June Parachutist features

We just approved the final proofs for the June issue; here is a sneak peek of what you will see in just a few weeks . . .

• Historical profile of Leslie Irvin
• A beginner’s guide to 4-way formation skydiving (first in a series)
• Guinness Book of World Records: Tandem record (most tandems in a day)
• Core exercises to combat back pain from skydiving
• Intro to wingsuiting

We hope you enjoy!

Nationals Champions

The 2008 Nationals results are up (finally!). Sorry for the delay, but we wanted to take full advantage of the new website to make it a bit more useful than just a static list. I think what we came up with is a nice balance of a quick loadtime and coolness. What’s really interesting is that you can click on any hyperlinked team or name and get the team members, plus any past Nationals medals they’ve won.

For example, clicking on “Airspeed” will give you a history of results for every incarnation of the infamous Arizona Airspeed FS team. Impressive, no?

So far, we only have results back through 2005 in that query system, but the goal is to get them all at least through 2002, when we first started publishing Nationals winners on our website. And, we’ll get all past results over to that cool new query system so you can start clicking away on 2005 and older results soon.

We’d love to know what you think, and what you use that page for. If there’s something you really wish you could do – on any page, not just this one – post a comment on the blog or e-mail us at webmaster@uspa.org.

CP Nationals

For those of you sick of mind-boggling political scene, there’s something more exciting going on in Denver next week besides the Democratic National Convention. It’s the 2008 USPA National Canopy Piloting Championships, hosted by the Mile-Hi Skydiving Center in nearby Longmont. So far, over 40 skydivers have registered for the chance to become national champions in either the advanced or open class. And the top eight in the open class will be invited to join the US Canopy Piloting Team that will compete at the World Canopy Piloting Championships in South Africa this November.

It’s hard to disagree with someone when they say canopy piloting is the single most exciting spectator sport we have. And the dynamic duo of organizer Frank Casares and meet director Jim Slaton have proven they know how to put on a show. It’s not just a skydiving competition but an extravaganza like no other, with bleachers, narrators, food concessions and the thrill of professional (and not-so-professional) skydivers screaming across the huge pond through colored gates on their way to glory.

If you can’t make it to Longmont next week for the fun and excitement, check our news site for daily updates and pictures of the action. It should be worth your time.