90m). Vehicle parking is available on site, and access is via the gate opposite the junction of Keeley Lane and Hall End Road. Free camping will be available on site for the weekend. A caterer will also be on-site for the weekend selling hot food, and toilets will be provided.

With the new location, we have been able to add a third day (Friday 15th August) to the event, and with the size and nature of the DZ we are also able to open the event up to many less experienced jumpers and run a development event alongside the competition. The new plan is as follows;

Friday will be primarily aimed at less experienced jumpers. Competitors for the main event may attend and jump but will be expected to assist with the “mentor for a day” programme, or “baby-sit” jumpers who are attending with low jump-numbers. Similarly, experienced jumpers who are not part of the competition may come and fun jump for the 3 days, but will be asked to help on the Friday. The number of extra slots opened up by this change is 20.

Saturday and Sunday will be focused on the competiton, with fun jumping between rounds and an open boogie once the competition has been completed. The cost will remain at £50 for competitors, and £100 for those who are only attending the development event/boogie. We are asking that all those interested in coming to this event register using the competition form, but write “Development Boogie” in the comments box. Registration for all weekends closes on Friday 13th June and all slots will be allocated then, There will, as normal, be no slots on the day! If you want to come, get your registration in ASAP.


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Round 3 – Ecotricity, Norfolk
Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th September 2008.

We have not finalised all details of this round, so all information is subject to confirmation. In the unlikely event of cancellation, an alternative event will be run on the same dates but with a change of venue. Car access and parking details will be posted nearer the time, and I will research camping/accommodation on my next site visit.The details below are the latest plans.
Swaffham 2

A wind turbine with internal vertical ladder, exit height approx 285’ (85m). DZ is extensive fields, (currently in crop, but cut to provide space for us then), with isolated trees and hedge lines.

52 39’24.46N 0 42’4.01E

The bulk of the jumping and the main competition will take place off the taller Swaffham 2 turbine
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Swaffham 1

A wind turbine with internal spiral staircase, exit height approx. 220’ (65m). DZ is grass, bordered by gardens and trees, 50m x 30m.

52 39’23.35N 0 41’0.73E

Whilst the DZ for Swaffham 1 is good for jumping, it’s a bit small for all-day use, especially with the vagaries of wind and weather, and will be used mostly for demonstration jumps by a team with proven skills. Although, given good weather, there is no reason why there should not be a decent amount of jumping for all participants, at both sites.
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Costs

We have not made our target figure this opening season for the full sponsorship of the series, and so will have to charge fees for the events. This has been fixed at £50, per jumper, per round. This will buy you the weekend of jumping, entry to the competition, individual event T shirts, access to all the lovely prizes, and some beer. We were hoping this would not be necessary but unless someone can send us a sponsor with around 10 grand to spare, this is how it is.

Overview of the event and competition

The main aim of each event is to get in a good number of competition rounds. We need a minimum of 3 rounds to complete a round, but would like 5 or 6. Once this is completed the weekend reverts to "boogie" mode and we jump for fun for the rest of the time available.

Although we have limited slots to 30 for each event, we will have our "lurkers", and in perfect weather (= early comp. completion) we may be able to phone around the reserve list and call up more jumpers to join in on the second day. This is not guaranteed, but something we would like to do, given the chance.

Full rules for the accuracy competition are available here, but simply put it’s accuracy with a giant "dartboard" target. Stand-up landings only within the target area, winner has the most points at the end of the day. Anything that scares the judges will get you a zap, and you’re not allowed to “diss” them. That’s it really. We’ll leave the choice of free-fall/pca/static-line to you unless the site, wind and weather dictate otherwise, when we may have to enforce a “all pca” round, or similar.

You will be required to sign both a waiver and an image release form to attend these events. If you have any problems or questions about these please ask them in the "comments" section of the application form.

The landing areas and spectator numbers this year will make it more difficult to include lots of low-experience jumpers, but not impossible. We are, as ever, open to all applications and will get as many people involved as we can, but safety is our overriding concern and we simply must not have any incidents at these big public events. For this reason we will be more conservative than at our more private “development” boogie, and we ask everyone to bear this in mind when attending. We hope to run a separate private boogie this summer to include everyone, but need to finalise the series, count the money available and then we’ll make plans. The aim for 2009 is an all-building tour, and several development/mentoring boogies, and a successful season this year is vital with that aim in mind.

Any questions at all contact us via the usual mails, and we’ll answer them as fully as we can. See you there!

THE PRIZES

The prizes for the series are as follows:

Round 1 - Bedford River Festival - 12/13 July 2008.


Round 2 - Where's the beach? Bedford 16/17 August 2008.


Round 3 - Swaffham 1 & 2 - 27/28 September 2008.


Grand Prizes for winner and runners up of the whole series by cumulative points.


In addition, all the jumpers at the Development Boogie 15/16/17 August will be entered in to a raffle to win some cool prizes like a pilot chute, Apex hoodies, t-shirts, DVDs, Discount on a Carbon Phonix helmet and much much more! Don't let anyone say we don't make it happen for you guys!