posted Mar 4th, 2015 - It's a zoo, a chaos, a jungle of meets and events out there in the formation skydiving competition world - and there in the flying chambers...

World Challenge, World Cup, World Championship, Wind Games, ISR Grand Prix, Paraclete XP Indoor and Outdoor Championship, Aerokart Championship, Polish Open, Dubai International Parachuting Championship, Bodyflight Revenge, Tomscat Trophy, ESL Championship, national indoor and outdoor championships, and last not least the numerous and regular local and regional league meets, not even including the Indoor Cloud League activities.

Yes, it's a zoo, a chaos, a jungle of meets and events - but it's a nice problem to have.

TURNING POINTS: We're Getting There

Let me go far back to explain. I was playing soccer (futbol) intensely and passionately before I started skydiving. We would practice every day, except Mondays (sauna and massage) and Saturdays (rest before the game), and we knew what it was all for: There would be a competitive game every Sunday between August and May, with a few short breaks.

Then I met skydiving, and I was hooked, right away. I tried for one season to do both, and it did not work very well. I quit the ballgame in the middle of an athlete's best years in the sport (around age 25), just after my first world trip with the Berlin All-Star team.

It was exciting to be a skydiver, and I never regretted the move. However, it did not take too long until I had my first 4-way team and soon realized that there was one (one!!!) competition in Germany, the national championships — which took place every other year. Fortunately, there was also one competition of the British Forces in Germany we were allowed to attend, and my progressive area of Germany also had an annual regional competition. That was it. Fast forward, and 30 years later, I don't know where to go first...

Launching the National Skydiving League and helping to build more international leagues and event networks was a part of the evolution to the current event zoo, and I love to see where we have ended up.

I understand that it has become increasingly difficult for hosts to schedule events and attract enough teams to the meets. It has also become challenging for teams to create a schedule that makes the most sense for each situation, budget and goals. However, good things often grow out of chaos, and it will happen to our sport, as well. In fact, I love the "chaotic" situation the way it is right now.

The present situation is just another step in the evolution of the sport. We often wonder why it is so difficult to attract public attention, media and sponsors to our beautiful and exciting sport. I am not too surprised that not much has happened yet in this so greatly desired and helpful area of every sport.

I usually help myself understand critical situations by looking at other sports. It is a fact that all the other established events first created the actual environment for their activities before the sport could be "commercialized." In soccer, there were first the leagues and the games, the arena for the athletes, before media and sponsors began to show interest in the sport. It took a while until all top players eventually became millionaires.

We are getting closer to the point where we may have enough leagues, meets and events that guarantee consistency and continuity for any media outlet to broadcast regularly, or for any sponsor who might be interested in investing in the sport and its events and athletes.

In my eyes, we are still far from being attractive and organized well enough to convince professional observers that we are worth the attention and the investment. I hope that I will still be alive to witness the day when our sport turns professional the way I have envisioned it for a long time. We are getting closer, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

This work includes coordination of events and schedules to a certain extent and in certain ways. There surely is a lack in this area, and it may take a little while until the chaos turns into reliable and dependable structures.

In the meantime, we can all still enjoy the progression and the evolution of the sport. The growing number of events, especially in the indoor world, will offer many more opportunities for local skydivers and flyers to participate in the best part of the sport—competition. That's the time when like-minded people get together and compare their skills in a fun and very social environment.

Look out, there is probably an event coming up soon around your corner...