By Rugene Frost

Pretoria Skydiving Club hosted the second round of the National Skydiving Championships, with the first event held in Rustenburg earlier this year. Canopy Piloting, also known as "swooping," is a relatively new discipline in skydiving competitions. This discipline became possible with the development of smaller and faster canopies in the mid-1990s. Initially referred to as "blade running," it soon evolved into the format used today. Competitors navigate over a stretch of water for safety reasons due to the high speeds involved, creating spectacular action as parachutists skim across the water's surface, leaving a spray trail behind them.

This discipline demands significant skill and experience, with numerous national federations requiring at least 500 parachute jumps before permitting a competitor to participate in a Canopy Piloting Event.

Canopy Piloting consists of a series of challenges aimed at assessing a parachutist's skill in controlling their canopy and flying precisely. Each challenge begins with the parachutist maneuvering through several gates positioned over water. Depending on the specific task, the parachutist has one of three objectives: to complete the course in the least amount of time, thereby achieving the highest speed; to finish the water segment and then land as accurately as possible on a target; or to reach the greatest distance from the entry gate before landing.

The competition featured two categories: Intermediate and Open. The Open category is typically for dedicated "swoopers" using ultra-fast canopies, while the Intermediate category is designed for jumpers with more standard canopies.

Graham Field from Skydive Rustenburg emerged victorious in the Intermediate competition, scoring a total of 441.551 points (228.599 for accuracy and 212.952 for speed). His nearest competitor, DeWet Davel, earned a commendable 370.164 points, while Quinton Henning secured third place with a total of 303.000 points.

Chris Teague led the Open Category, achieving the highest score of 900.000 (300.000 each for accuracy, speed, and distance). Matteo Pagani secured second place with a total of 631.623, while Warren Hitchcock came in third with a score of 489.843. Billy Sharman and Bailey Edmunds took fourth and fifth places, respectively.

The Nationals took place alongside the Peter Lawson Cup, an annual event organized by the Pretoria Skydiving Club to honor Pete's contributions to the club's development and the sport's ongoing growth. The Peter Lawson Cup featured three categories: two-way and four-way formation skydiving, and wingsuiting.

Throughout the day, visitors were offered tandem jumps to encourage more people to take up skydiving.

The Pretoria Skydiving Club employs a PAC 750 as their "jumpship." This aircraft was in constant use over the two days, ascending to around 14,000 feet before diving down, occasionally reaching the ground before the jumpers.

Numerous former club members of all ages gathered for a reunion, creating a very festive event.

The event was sponsored by Parachute Systems, with Air Team, Harri Viljoen, James Meyer, and Jimmy Parrella all contributing generous cash prizes for the winners.

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