11-02-2016

Posted by IBA

D4W and Dynamic Flying Merge

D4W and Dynamic Flying Merge

Wind tunnels grew in popularity out of the demand of skydivers wanting to train any time, any day of the year. Accordingly, indoor skydiving started as a direct reflection of outdoor skydiving with the same disciplines being flown in both. Soon, however, flyers realized there was more they could do within a column of never-ending air than just turn points. And thus, Dynamic was born out of the creativity of a handful of flyers looking to push their skills further. In the past 4 years, there are have two different entities creating competitions and rules around Dynamic – D4W and Dynamic Flying. D4W rules were the rules originally adopted by the FAI and the IBA and in the past D4W ran their own competitions (for example: The White Knights at FlyStation, World War XP at Paraclete XP, CharleWars at AirSpace) while Dynamic Flying rules have been used at some multi-discipline competitions, such as the Bedford World Challenge in England and the Clash of Champions in Dubai.

Recently, the two organizations have decided to merge in order to unify and promote the sport. See below for their open letter to dynamic flyers of the world…

 

Many of you might have already heard that the two organizations behind the dynamic competitions are merging. It is true, and it is happening right now! D4W and Dynamic Flying are merging into one, uniting all talent, creativity and skills in sport development, event organization and creating dynamic awesomeness under one body, which will in the near future operate under the name ”Dynamic Flying”. This sounded like a well-fitting name since we are not doing it only in 4-way anymore. We recently announced dive pool changes for the upcoming Charlewars II competition, and they were met with mixed feelings. We feel we owe all of you guys and girls a full explanation you've probably been waiting for.

It is time for union. We no longer want to run two separate dive pools and competition events. This is a long needed move to unite the community and the flyers, and this allows us to create bigger competitions that are more accessible to everyone. To stay up-to-date on what's happening, please keep following our social media feeds, and websites dynamic-flying.com and d4w.net. We are working on new logos, website, and merging our social media. This will happen gradually over time, so bear with us. We're all working out of passion, and need to make a living on the side too, so it takes a little time.

This union has been happening behind the scenes for months already, and it is about time to bring it out for you to enjoy. We have already merged our dive pools and created new rules, which were approved by the FAI for 2016 at the previous IPC meeting in Frankfurt this January. The new dive pool combines the variable mixes of head up and head down flying as presented by Dynamic Flying, and the clear cut approach from D4W where lines fly smoothly, nothing is left for interpretation, and the faster flyers get an advantage in the competition setting. The new dive pool incorporates head up and head down in both directions, meaning there is only one type of speed round. This makes training easier and more effective.

This new dive pool has been made thinking about the future: once the new changes have settled in, after we've been flying it for a full season, we can add new snake, verticals or mixers easily, or we can take away anything the community doesn't like. We have the option to have intermediate competitions now, like we'll have in Charlewars II. This category can be used for national competitions as well.

The competition format is another topic. For the FAI competitions, we will stick to a very similar one that we’ve used in former D4W competitions, like in the previous World Championships in Prague. We are simply replacing the “pool system” by a set of qualification rounds, as many flyers were unhappy about the pools. The randomness of the pool draw, and deciding who was battling against who in this preliminary phase, had the potential to have negative impact on the beginning of the tournament, making top teams battle each other early on. This will be replaced by a set of qualification rounds, with no battles, giving a preliminary ranking. This could be compared to the "pole position" in Formula 1 that will set the teams into the tournament brackets.

For other competitions, the format has a lot to do with what the organizing tunnel wants: whether it is only a dynamic competition, or integrated with other disciplines, the length intended for the event, visibility purposes – the format can change accordingly. Some tunnels want to have their own style of competition, to distinguish themselves from others. Variety is also our teacher, it's by experimenting that we know what works and what does not.

These changes were made after talking with many flyers from many different horizons. If you feel like your opinion has not been taken into consideration, please be kind and remember that we are doing our best to provide the most awesome system possible. Also we want to highlight we are always open for all feedback, ideas, and anybody willing to help out. Evolving and developing the sport to the next level is what we want to do, together with all of you!

In the spirit that was as the origin of this new amazing game we are all enjoying so much, we will keep organizing workshops where anyone willing to share their time and positive energy is welcome. Creating a new game is one thing. Developing it, making it perennial, and making it “legit”, is a different matter that comes with many challenges. We are also now dealing with being an official FAI discipline, which is awesome because we can be included in the World Championships, but it also means we have to respect certain calendar obligations. Next workshop dates and location will be announced here very soon.

We acknowledge it is impossible to please everyone, but we do want to encourage unity in this goal. We ask for a bit more of your patience until the new dive pool videos are released – this will happen within a week. Please go fly the dive pool, and please give us your feedback on it, and ask us any questions regarding it. We realize change is something we all struggle with, and it certainly puts us outside the comfort zone from time to time. But this development brings more than just a new dive pool. By combining these two organizations, we can provide you with more competitions and prospects all under one system.

This is a work in progress, we know we're not perfect, but we strive to be as good as possible. The future of dynamic flying, and indoor flying in general, is bright and full of possibilities. We have a unique chance to write a page of our sport’s history: to make it bigger, more popular, and give it more visibility. Let's make it happen, together.

Domitille Kiger - Organizational Development
Adam Mattacola - Sport Development 
David Petracco - Information Technology
Maria Dmitrienko - PR, Communications and Marketing

 

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The IBA distinguishes between the sport of indoor skydiving (engaged in by patrons with IBA accounts seeking approval of flight skills though the IBA's Flight Progression System) and recreational flying (engaged in by entertainment customers who do not intend to pursue approval of skills). While indoor skydiving is safe for all ages, the inherent risk of the activity is necessarily greater for those engaging in the sport of indoor skydiving, particularly as they progress through more sophisticated maneuvers.