posted Dec 29th, 2003 - The NSL News posted an interview with former French national coach Jerome David before his delegation competed on home turf in Gap in 2003. This interview was recorded on 27 March 2003 and posted from the NSL News archives on July 4th.

France won a 4-way Open Class gold medal and a bronze medal in 8-way half a year later, and the NSL News had a new opportunity to speak with Jerome David in December the same year. The French 4-way Open Class team had won with a new record average, while the 8-way team finished behind hopes and expectations. The event was also the first FAI World Meet for a French team in 4-way Women.

Jerome David explained in the interview why he was strongly recommending a change in the rules that would bring a delayed working time to Formations Skydiving teams and competitors. At the same time, he gave credit to the late Chair of the Formation Skydiving Committee, Fiona McEachern, an Australian 8-way competitor, who lost her life later in a skydiving accident.

"French national coach, Jerome David, has finalized his plans for the 2004 season. The NSL News had the opportunity for a very interesting and recent interview that offered more than only the French plans for the near future. David also explains why he has been endorsing a different competition format."

---

NSL News interview with Jerome David on 29 December 2003

---

NSL NEWS: Jerome, congratulations for the gold medal in 4-way and the bronze medals in 8-way at Mondial 2003. Are you happy with the French achievements in Gap? JEROME DAVID: Yes, I was happy, especially with the overall French results. Winning the Patrick De Gayardon trophy in France was wonderful. It pays back for all the enormous work done for many years by each national coach in each discipline, and of course, for all the sacrifices by the athletes. In Formation Skydiving, we have kept our habitual step, one gold - one bronze, and this included our introduction of a new 5-way girl team and also two 5-way junior teams at the same time. In the bigger picture, it was financially and technically more difficult to manage more teams. It was a challenging bet, and we succeeded. That's a good thing for the future.

NSL NEWS: Your 4-way team was on a different planet compared to the other teams. What were the major components for this outstanding performance? JEROME DAVID: It was not a surprise for me what the French 5-way did. This team should have already won in 2001 and 2002. I mean, they had already the best skills for most of the blocks. They had always lost the important previous meets in one single jump. The new team story in Gap was it's ability of performing very strongly in rounds two and six, which were the major ones. At each competition draw, those kind of fast jumps are the ones where you will win or lose. I have been used to see impressive jumps by this team for three years. However, this was the first time that I saw ten rounds so close to perfection. We lost less than five points in this whole meet. I think that the reasons were a good relationship between the team mates, a great job done by Davide Moy, a big amount of confidence, a good plan and timing toward the peak performance, great results and constant support provided by the 9-way group.

---

FAI World Meet 2003			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		1,11,12	M,J,E,10	K,16,6	13,14,5	D,22,4	9,C,Q,N	F,19,21	2,20,L	18,B,3	8,P,7	Total	Avg
1	Maubeuge	FR	16	26	23	19	21	37	24	21	19	23	229	22.9
2	Golden Knights	US	17	24	22	19	18	35	22	18	19	20	214	21.4
3	DeLand Norgies	NO	13	24	21	19	18	36	19	16	19	21	206	20.6
4	Sebastian XL	UK	14	22	21	19	17	34	21	18	19	20	205	20.5
5	Sinapsi PD	IT	13	24	22	17	17	32	22	18	18	-	183	20.3
6	Endeavour	CH	13	21	19	15	17	29	21	17	16	-	168	18.7
7	NMPV	BE	15	19	19	16	15	29	19	16	16	-	164	18.2
8	EADS	DE	14	19	17	15	15	26	17	16	16	-	155	17.2
9	Wild Wind	RU	15	22	18	15	18	22	17	8	-	-	135	16.9
10	Phenix	SE	13	18	15	15	16	23	18	16	-	-	134	16.8
11	Spain	ES	12	17	14	15	17	23	16	14	-	-	128	16.0
12	Denmark	DK	6	19	14	12	14	23	17	15	-	-	120	15.0
13	Japan	JP	12	16	14	12	13	24	14	14	-	-	119	14.9
14	Netherlands	NL	11	16	14	13	13	21	15	11	-	-	114	14.3
15	Australia	AU	11	14	12	13	13	23	15	12	-	-	113	14.1
16	Bailey 5	ZA	11	10	14	11	13	19	15	13	-	-	106	13.3
16	Monkey Circus	AT	11	13	13	13	8	20	16	12	-	-	106	13.3
18	Canada	CA	11	15	13	11	12	18	12	12	-	-	104	13.0
19	Slovenia	SI	10	12	11	9	9	16	13	11	-	-	91	11.4
20	New Zealand	NZ	8	11	9	7	10	16	10	11	-	-	82	10.3
21	Skyservice	CZ	5	8	9	7	5	11	10	8	-	-	63	7.9
22	Israel	IL	1	3	2	4	4	7	3	4	-	-	28	3.5

---

NSL NEWS: Your plans included another gold medal in 8-way. What did not work out as planned in 8-way? JEROME DAVID: I don't know exactly... During the meet, there was one big mistake in Round 2, one bad exit in Round 3, and another big mistake in Round 4. During the last month of training, we also had to replace one team member who was injured and grounded. The team had to train with an alternate, and the peak plan had been destroyed. We also had two very strong teams in front (Russia and Airspeed). I would like to send all my respect to Craig Girard and his team for this impressive work they did in nine months. And then there was, of course, the Russian team with their brilliant second victory. Finally, this meet in Gap will leave us with many regrets since we clearly had the potential and the skills to win both events.

NSL NEWS: The performance of the new French 4-way Women team was impressive. Were you surprised? JEROME DAVID: I was not surprised because those girls are strong; they are already a real team with fluid and smart relations. This group was selected during three months out of more than 20 girls who attempted at the trials. The technical skills are already here, of course, but also more than only that. This team should win the gold medal one day. However, Croatia might be a little too early. In Gap, they failed in the two last rounds. They could have reached the podium. Yet this first international meet for the team, just six months after forming it, was a positive experience. We will earn from it in the future. Next January, the team will select a female videographer, so that it will become a complete female 5-way.

NSL NEWS: Jerome, the French association had been opposed to the female category for a long time. What changed your mind? Has the female category created new business and more teams in France? JEROME DAVID: Yes, the French association did not promote the female category at the beginning. One of the reasons was financial. France needed a couple of years to assimilate the category. Introducing more and more events in our sport is nice for those events and our large community, of course. However, for the traditional events, it means that there is clearly less money available to share for training. In France, we don't have any specific female class. There is just one national team, and then there are around 15 to 20 girls who are involved in mixed teams, and they seem to be happy about that.

---

FAI World Meet 2003			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total	Avg
Rank	8-way Open		1,11,12	M,J,E,10	K,16,6	13,14,5	D,22,4	9,C,Q,N	F,19,21	2,20,L	18,B,3	8,P,7	G,O,17,H	Total	Avg
1	Evolution Pro	RU	23	19	24	16	26	21	19	18	21	15	19	202	20.2
2	Arizona Airspeed	US	23	19	24	17	23	20	19	17	24	16	19	202	20.2
3	Maubeuge	FR	25	17	21	13	25	20	16	16	24	16	-	193	19.3
4	Ex3mo	IT	15	14	19	12	15	14	13	12	17	13	-	144	14.4
5	VNE	UK	11	14	18	11	13	14	14	12	16	-	-	123	13.7
6	Australia	AU	16	14	16	11	13	11	14	8	15	-	-	118	13.1
7	Germany	DE	14	12	11	8	12	10	10	9	12	-	-	98	10.9
8	Austria	AT	0	5	7	6	7	5	7	4	8	-	-	49	5.4

---

NSL NEWS: Will all your three teams stay together with the same lineups for the next world meet in Croatia 2004? JEROME DAVID: Both male and female 5-way teams will stay together with the same lineup. The boys will stop the double duties with 5-way and 9-way since they are tired and need a lighter planning for their own lives. Davide Moy and Sophie Deremaux will keep and reinforce their positions as leaders. At the same time, I will leave the technical part of the training and focus on the general management. I am a little bit tired, as well... The 9-way will work with a completely new group, composed of all the 2003 juniors. Manu Sarrazin, who was already a member of the 9-way team in 2003, will guide this group. The goal of this new team is the first gold medal for France in 8-way. They will have a longer-term plan of a minimum of two world championships. Croatia will be the first step for a slot on the podium. The male 5-way will make about 450 jumps, the female 5-way about 500 jumps, the new 9-way about 650 jumps next year.

NSL NEWS: Jerome, it appears as if the French system has a member of each team as the leader. Who is coaching the teams for technical and mental skills? What will be your job as the general manager? JEROME DAVID: Each team leader will be in charge of driving the technical work in each group. I will still watch all jumps done, of course, but I will not be on the DZ on a daily basis as a normal coach anymore. All teams will train side-by-side most of the year and reinforce their synergy together, while members of the French 4-way Open team will guarantee and organize the technical support by forwarding their experience.

NSL NEWS: It looks as if next year's competition will include a smaller group in contention for the medals in 4-way Open. Norway has a new team, UK's XL team discontinues, only Italy and the U.S.A. will be back with top teams. Will it be easier for France Maubeuge next year? JEROME DAVID: No, absolutely no! It will be more difficult and more dangerous for many reasons. The French 4-way team has never officially beaten DeLand Majik, except during many training simulations. We also have four big years behind us and in the feet, plus already a sword at home as the accomplishment for our dream. It will not be easy to keep up the same energy and to train as if you were looking for something you never had. We will also train less than Sinapsi and Majik, which will give us a small disadvantage. For me, the favorite team is Majik. However, it will surely be hard for them since they will have to beat us.

---

FAI World Meet 2003			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Women		1,11,12	M,J,E,10	K,16,6	13,14,5	D,22,4	9,C,Q,N	F,19,21	2,20,L	18,B,3	8,P,7	Total	Avg
1	V-Max	UK	11	19	15	15	14	28	17	15	16	15	165	16.5
2	Norgie Girls	NO	11	20	17	15	14	24	19	12	12	18	162	16.2
3	Synchronicity	US	9	19	14	14	12	22	17	14	16	16	153	15.3
4	Kewara	IT	11	15	14	14	14	22	16	14	13	15	148	14.8
5	France	FR	11	17	15	13	12	22	17	13	11	-	131	14.6
6	Chicas	DE	9	12	10	10	11	16	12	10	10	-	100	11.1
7	Belgium	BE	9	14	10	10	12	8	7	7	7	-	84	9.3
8	Finland	FI	7	7	9	8	8	12	7	9	8	-	75	8.3

---

NSL NEWS: How do your teams like the exits from a tailgate? JEROME DAVID: I'm going to answer this question based on a personal feeling that I know is not shared by all. For many, many years, the idea of having to change the air plane every year and train from the adequate door is something crazy for our sport that I do not agree with. Already in 1994, I proposed to neutralize the exit, so that all countries in the world would be in the same and equal situation.

Of course, I know that skydivers enjoy the actual exit, and that you can say the exit is a crucial part of the game. However, the fact of different jump planes every year implicates a perpetual reorganization and relocation of the training camps. This situation creates problems as higher costs of training; reduction of the numbers of adequate training centers with advantages only for the biggest nations and DZs; financial and familial precariousness for competitors; the final rankings reflecting more and more the ability of exiting rather than flying; impossibility for NACs or teams to buy their own planes and reduce costs. I don't think that our meets would be less exciting than now with a delayed working time. Neutralizing the exit would also reduce many judging problems we have had in the past and that we will have in the future with videographers and video evidence. The delayed working time would also allow the nations where national teams are selected after the national championship to be ready for the upcoming international meet – no matter what the door is. We have been using this kind of system in France since 1994, and I think that it helped to increase the number of 5-way teams from 20 in 1994 to 50 this year. It helped new teams to form even on smaller DZs. To come back to your question: we like the tail gate like all other doors, except that it will once again considerably increase the costs for the training – as for many other teams in the world.

NSL NEWS: Do you expect any changes in the rules and the dive pool for the upcoming season and in the near future? JEROME DAVID: Naturally I've got my own opinion on certain questions. However, as a member of the IPC Committee for Formation Skydiving, I'm particularly satisfied with Fiona's work as the Chair of the Committee. Things have never been so fluid. She is able to listen, and she is also very efficient. The FS community is in good hands with her.