30th August 11:15

You can now see photos of all the medal winners in each skydiving discipline and class.

27th August 11:55

This mornings competition started at 10:00, with only a few competitors left to compete. The scores for the 8-way are in, and most of the artistic events too! Well done to 8-way team "RawNutz" a scratch team entered at the last minute, who won Gold at Intermediate level!

Congratulations to the Speeders who made quite a competition this year, almost tripling the number entered last year.

Plenty of people are still at the DZ, watching the last competitors, fun jumping or just recovering from the massive party last night.

Finishing the day in style and time honoured tradition "Baldrick" one of Hibaldstows tandem instructors, flies the largest flag in the UK (2,000 square ft) on the last load of the day.

26th August 10:30

The official number of lifts yesterday was 105, with a massive 1490 descents made by the teams of skydivers. Quite possibly a record!

26th August 10:05

The scores are finished for the 4-way FS event, if you want to see them click here. Ironically Rookie team 4-Play finish with a score of 69!

26th August 09:10

The first few lifts are already in the air, and with the weather as good as yesterday, everyone is hoping to get all the rounds completed today!

Sunscreen and shades seem to be the theme this morning, or are the shades to cover up the late night in the bar? It's certain that if everything does get completed today, the party in the bar will be a big one!

The scoring system "Camtrix" suffered yesterday with the intense usage and heat, and it finally fell over while the judges were going through the final rounds of the senior teams. It's back up and running this morning, and the judges are once again doing their thing.

25th August 18:59

Lift 100 of the day just went up!, with a rough average of 13 skydivers per lift that's a total of 1,300 descents. (official results will follow after the event)

25th August 18:30

With the 4-Way finished, and the judges doing their thing, FS teams are relaxing in the bar, canteen and even a few soaking up the last of the sunshine, all periodically returning to the scoreboard to see how they have done.

It's nice to see the amount of 4-way teams that have joined forces to create 8-way teams. There are 11 of them this year, plenty to make a good competition.

The first of the artistic results are expected to be posted soon, as are the results for the initial speed competitors.

25th August 16:25

The Rookies have finished all their rounds, and all the Senior teams are on their last ones. The Speed and Artistic have started their qualifying and practice rounds and the 8-Way is well under way.

The weather is fantastic, brilliant blue skies and plenty of heat, meaning that there are plenty of people soaking up the sun out in the camping area.

25th August 07:01

We're on a "Temporary Weather Hold", the manifest would like to say that they are not sure what the difference between a temporary weather hold and a weather hold is, but we're on one anyway. Thankfully the forecast is a lot better than the previous week, and it appears that the early morning cloud is already dissipating, fingers crossed, not long to go now!

25th August 07:00

The first loads are kitted up and ready to go, coffee and bacon sandwiches can be smelt across the drop zone. Many teams are making early use of the mockup and creeper area, while the artistic category appear to be enjoying a lay in!

Just a few minutes to go before load One!

24th August 21:35
                                               Interviews with various people involved with the artistic, speed and 8-way FS events.
 

  Judge: Karla Cole

Karla has been judging BPA events since 1995, and previously did a lot of 4-way and 8-way.

How did you get into being a BPA judge, and how would others interested get involved?
I first started at the RAPA Championships, first time in 1990, and it was Sue Dixon that got me involved.
I took a break after 1990, until Sue caught me again at the RAPA Championships in 1995, since then I've been hooked!

If you want to get involved as a judge, the first thing you need is to love being in a team, and you shouldn't distance yourself from the competitors you are judging, that's what I love about it. It's very important to realise that you have to put in the same amount of effort to your training to be a good judge, as the skydivers do with their sport.

What do you think of the new scoring system ("Camtrix")
The first time I worked with it was in the Bedford Wind Tunnel during April. I thought it had a lot of little hiccups, and wasn't a 100% ready for the big competitions. The last time I worked with it was at the Grand Prix just a few weeks ago. It was running smoothly and quickly, and I was really happy with it. I think it's ready to be used for big competitions.

We know judges like sweeties, what's your favourite?
Jelly Beans!

Finally, tell us something we don't know about yourself or judging.
I'm a head mistress of a school... but I'm a nice one.

8-Way Team : Sounds Grrr8 Represented by: Caroline Allen

How long has your team been together?
We've been together for 2 years with our current line up in senior, but prior to that, 5 of the team were together in the intermediate category for 2 years.

What's the hardest part about 8 way training?
That's a difficult question... Finding 8 people that want to do the same thing at the same level, with the same budget is probably the hardest thing. Find people you like, enjoy jumping with, and go from there. Doubtlessly you will end up with a good team, and have a great journey :)

Is your team on any special diet, do you think special diets would help?
We're not on any special diets, other than we have one vegetarian, but yes, I think diet has an important part to play in maintaining energy, focus and general good health. We eat a lot of fat foods, but we do eat well too! We snack on nuts and fruit to keep our energy through the day.

What would you say is a good tip for up and coming or skydivers new to 8-way?
That's a really good question... Setups, cross referencing with your clone, enjoy what you do, have fun and focus.

Was turning your first ever 8-way block hard or nerve wracking?
Neither. It was just fun! If anybody is thinking of doing 8-way, just do it, it's a huge amount of fun!

Cameraman : Dave Butterell

How long have you been doing professional camera work for skydivers?
This is my third season filming 4-way, and I have done pool camera for 2 of those seasons.

How much does your camera helmet and all the video equipment you use in one jump weigh?
It's a Flat Top Pro, a Canon 350D, and a Sony PC-9, I'm not sure exactly how much it weighs, probably best that I don't.

Got any memories that stick in your mind about camera jumps?
My balloon jump in Perris, we put the guy out with 60 jumps first, because we were concerned with how much height we had. My excuse was that I would film them leaving.

Got any tips for up and coming camera jumpers?
Take you time, learn to fly your own body relative to others before you put a camera on and film others.

What do you think is a good canopy for camera jumpers?
Something fairly docile, something you don't have to worry about. It's worth thinking about the additional weight you are placing on your head, for both openings and landings. I've got a "Spectre" and I love it.

24th August 20:40

The rounds for the 8-way are shown below.

24th August 20:25
The dive draw for the formation skydiving following the previous weekend for the FS 4-Way.

AAA Start from round 4.

AA Start from round 4.

A Start from round 4.

Rookie Start from Round 4.