Thursday 14th August 2008

Good morning on the final day of the World Championships!

07.45hrs: A beautiful start to the day, with the first of the 4-Way Female teams about to emplane.

11.35hrs: That's it - all the jumps are completed!

The World Championships have been formally completed and the medal winners will shortly take their places on the podium.

Congratulations to all the new World Champions!

The organisers have arranged an air display to round off the Championships which will include the Patrouille de France aerobatic display team.

Wednesday 13th August 2008

08.15am: This morning's call was scheduled for 07.45am, but whilst we have high cloud, we have quite high winds too, so it's a stand-by for the moment.

High winds struck the airfield some hours after parachuting ceased yesterday, resulting in around 7 tents in the Competitors' Village being destroyed. This week's weather has certainly been variable!

Wind-damaged tents

08.52hrs: A 15 minutes call has just been announced for the start of Round 5 of the 4-Way Female.

09.35hrs: With only two teams managing to get into the air, the winds have once again risen in excess of 11mps (22kts) and competitors have been stood down.

14.41hrs: The wind continues to ground the competitors with the DZ resembling lap-top land!

17.08hrs: We're just being entertained by the Patrouille de France in practise for their formal display tomorrow. The Meet Director has announced that the 4-Way Female competition will continue once the display aircraft have left the area.

Tuesday 12th August 2008

As forecast, the weather took a turn for the worse this morning with rain and thick, low cloud dispelling any likelihood of jumping this morning.

11.00am: Everyone is stood down until midday - hopefully this wind will blow the clouds away!

2.00pm: Glimpses of sun and blue skies were enough to get the competition underway again, lead by the 8Way Open.

7.00pm:  As Round 6 in the 4-Way Open was completed a huge black cloud was seen veering towards the airfield and within minutes it emptied its liquid contents, sending everyone scattering for cover. 

Monday 11th August 2008

Good morning! With a 7.45am first call the meteo is looking quite promising for the day ahead.

It wasn't long before everyone was in their stride and as the day progressed and completed rounds in all disciplines began to mount up.

For a predominant non-spectator sport, it was a delight to see so many members of the public in attendance enjoying not only the competition, but the various activities around the airfield - like bungee jumping!

Sunday 10th August 2008

The competition starts today - well, it will do when this front has gone through! Yes, we awoke to low cloud and rain but the Meet Director has the 4 Way Open and 4 Way Female on stand-by. Perhaps he knows the old adage, "Rain before 7am, fine after 11am".

Ah well, so much for old wives' tales! Just after midday and we find ourselves still cloud watching but optimistic as ever.

14.38hrs: The Meet Director has just announced the start of the 4-Way Open!

15.02hrs: The first three teams that were called were stood down for a 20 min delay. We're now back up to speed with the next three teams also having been called.

18.15hrs: In a little over three hours enough jumps were effected to complete Round 1 in the 4-Way Open, with Round 2 in progress and completion of the 4-Way Female, with several teams managing to get their first round jumps in the Freefly.

19.00hrs: It's now raining hard with an evil looking sky, so the Meet Director has stood everyone down until 07.45am tomorrow (Monday).

Saturday 9th August 2008

Despite a forecast of low cloud and rain, the day dawned to high cloud and sunshine - and practice jumps are in full swing!

This evening sees the official Opening Ceremony to be held in the Maubeuge Market Place, followed by a formal dinner for the competitors and officials.

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Late Saturday afternoon saw the gathering of the competing nations in the centre of Maubeuge, each team behind their respective flag. The route to the Hotel de Ville was lined by hundreds of cheering locals, eager to show their support as hosts of the forthcoming World Championships.

During the welcoming speeches in front of the Hôtel de Ville it was announced by François Bouteloup, President of the Fédération Française de Parachutisme, that the Fédération would donate €10,000 to the town of Maubeuge following the devastation caused by the recent tornado. The Opening Ceremony finished with the raising of the FAI flag, the release of a number of doves and hundreds of blue, white and red balloons, much to the delight of the local children.

Welcoming aperitifs were taken in the Hôtel de Ville followed by dinner and musical entertainment a short ride away.

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Tomorrow morning - Sunday 10th - first call will be at 07.45hrs with aircraft off at 08.00hrs!

Next announcement will be at midday.

Friday 8th August 2008

It's been a busy week finalising the preparation for the World Championships. Teams have been practicing during the week, quite surprisingly after the town of Maubeuge was hit by a tornado on Sunday night but the drop zone was spared.

Supermarket SignMissing Roof Uprooted Tree

The resulting damage has been jaw-dropping to put it mildly.    These three photos were taken by a competitor staying at a local hotel moments after the tornado passed. Neighbouring communities were also affected where it's believed that three people lost their lives with several others injured.