The PD Blog

Nationals Are Heating Up!

This year's US Nationals has proven to be a very exciting event, as expected. After the Classic Accuracy event concluded with a team victory by Skydive Ricks and their PD Zeros along with new national records in individual men's and women's accuracy by Jimmy Hayhurst and Cheryl Sterns (Jimmy scored a total of 12 centimeters and Cheryl scored 16 centimeters over 10 rounds on their Zeros), it was time for the 4-way FS competition to begin. 

65 teams in total entered the competition - 30 Intermediate, 19 Advanced, and 16 Open. First takeoff was Monday morning at 7am and the planes didn't stop until all 65 teams had completed 7 rounds of competition in the Arizona sun. 

The Intermediate class ended the day with close scores at the top. T-Minus:01 currently leads the pack with an average of 12.29 followed closely by Fo' Shizzle with a 12.00 and Dallas Khaos XP one point behind them with an average of 11.86. Tomorrow we'll get to see if Khaos can close the gap for 2nd and if T-Minus:01 can hold onto their top spot.

The Advanced division also has a tight battle taking place leading into the last three rounds. Qatar Tigers, a guest team, are currently in the lead with a 13.17 average whle Perris Air Rush follow a mere two points behind with a 12.83 average after round 7. Third place has a tie at the moment between Spaceland Lite and Fallout, both with an average of 12.33. With scores that close, Tuesday is bound to be an exciting day.

The Open class also saw its fair share of close scores today as all eyes were on Arizona Airspeed, SDC Rhythm XP, Perris Fury, and the Golden Knights Gold going into round 7. So far, Airspeed has tied or beaten every team in every round and currently sits on top of the leaderboard with a 22.29 average! After round 6, Rhythm and Fury were tied for 2nd place but then in round 7, Rhythm came out on top with a 19 to Fury's 15 to give them a bit of breathing room. Unfortunately for them, the Golden Knights Gold team also rocked a 19 in round 7 and put themselves just one point off the silver medal spot going into round 8. The Golden Knights F4 team also posted up some high scores today with an average of 16.57 after round 7, making them the top female 4-way team in this event. Being an 'On-Year' for the US Team selection, the pressure is on for Tuesday's three remaining rounds and we'll be sure to post updates as soon as we can.

Check back soon for updates and scores and be sure to check the PD Facebook page for quick updates on the fly. Updated scores can also be found at Omniskore's website.

USPA Nationals 2011

USPA Nationals 2011 hosted by Skydive Arizona

PD has been busy setting up and gearing up for all the competitors to arrive and get settled in. So far the top VFS teams are in the house, and Arizona Airspeed is taking a few days off before their final training camp, the French CRW team are filling the skies with their PD Storm canopies.

Jumpers participating in the first part of the USPA Nationals have been seeing how many pennies they are losing and how well their tucks and turns are the day before Classic Style and Accuracy Landing kicks off at 6:45am tomorrow.

This year marks an "on year" for all competitors looking to represent the US in the World Meet to be held in Dubai in 2012.

As always Performance Designs attends the USPA Nationals to support those who come out and compete, be it the top-level teams and individuals or the fun pick up teams looking to put their best up against the rest. This year is no different, PD has set up a video debrief room next to the gear store with 4 TV's and a charging station so teams can relax in the AC, watch their dives and get ready for the next round. We look forward to seeing you all in there.

Keep up to date on daily "tid bits" via our PD Facebook page, and don't forget to check out the awesome photo gallery with pics by our PD Reps and none other than PD Sponsored Athlete Niklas Daniel. Scores and more can be found on the OmniSkore website.

Rare Species: The Accuracy Jumper

Last week at the 2008 USPA Nationals Morten and I came into close contact with what was once believed to be an extinct species of skydivers: the Accuracy Jumper. 
We were happy to see that they are quite the opposite - alive and thriving around the world - and even seem to be winning over pilots from other disciplines such as Canopy Piloting!

Anyway, being presented with an opportunity to observe those creatures in their natural habitat, Morten and I pounced on it.  It was entertaining and at the same time we learned a lot. 
Let me present the first ever PD Blog documentary - ta da!!!

Last day in Eloy!

Things are wrapping up - 10-way and 16-way were completed earlier and now it seems there is not much to do except getting ready for tonight's banquet.  Noticeably absent from the DZ this morning were some of the freeflyers - but they represented strongly at the bar last night, celebrating.

The DC-3 has been flying all day and even the last couple of rounds of 10-way were done out of that plane.  We have been told that this is the first time since 1988 - maybe a flashback for some of the competitors at the 2008 Nationals??

Another highlight of the day was when Albert got a chance to meet Jimmy - the Midwest Freefly Legend - in person.  It was sort of a big deal, and I'm glad I got it on film.  Well the CF card.
Other than that, we are slowly but surely packing up the PD studio and getting ready to set up at the awards + banquet dinner tonight.  We will make sure to bring some of the teams for a quick interview on the red carpet under the PD banner.
Also, we have TONS of material from the week, so expect to see some fun stuff throughout the next couple of weeks.   Stay especially tuned for the Tuesday feature:  PD's very own documentary film (Survivorman-style) on a very elusive species of skydivers, rarely seen: The Accuracy Jumper!

VFS and Artistic Events completed

Welcome to the last news show of this Nationals, as night is banquet night!
In this last newscast Morten and Albert go over yesterday's events. We had planned to interview both Mandrin and Arsenal, but for some reason the sound on both those clips was not suitable for the blog, so we have to do without - and then the internet went bonkers.
But it's back to live again, so here we go - enjoying this last day of the 2008 USPA Nationals!

VFS Battle: Mandrin and Arsenal fighting it out

Holy cow, it's exciting here in Eloy today.  VFS (Vertical 4-way) Open class is 2 of the top teams (Arizona Arsenal and Team Mandrin) taking turns schooling each other.
The "regualar" freefly is coming along great too, and rumor has it that a new world record in speed might be filed before the day is over!
In the open class, SoCal Convergence is battling the home team Solstice and currently just a few points ahead.  But, the day is not over yet so keep hitting that Omniskore button for updates!

Cheeseburger in Paradise

So its 6:30am here in Eloy AZ and we're off to the dropzone!  We stopped at the local convenient store for some breakfast.  Thinking I would pick up an egg and cheese sandwich, I stopped over to the "sandwich area" and much to my suprise, there was one breakfast sandwich, and about 10 cheeseburgers?!?!  With my "when in Rome" attitude, I grabbed a double cheeseburger and had my way with it.  Seemed odd at the time but I guess thats how they do it here in Arizona! Maybe I'll have eggs for dinner.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Nite Swoop with Albert: Elsinore Jedi

Welcome to the Nite Swoop with Albert! 

Tonight we find out what a Jesus handle is, and get to see an interview with team Elsinore Jedi.  The team that goes both ways...  !

Join us again tomorrow for a very special project: a documentary on a very elusive species of a very special kind of skydiver.  Stay tuned. 

PD/NSL News - October 23rd 2008

It's time again for the PD/NSL news show - a bit earlier in the day this time.
Kurt has said his good bye to Arizona for the time being and is currently traveling back to the NSL home base in DeLand, Florida.   He will continue to provide commentary and updates from there, so keep on checking the NSL website.

Join us again later tonight for another episode of the Night Swoop with Accuracy Albert!

BREAKING NEWS: Albert Scores a ZERO

The PD Blog just came back from the Accuracy tuffet, where competition is in full swing at the moment. We are extremely proud to announce that our very own Albert Berchtold came into round 7 like a pro.  He fixed his gaze on the little yellow dot in the center and never looked back, flying his way straight into a DEAD CENTER.  Amazing.  Watch for some footage from that later tonight!
The photo is of Angela Nichols from the Golden Nights just after touching down.

Other than that, the artistic events are moving along, both freefly and freestyle in full swing. VFS will start tomorrow but many of the teams are here already.

This Nationals has to be the best covered EVER.  Not only do you have the usual suspects such as Omniskore and NSL (and the PD Blog), but now Skydive Carolina has gotten in on the action with their very own blog and daily newsletters.   James LaBarrie, DZ manager, is here rooting for the home teams Liquidity in 4-way and Carolina Ice in 8-way plus - now thats seriously impressive support from your home DZ!

Now it's back to the editing table - stay tuned for the PD/NSL afternoon newscast.