20th August News and Photos

Julia Foxwell is a well known FS skydiver on the UK circuit. As a member of the British Womens team, she is a world champion and therefore she flys the flag for her discipline.

1. Well done on winning the World Championships. How does it feel and is coming to the British Nationals somewhat of an anti-climax?

Of course we are all extremely delighted on winning the World Championships. We went to the meet knowing exactly what we wanted to do and how we wanted to skydive. We are delighted that despite the frustrations with the weather and obvious pressures we had from the other teams, we executed the plan that we have been training to do and performed how we expected to perform.

The British Nationals does not have the same pressures we experienced at the World Meet but all the same it’s an extremely important competition for us. We have come to the British Nationals wanting to continue with the plan we have been working hard on for the past 18 months and perform at our best.

2. How did you managed to raise your points average so far in such a short period of time?

When we first got together as a team, we had one goal in mind – to win the World Championships in 2006. We always knew that our goal was extremely challenging, particularly as the teams we were up against had been established for some years and were training hard. We therefore needed to get a good coach and be prepared to put a lot of commitment into the 18 months ahead.

We selected Dan BC as our coach and followed his plan rigorously both at our training camps, in the tunnel sessions we have had at Airkix, lots of visualizing, physical training, watching our best of and believing that we can do it.

3. What plans does the team have for the next season if any?

At the moment we are concentrating on finishing the Nationals and having a hard earned break. Then who knows…………

4. Most Nationals only have 1 or 2 established all-female teams. Since female 4-way is its own discipline, how would you encourage the development of the talent pool?

It would be great to have a talent pool and would certainly stop the need for “starting again” with a new team. The Bodyflight teams have certainly proven that a group of skydivers learning skills and working together certainly benefits everyone – particularly UK skydiving. It would be great if people that want to do a team could make themselves known, perhaps using the BPA website, confirming what kind of commitment they are looking to give and what they would ideally like to achieve. This way it would be easier to form a talent pool and keep it refreshed with up and coming skydivers.
 

The judges are ploughing through the remaining rounds which need to be judged. It now looks likely that Wingnutz have won the A class. Click here for the scores.

Polaris and Fend 4 Yourself. Photos by Dorian Harwood.

13:20

Photos of Bodyflight Frenzy by Mike Gorman.
 

Photos by John Williamson.
 

Paul Mayer is the face behind Bodyflight. He has sponsored 4 teams at the 4-way event and they are all doing well at the time of writing.

Hours in the tunnel: Lost count!
Number of jumps: 280ish
How did you get involved with the tunnel in the first place: After AFF / Tunnel in Florida – I knew the UK was in need of a tunnel… so set about it as soon as I got home.

1. Bodyflight (and other tunnels) have been open long enough to make a difference in the Grand Prix average points scores. They have shot up. Do you attribute this solely to the tunnel, or do you think there are other reasons?

I think that the progression is helped greatly by tunnels but I think the number of teams that are seriously committed to training is increasing all the time… if we didn’t exist I think more teams would train abroad – but probably the tunnels can be credited with the larger increases in scores for intermediate and rookie classes.


2. There are many rumours flying around about the future of this tunnel, e.g. new tunnels on other locations, games facilities, a jacuzzi, etc. What plans do you have for the future?

We have recently completed our accommodation block… Café/Bar will be ready within a few weeks and we are starting on our Gym/Sauna/Jacuzzi sports hall in the coming weeks. We are aiming to make our facility as good outside the flight chamber as inside!


3. In general the tunnel is a positive influence on the sport. However some would argue that it is taking regular jumpers away from their local DZ’s. Is this fair or simply business?

I don’t know of many people that stop jumping due to tunnels – but obviously there is probably an impact through less disposable income. I don’t know if jumpers spend more through the encouragement that the tunnel gives (also the non-weather issues) or if this impacts the DZ’s. Its hard to create any new business with no economic issues for others – but I sincerely hope that our tunnels are an asset.

4. Where do you see the future of skydiving going with wind tunnels in the UK?

I really want to see the UK starting to blossom with talent at the world meets… this is why we started the Bodyflight Project. I hope to continue with this aim in mind and encourage flyers of all levels to progress. We have the facilities to do well now (a lot of non-UK jumpers are training in the UK now for a change!) so hopefully we can all do well.