posted Jan 8th, 2007 - The NSL News went on an excursion last weekend. Chris Hayes, who has managed the swooping competition of SkyQuest since 2004, had put together an event at a beach site in Melbourne Beach, Florida. Team Fastrax, Selection.com and Performance Designs supported the project, and the NSL News was interested to see the results fo the intense event preparation.

Several 4-way competitors competed at the beach swooping competition, as well, and the NSL News had the opportunity to observe their performances in a different environment.

Chris Hayes had recently formed Getsum, a company that manages skydiving events. The beach swooping competition last weekend was the first event where Getsum was fully in charge of the event management. Chris Hayes and his staff had used the NSL office facilities to prepare for the event, which created even more interest of the NSL News.

Saturday was the main day of the event in Melbourne Beach. The chosen event site was not new to skydiving. The nearest skydiving center in Sebastian uses the beach restaurant for sunset jumps and beach landings on a regular basis. However, the magnitude of last weekend's event was very different.

Getsum had put together a very entertaining and exciting competition, which was attractive to participants and spectators both. The swooping competitors went through their usual routine of a dry course. The cold Atlantic water was only a steering mistake away, however, skimming the water's surface was not a part of the competition.

Two rounds each in accuracy, speed and distance made for the total number of points. The results of the competition could be found on the NSL scoreboard on site. The conditions were difficult for the participants since the wind on the beach is never exactly the same. The course for the landings was set into the ground winds, and the wind conditions can easily effect the results in each discipline.

These athletic factors of the competition were almost irrelevant for the general public. The spectators on site had more than enough to see when the event was in full swing. One of the several event videos provides a 2-minute experience of a time period on Saturday afternoon when the speed round was taking place. The video can be viewed by clicking here.

The video includes an interesting combination of different flight performances. Seabirds, including pelicans and unlimited numbers of seagulls, are usually flocking the beaches in this area. However, they staid mostly away from the event site when the helicopter and parachutes took over in the air.

This video shows one seagull that was apparently attracted to the other flight activities. It showed its own maneuvers while the helicopter was flying close by and several parachutes landed on the beach. There were no other seagulls anywhere close when the video was taken.

The competitors were lifted to the skies over the beach site in two different ways. A helicopter was loaded with four participants and took off at a makeshift location right behind the restaurant. The spectators had the opportunity to see the aircraft and competitors take off together and land a few minutes later separately.

A bus also shuttled additional participants to Skydive Sebastian where they would board the DZ's Twinotter. This load would then be dropped later at the beach location. The participants took turns in using the helicopter and the Twinotter. The next video shows the loading and take-off from the beach site and can be viewed by clicking here.

The same video includes a brief interview with Kaz Sheekey of Team Fastrax who is the top-ranked female Canopy Piloting competitor. She was getting ready to be shuttled to the Twinotter at Skydive Sebastian and provided some insights of the gender mix at Canopy Piloting.

The NSL News did not have to search for very long to find the members of the PD Factory Team. They were located at the top locations of the leaderboard and stood out with their team uniforms. The NSL-TV camera caught one of Shannon Pilcher's jumps, and the video provides an overview of the competition site at the same time. This part can be viewed by clicking here

The same video includes a brief interview with Shannon Pilcher. The NSL News found him at a break between his jumps when he casually chatted with the PD Marketing Director, Rob Wilson. The NSL News had recently reported on his coaching work with the Canadian team Evolution (story on January 5).

Canopy Piloting expert and 4-way world champion Shannon Pilcher was still impressed with the team's performance, especially with the "new Thomas Hughes", 15-year old Benoit Lemay. Shannon Pilcher was also in a very good position to win some of the $3,000 cash purse in Sebastian when the NSL News interview took place. The final results were not available when this story was posted, and the NSL News will follow up with the scores later.

It was no surprise that "twin brother" Ian Bobo was only a few yards away when the NSL News interview with Shannon Pilcher was done. The NSL-TV camera literally turned around approx. 180 degrees, and the other 4-way world and national champion was already in the focus. The video of the additional comments by Ian Bobo can be viewed by clicking here.

Italy Sinapsi PD's bronze medalist Pete Allum completed the field of top 4-way competitors who turned into Canopy Piloting beach swoopers last weekend. Pete Allum is a passionate surfer and very familiar with the beach at the Sebastian Inlet, which is one of the top spots for surfers on America's east coast.

Pete Allum used to have his team's headquarters in Sebastian and lived there when he was a member of the British national 4-way team Sebastian XL. It was not the first time last weekend that he landed on the same spot at the beach location. However, it was his first Canopy Piloting competition at Melbourne Beach.

His Italian team, Sinapsi PD, is currently hibernating and may not become active again this whole year. Pete Allum continues with his coaching career in the meantime, including a new job with the New England Skydiving League team Mass Defiance, as the NSL News reported earlier. He also plans to put more efforts into becoming a top competitor in Canopy Piloting. The video of the beachside interview with Pete Allum can be viewed by clicking here.

The Canopy Piloting competition in Melbourne Beach concluded the annual "Cross Keys Invasion" to Sebastian. The event was completed on Saturday, and the day ended for the participants with the award ceremony the same evening. The NSL News will follow up with the final results of the competiton very soon.