News

Round 3 completed successfully (7th October 2008)

It only seems like yesterday when round 1 was approaching, however the 3rd and final round of the Who's The Daddy BASE series has just been completed. Well done to Douggs who not only won this round but is crown the series champion of Who's The Daddy. Read the full write-up here and view the event gallery.

Final update - Round 3 (19th September 2008)

BASE jumps from West Somerton wind turbine

Here's the latest details for the third and final round of the UK Pro BASE "Who's the Daddy" Series 2008. Another round of competition and prizes for that round and the Grand Prize give-away for the series winners!

Due to problems with the landowner, we are unable to jump Swaffham 2 wind turbine and have another turbine lined up, further to the east at West Somerton, near Great Yarmouth. It's the same size as Swaffham 1 (65m) but exit will be from the top of the hub rather than underneath, and this actually offers us a better option as the landing area is much more open with fewer obstacles. Look at it here:

Google Map Link

We plan to spend one day at Swaffham 1 and one day at West Somerton. We will make the call as to which one to go for first based on the weather forecast closer to the weekend. Of course if the weather is looking entirely unsuitable for the event then we will make that call on Thursday 25th Sept. We've been lucky so far this year so lets hope that it still holds for the final round. The weekend starts at 08:00hrs on Saturday 27th Sept in the car park at the Ecotech Centre, Turbine Way, Swaffham, Norfolk PE37 7HT. (Just off the A1065 North of the town centre, follow the signs).

YES, THAT'S RIGHT! 08:00HRS!! DON'T BE LATE!!!

The reason for the early start is that we have more logistics to deal with, a slower turnaround during the day and the complexities of two different access plans, one for each turbine. Due to this, we MUST have everyone together at the same time for a briefing on how we will access the exit point for the object of the day. There will be one briefing given on Saturday and one for the other object on Sunday, both at 08:00hrs. There will be no other briefings given so if you miss the briefing, you won't jump that day. We will not stop the jumping to take time out to brief latecomers.

YOU MUST NOT BE LATE! IF YOU MISS THE BRIEFING, YOU WILL NOT JUMP THAT DAY, NO EXCEPTIONS, NO EXCUSES!

Ecotech Centre Cafe will be open when we are jumping there for lunch and teas. also Waitrose is just around the corner for sandwiches etc. Bring your own packed lunch when we are jumping at West Somerton as it's out in the middle of nowhere. Swaffham has lots of pubs and places to eat, so we'll be hitting the town on Saturday night!

Camping is available local, just half a mile stroll into Swaffham. Look here:
http://www.brecklandmeadows.co.uk/
Bed and Breakfasts are here:

http://www.aroundswaffham.co.uk/
Please pass the word to everybody who's coming, DON'T BE LATE!!

Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge - Mini event (19th September 2008)

A small group of jumpers gathered together over the weekend of the 13th September to help celebrate Festival Day for this iconic structure. Read the Event Report here.








 

Nick McMahon fly's past Keeley Green and the crane Round 2 "Where's The Beach" Completed (19th August 2008)

Also known as the Development Boogie, BASE jumpers spent 3 days learning new skills and competing in Round 2 of "Who's The Daddy". Event Report, Photo Galle




Final Update for Round 2 "Who's The Daddy" (12th August 2008)

Camping on site with toilets but no showers (local sports centres will suffice for those who insist on hygiene). Food will be available on site from Thursday breakfast through to Sunday afternoon. Booze will also be available from the caterers but we also advise you bring your own favourite tipple to avoid any disappointment when the Malibu and coke runs out. Water will also be available from a standpipe but we suggest you bring sufficient bottled water for your drinking needs.

Last year the evening bonfire was a great success as a focal point for socialising and swapping war stories and we'd like to repeat that at this event. We think we cleared pretty much all the dead wood out of the neighbouring hedgerows then so there may not be enough left this year to light a fag so.... If everyone picks up a bag of logs from a garage on their way to the boogie we should have enough wood to have a conflagration impressive enough to rival the Great Fire of 1666. Thanks!

Timings:


Let's go BASE jumping!


UK Pro BASE in the BPA magazine (11th August 2008)

BPA article"For the first time, UK Pro BASE have been mentioned in the British Parachute Association's publication. UK Pro Base, a professional, insured, non-profit organisation to promote high profile base jumping events in the UK has been established. There are a growing number of sanctioned base events around the world, many attended by UK Pro BASE jumpers. For example, the recent X-Days event in Rotterdam included parachuting from the 600 foot Euromast, as it has each of the four years of this extreme sports showcase. Safety is taken very seriously with equipment and qualification checks; guidelines for deployment; monitored jumps; and possible groundings. This year over 300 jumps were made, and no injuries sustained. X-Days also included canopy swooping, free running, abseiling, scooter sprinting and jet skiing.

Legal, organised base jumping has seen major competitions in Kuala Lumpur, Moscow, Berlin, Budapest and Benidorm. Now, UK Pro BASE is holding Who's the Daddy?, a series of competitions with prizes to attract international entrants. These will publicly demonstrate the sport of base jumping, its professionalism and the advanced techniques and equipment. The production of site-specific method statements and risk assessments in conjunction with an Operations Manual satisfies object and land owners’ Health & Safety concerns and has enabled third party liability insurance of £5 million to be secured. High profile media opportunities are one result. For example, UK Pro BASE carried out demo jumps from the Stealth roller coaster at Thorpe Park using branded canopies. It returns to the Bedford River Festival, where two years ago its people jumped from a 300ft mobile crane in front of hundreds of thousands. Display jumps are also planned from Ecotricity’s wind turbines in Swaffham, Norfolk."


Round 1 "Who's The Daddy" completed (14th July 2008)

The exciting first round of the accuracy competition has been completed for the Bedford River Festival. Event Report, Photo Gallery.


Final update before Round 1 "Who's The Daddy" (9th July 2008)

Hi All, here are a few last minute details for next weekend. Make sure you know where we are before Saturday - it is not the same place as last time. Access to the site will be from the roundabout in the south-west corner of the Everard Meadows. (Download the festival map at http://www.bedfordevents.co.uk/). Cars will be allowed to enter and drop off equipment but cannot remain on-site through the day. We are trying to negotiate overnight parking on-site (for those camping) but we won't know until Saturday, so bear with us.

If you need accomodation in town, the contact details for the tourist information in Bedford are:

Some chain hotels in town:

Camping in the arena will be free for competitors/lurkers/families etc. Please remember, the briefing at 9am is mandatory, so be there in plenty of time and we'll get as much jumping in as we can.


Max on BBC Radio 6 (11th May 2008)

UKPB director Max Hurd on BBC Radio 6.


2008 event series in the news (7th May 2008)

Base jumping for Airbourne: The Eastbourne Herald previews round 2 of the 2008 event series.


Dave on BBC Radio 2 (6th May 2008)

UKPB director Dave Morse launches the 2008 event series with Chris Evans on BBC Radio 2.


2008 UK Pro BASE Series (6th May 2008)

"Who’s the Daddy?" We aim to find out. This year 30 of the best jumpers in Europe will compete for the title of UK Pro BASE Daddy 2008. General info | Info for jumpers


Max on BBC Radio Kent (6th May 2008)

UKPB director Max Hurd suggests a sanctioned jumping event from the Dartford crossing, on BBC Radio Kent.


Dave in the news (11th April 2008)

Base jumper: Let us use QEII Bridge Kent Online


Thorpe Park (April 2008)

Demonstration jump from Thorpe Park rollercoaster.