posted Dec 16th, 2008 - The NSL News has covered several topics after the World Meet 2008 that will be discussed by the Formation Skydiving Committee of the International Parachuting Commission (IPC) at the upcoming meeting in Sweden on 1 February 2009.

The freeze frame issue made the NSL News on 6 October 2008, followed by the discussion of slower judging speed on 9 November 2008. The event duration of world meets and world cups was the topic on 14 November 2008.

Last not least, two recent NSL News stories covered the committee's plans to make adjustments of the actual dive pool. The first story on 2 December 2008 explained the history of the blocks and random formations. The story on 11 December 2008 followed up and explained the position of the current dive pool in the bigger picture of Formation Skydiving competition and questioned the need for dive pool changes.

Perris Fury, currently the second strongest team in the USA and one of the best 4-way teams in the world, took some time after the USPA Nationals 2008 to discuss the IPC dive pool. Christy Frikken now summarized her team's position and provided the NSL News and the 4-way community with a view from a different angle.

Dive Pool Changes - Perris Fury

After the USPA Nationals, Fury took advantage of the off-season to ponder some of the upcoming updates in the dive pool. We are looking forward to a few changes that increase the excitement level and provide new ways to try engineering, exit, and technique.

Many of the local 4-way freaks at Perris are excited about the change and have contributed to a list of ideas. Fury had even scheduled a day to test the blocks out and get video, but unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. Instead Fury combined their favorite few thoughts and is submitting them hoping to inspire the committee.

Of course, we recognize concern that changing blocks may be a minor setback to teams who don't have the opportunity to train as much as Fury does. However, we don't feel that this has a significant detrimental impact. A more experienced team will learn a new block faster then a less experienced team. Most of the groups we work with are excited for the challenge.

In addition, by changing the dive pool we have an opportunity to fix nagging judging issues and develop blocks that have a higher "fun-factor". Certain blocks cause problems for the judges, like Hammer - Hammer (Block 13). Other blocks seem less agreeable to many teams. For Fury, Bundy - Bundy (Block 12) just isn't that entertaining.

If there is an obvious difficulty with the occasional change, it is the lack of a testing phase that allows enough teams to test with enough time to change bad blocks before any significant meets. Perhaps one of the large popular meets like the World Challenge or the Paraclete Meet could volunteer to use the dive pool so the judges and competitors could have a dry run without the commitment of a full season.

Perris Fury's favorite ideas include "Pinwheel - Pinwheel", which would be supposed to possible replace the current Block 9 or Block 13. Christy Frikken describes this block as a "free break block that should be fairly fast but involves a reasonably sized move due to the centers having to move out and allow the outsides of the pinwheels in".

"Molar - Blackhole" would be a slow block that replaces the current Block 12 (Bundy - Bundy), which is also one of the slowest blocks in the dive pool. The new block would switch the piece partners of one piece, unless a "swing move" is applied, just as the current Block 12 does. Christy Frikken explains that "this block is reasonably similar to Bundy - Bundy for the back piece, but because the front piece has a nice controllable side body, there are more options for sheering, verticals, and an energetic close".

"Mr. T - Fool" is another Fury proposal for a block that does not switch any piece partners. According to Perris Fury's evaluation, it would be a block move of medium speed and possibly replace either Block 2 (Sidebody Donut - Side Flake Donut) or Block 4 (Monopod - Monopod). Christy Frikken explains this move as "a 3-way piece + single solo block, like the current Block 2 or Block 4. The probable move will involve a giant vertical move by the Point at the start, with some kind of leg hook to close. Spinning an AFF piece accurately should be sharp."

"Widget - Wudget" is the last Perris Fury proposal. The team members were digging it out from an earlier version of the dive pool. This block move usually does not switch any piece partners and is of medium speed, according to the Perris Fury members. They like it since it "looks like a nice cogging block with a rolling close. There may be a few good options for engineering the build."

There is still a lot of time for the Formation Skydiving competition community to discuss any possible dive pool changes before the IPC meeting on February 1 in Sweden. The same counts for the other topics of potential rule changes, as well. The NSL News has created a discussion forum that can be used from here on. A productive discussion usually creates great results.

The feedback from all Formation Skydiving teams and competitors of all experience and skill levels is important for the IPC committee. Any contributions can also be sent directly by e-mail to the committes's chair, Fiona McEachern.