BigGERWay Skills Camp 2024

• Sun 28 Jul - Thurs 1 Aug 2022
• Skydive Pink, Klatovy, Czech Republic
• Five days of jumping. (Sat 28 is arrival and warm up day and is strongly recommended. Fri 2 Aug is boogie fun jump day).
• 20-24 jumps.
• Fun, smiles and socially distanced cheesy high fives.
• Please be ready for 8am Sun 28 July.
• Day 5 on the ground for 15:30. RELEASE TIME 16:00 (normally there are flights to the UK, or wherever, leaving Prague after 8pm)

1. Skydivers who are not ready for 40ways.

2. Skydivers who want sequential skydives, outfacing slots and crazy block moves.

This camp is NOT about sequentials. It's about being safe. It's about building up to and completing single point 40ways. It's about proving you have the skills required in a low stress atmosphere. There will be an expectation of completions on the jumps and this will inevitably lead to an increase in stress, rushed decisions and mistakes will become more prevalent. This is where your training comes into play.

Use your experience as stepping stones. See the options, choose the right one. Put faith in your knowledge, skills and experience.

For the 40ways... we plan for 5 jumps a day. You have 2-3 chances to get it right each day. If you have not performed sufficiently well that day, you will be asked to step down from jumps 4&5 to allow the team to make a completion. You will be invited back to join us for the first jump the next day. We hope that you would practice your skills, show your dedication and impress us by joining the Talent Pool 15-20way group.

If we make the completion, we will explore a sequential, or move slots for everyone for the remaining jumps. If we move slots for everyone, people who have been stood down may be allowed to join us at the LOs discretion. If we are exploring sequential options then we look forward to jumping with you in the morning.

It is not expected that the Talent Pool will step up to take a regular slot on the 40way group. But also it is not impossible.

At the start of the event you must have:

1. JUMPS (200 & 40)
a) At least 200 jumps OR an excellent recent reference.
b) At least 40 jumps in 6 months preceding this event, ie between end Jan - end July

2. TUNNEL HOURS (3 & 1)
a) At least 3hrs tunnel total

b) At least 1hr in the 3 months preceding the camp, ie between end April - end July.

3. REFERENCE

A reference, dated after Jan 2023, recommending that you step up to 40ways. Do not make this up. Do not put down someone's name that you haven't asked. Please ask before you put someone's name down.

Exceptions: The 200 jumps is mainly a requirement so that we can do O2 jumps as a group. If you have less than 200 jumps total AND you have excellent references you should definitely speak to us about applying. But easier if you have 200 jumps.
 

Minimum requirements are there to make sure you learn the most from this event (oh, and 'safety'). More is better.

Practice Jump requirements:

Please practice your tracking. Get used to tracking next to someone for a few seconds before fanning out and separating.

Suggest you try this on at least five jumps ahead of the camp.

Plan and jump a normal FS jump, 2 or 3 way. At 7k, turn and fly as a tracking team. Fan out at 5k, and deploy at 4. These altitudes are just a suggestion, feel free to modify them to make them more appropriate for your jump.

NOTE: C licence (200 jumps total) required to jump from high altitude with O2 and to jump the balloons. If you're close, make it happen.

There will be O2 jumps.

If you don't have a C licence, or a logbook showing 200 jumps, then you will leave the plane at normal altitude and we'll close the door after you. Sorry.

You need to be aware that you will jump in your most comfortable slot. You may be rotated into a slot that is slightly outside your comfort zone. But we won't be putting 50kg people in the base. We won't be putting 100kg people on the outside. That's what the BigWay Skills Camp is for. And at the BigGER way Skills Camp we want some completions. But don't worry, you won't get pigeon holed, you will try a variety of exit positions and be stretched outside your comfort zone. Expect it. Embrace it. Own it.

The plan is that everyone will come away more confident about performing under pressure in a traditional bigway environment AND you will learn smiling. Probably. You might be a right grump, I can't be responsible for that, sorry.

This is how you learn bigway properly.

Day 1 we'll plan to do some 20ways.

To get the best results we need to build a strong foundation. A few of you might think progress is too slow on day one but the benefits will show later in the camp. Perhaps one O2 jump.

Day 2. 10way Speed Stars. The planes take 20 people. We have two planes. We'll run in multiplane and exit simulatanously. We'll be building two speed stars next to each other in the sky.

Day 3 - 40ways. Perhaps some O2 jumps from increased altitude.

Day 4 - 20way sequentials. & innhopp.

Day5 - 40ways. Perhaps some O2 jumps from increased altitude.

Nominally 4-5 jumps per day but we'll flex if weather requires it. Option of a 'special' 6th jump on one evening. See below.

We plan for 5 jumps a day. On the 40ways you have 2-3 chances to get it right. If you have not performed sufficiently well that day, you will be asked to step down from jumps 3/4/5 to allow the team to make a completion. You will be invited back to join us for the first jump the next day. We hope that you would practice your skills, show your dedication and impress us by joining the Talent Pool 20way group.

If we make the completion, we will explore a sequential, or move slots for everyone for the remaining jumps. If we move slots for everyone, people who have been stood down may be allowed to join us at the LOs discretion. If we are exploring sequential options then we look forward to jumping with you in the morning.

It is not expected that the Talent Pool will step up to take a regular slot on the 40way group. But also it is not impossible.

Same as BigWay Skills Camp. Sliding Scale. The bigway FS scene is ageing. To encourage younger skydivers to join we're using a sliding scale.

• Registration fee = £195 (equivalent to £39 per day for LO and camera on five jumps - a massive bargain. Equivalent to less than 4 mins in the tunnel)
• Under 30? Discounted reg fee = £140
• In full time education? Discounted reg fee = £110 (equivalent to only £22 per day, or approx 2 mins in the tunnel)

Credit card options exist in the registration form. Bank transfer saves 1.4% card handling fee. Euro bank account details exist too.

The reg fee covers your LO and cameraflyer costs for 5 jumps per day for 4 days.

PS The sliding scale seems to work so happy to keep it for a sixth year. Would love to hear your feedback.

PPS The credit card company takes 20p and 1.5% from every card transaction. After feedback from participants on previous events, I have included a voluntary option to cover the 1.5%. This is totally optional and not expected at all.

PPPS if a simple thing like money is the only thing stopping you from registering... speak to me. We might be able to find a flexible solution. I just want people to jump.

The DZ have confirmed that there will be two skyvans on the DZ.

Jump tickets at Klatovy are EUR39.50 each. (price correct as of Jan 2024)

The planes are equipped with O2 and can go to FL20. Single plane 02 jumps are marginally more likely than multi-plane 02 jumps.

The costs are:

4200m / 13,800 ft AGL is EUR 39.50 (No O2 required)

4800m / 15,750 ft AGL is EUR 45
5200m / 17,100 ft AGL is EUR 56

6000m / FL20 / 19,700 ft AGL is EUR 64

Klatovy is about 1k ASL so we'd get 1k less than stated numbers. ie if we're going to do it, we're going all in. To the top. Well, at least once anyway.

• Please be on the DZ for 8am on Day1. DZ registration can be a little slow. We'd like to be on a call for 9am.
• You'll be released no later than 1600 on Day5 in order to make the late flights home to the UK, or wherever.
• Camping is free
• DZ Bunkhouse is cheap and clean and very close.
• We're working on a hotel package. Don't feel you have to if you've got a bigger budget. Costs are pretty reasonable. Standard hotel price is about 30-35 euro per night inc breakfast. Expect breakfast to be typically Czech. Expect twin beds to be separate mattresses but one double bed frame. I don't know why, it's just what they do there.
• It is likely accommodation will be tricky and single rooms at a premium. :-(
• If you know you want a single room you will probably have to sort your own accommodation.
• Nearest airports are Prague and the ones in southern Germany. Assume Prague will be most popular but suggest you do your own checks.

I'll be LO for some chilled warm up jumps the day before.

After the event I'll be unwinding with some fun boogie jumps on the Monday. Wingsuit rodeos, freefly, big big star formations, 9way tubes. Anything goes. Join me?

Event tshirts are notoriously hard to get right. I don't do them. I am happy to assist and guide someone else sorting them though.

2018 - event tshirts for the BigWay Skills Camp were crowd sourced. John Horne was 'the man'. He designed them and found a manufacturer.

2019 - The legends of Sun Path Products subsidised the event tshirts - it was a one off. Shirts supplied by Manufactory. Approx USD 70 per shirt. Wow. Amazing. Jemma Westing was the designer to rule all designers.

2020 - hahahaha.

2022 - ugh, I was persuaded to do tshirts for my big 3 events of the year. I am still having issues with them. Something (everything?) always goes wrong.

2023 - Thanks to David and Damien for the old school cotton tshirts with unique design.

2024 -If you want to make it happen, please be my guest. I'm happy to help. Thank you.