6th FAI Junior & 9th FAI EC in Freefall Style & Accuracy Landing in Podgorica, MNE, 2017 - Day 6

Dawn breaks over the last day of this European Championships

Thursday, 31st August 2017 - Day 6

10.30 pm.   This evening we were presented with a fast and furious prize-giving which was nonetheless a celebration for all the successful athletes of this European Championships.  I would like to congratulate all our new European Champions, and tomorrow will put together a full page with pictures of the actual medal ceremony:  For now:

Junior Male Accuracy Landing European Champion  :   Petr Chladek, Czech Republic

Junior Male Freefall Style European Champion : Lukas Tschech , Germany

Junior Male Overall European Champion : Petr Chladek, Czech Republic

In the Senior Event

Female Accuracy Landing European Champion : Nataliya Nikitsiuk, Belarus

Female Freefall Style European Champion : Liubov Ekshikeeva, Russia

Female Overall European Champion : Liubov Ekshikeeva, Russia

Female Team Accuracy European Champions : Russia

Female Overall Team European Champions :  Russia

Male Accuracy Landing European Champion : Istvan Asztalos, Hungary

Male Freefall Style European Champion : Libor Jirousek, Czech Republic

Male Overall European Champion : Jiri Gecnuk, Czech Republic

Male Team Accuracy Landing  European Champions : Belarus

Male Team Overall European Champions : Czech Republic

In the Junior Female event due to only 3 NAC's entering Junior Female competitors it is not classified as a Europen Championships, but none the less we congratulate the Gold Medal Winners:

Junior Female Accuracy Landing Winner : Maria Elkina, Russia

Junior Female Freefall Style Winner : Kseniia Fominykh, Russia

Junior Female Overall Winner : Maria Elkina, Russia

15.15pm  In the end we only did the rejump for the female Accuracy Landing Round 7.  The Chief Judge and Meet Director then check and confirm all the final placings.  We have two hours for any protests to take account of as well.   This evening after the prize-giving a special meal is planned for everyone including all those who have worked so hard to make this week a success.

14.30 pm   Defeated by the weather.  The last announcement was that there will be no Semi-Final for either Male or Female Accuracy Landings - the only jumps to be made are the re-jumps for the female event and the tie-break for the male junior event.  The manifeste announced a 'short' 15 minute call for the jumpers involved.

14,00 pm   The winds have dropped but due to problems with ATC at the main airport we have to finish jumping by 15.00 hrs today - not the 17.00 hrs we were expecting.    We already have had the first call for the Male Semi-Final of 26 individual Male Accuracy plus 2 junior male for a jump-off of their tie for 2nd place, Sebastien Greser, AUT and Radu Ionila, ROU.  We also have rejumps of the Female Accuracy Round 7 before we can go to the Semi-Final for the Female Event.  As I write this we have turbulent conditions and the wind has not settleed enough yet.  It is very busy in the organisers office at the moment.

13.15 pm  It does not matter how carefully you plan when the wind goes over the limits (+ 9 mps) puts paid to it all.  Now we are on Standby for all events.

12.05 pm  So the end of Round 8 Male Accuracy Landing; whilst we wait for the results at the scoring centre so that those who have made the cut (top 25%) is worked out, Round 7 of Female Accuracy Landing is called. The plan is that at the end of Female round 7 we will jump the Male Accuracy landing Semi-Final (minimum 26 male competitors) and then move to the Female round 8, followed by the male Accuracy Landing Final;  finishing the  Accuracy Landing competition with Female Semi-Final (minimum 11 competitors) and Final.  Unfortunately although Style is still on Standby it looks more and more unlikely that we will be able to continue with the event.

Congratulations to the Switzerland Team for a team score of 0.00 on their 8th round Jump.  Is this a first for them?  Just got news that the Czech Republic Team have also scored 5 0.00's on their Round 8 jump - Congratulations to them also.  Also a small note of congratulations for one of our debutante male competitor's Isaac Brown (UK).   Here at his first International Championships on a new accuracy canopy having only jumped fast canopies to date.  He started the competition with 5, 0.16 scores, but listened to the advice he received from an international mix of help ;  congratulations, on his 6th jump he scored 0.05, on his 7th 0.03 and 8th 0.11 - all on the pad.

Switzerland Team	Isaac Brown	Czech Republic Team

11.30 am  We have an interesting competition at the top of the table - nothing is certain yet.  The Female Accuracy at the end of Round 6 has the top three places with only 0.01 points between each placing:  1st Nataliya Nikitsiuk, BLR, 0.06 : 2nd Deborah Ferrand, FRA, 0.07 : and Ewa Weselowska, POL, 0.08.  However with the Male Accuracy event at the end of round 7 we have a tie for first place between Anton Gurinovich, BLR and Istvan Asztalos, HUN both on 0.03 points and there is also a tie between Mohamed Moujid, FRA and Oleg Fomin, BLR on 0.04 - with 4 competitors tied on 0.05 and 3 on 0..06. 

We are still hopeful that it will be possible to continue with Freefall Style as again we have very tight placements in both Male and Female events:  Male, Libor Jironsek, CZE on total 13.05; Elisha Weber, GER total 13.13 and Jiri Gecnuk, CZE total 13.23.  Female, Liubor Ekshikeever, RUS 14.75, Leocardie Olivier DePurie, FRA 14.95 and Deborah Ferrand, FRA on 15.13.  Everyone is now aware of the clock ticking.

10.45 am  We have now completed Round 7 Accuracy Landing Male and were making a start on round 8 when the ACT again put us on a 15 minute hold.  All results are available on the results site.  See link above.

9.00  am  Announcement for all competitors.  Freefall Style is on standby - at the end of Round 7 Male Accuracy Landing we will continue with Round 8 Male Accuracy Landing and then switch to Rounds 7 and 8 Female Accuracy Landing.  15 minutes later the Manifest announced a 10 minute hold due to the ATC at the main airport.

7.00 am  Following the Team Leaders' Meeting this morning - continuing with accuracy landings and standby for freefall style whilst the situation with visibility is monitored.  We commence with the rejumps following the completion of jumping yesterday evening, and then onto Male Accuracy Round 7 then Female Accuracy Round 7 and then round by round through the day.  Jumping must cease by 17.00 hours this evening.  The Prize Giving and Closing Ceremonies will commence at 20.00 hrs.

So far, any injuries have been restricted to the organisation and judges!  Following Günter's leg injury, yesterday Michel Jara, Style Event Judge, broke his arm on landing on the first SIKI load of the day.    Let us hope that is the last for this meet, and both of them make good recoveries.

Günter Berendt - FAI Controller	Michel Jara, Style Event Judge

The big talking point of the competition has been the number of rejumps; due to failure of the electronic pad to record a score.  Until this morning the figure was 31 which is very high - made even weirder in that it affected, in the main, the same 4 competitors.  Many ideas have been tried to resolve the issue, but it is very dispiriting for the competitors and judges and of course the supplier of the system. 

Last jump of the day, 30.08.17 - sunset - results in another rejump