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 Gallery
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:
- Friday - 09:00 briefing for 10:00 start jumping. Please don't be late. We have paperwork and gear checks to do before the briefing. Anyone arriving late throws the carefully timed system out and this can affect everyone's jumping.
- Saturday & Sunday - 08:30 briefing and jumping as soon as we can. Even if you have attended our first event this year it does not exempt you from gear checks and briefing. Please don't be late. We're planning on getting the jumping going as soon as possible so we can minimise the effects of bad weather.
Let's go BASE jumping!
UK Pro BASE in the BPA magazine (11th August 2008)
"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:
- Tel: 01234 221712
- Fax: 01234 217932
- Email: touristinfo@bedford.gov.uk
Some chain hotels in town:
- Travel Lodge 0871 9846276
- Travel Inn 0870 242 8000
- Inn Keepers Lodge 0870 2430500
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.