Aussie's at the 2009 World Cup Canopy Piloting

The Final Day:

After the Competition;

After the Judges Final Scores;

After the Competitors Meeting;

After the congratulations..... well really there is only one thing left to do and most people started after they landed after the last load but officially it was a 5pm start.

We arrived at the location after the usual navigational mess which included a general tour of Carletonville back streets and somewhat rougher suburbs. The path to the entrance was lined with flags and we waited for the Pom's to enter before we put into action Operation Southern Cross.

Flashback -(Insert wobbly lines on screen here) Earlier in the week there had been a declaration of war by the Brit's when they decided that the Australian flag looked better folded to only show the Union Jack. This resulted in the Aussie's hatching a plan. There was a Union jack up on the roof of the Bush Pub on the DZ and with the help of some that will remain nameless to protect the guilty we quickly arranged to have it taken down and delivered into our possesion. I gathered some material and got to work putting together a Southern Cross and put one of the Aussie CP 2009 Patches on it as well. With that build and stitched onto the Union jack all was set (fast forward to last night)

We quickly got the Union jack down that was hanging from a flag pole outside the venue and swapped it with the ours. We took photo's for posterity and then wandered in to the bar. It was quickly noted that the bar was not prepared for 100+ skydivers and judges as well as other visitors as the bar was six deep in people waiting for service and the beer had to come one by one from the fridge in the kitchen and to boot was not even properly cold. The Aussies just went to ordering by the dozen and then getting the second round in as the first arrived. As people settled and found tables and washed the dry from their mouths the ceremony got under way with the usual thanks to organisers and staff. People clapped and showed appreciation but when Gertie the EMT was mentioned the room stood and the cheers were loud. He has done a fantastic job of looking after the swoopers this week and his assistance has been of the highest calibre. There was a minutes silence for Max before we moved onto the awards. It was interesting watching two people trying to stand on the second place podium after there was a tie in Accuracy. The medal ceremony complete we lined up for dinner. There were some very surprised people and I still have the taste of some of the menu in my mouth which I promise is not something I am glad about. Many of us tried a little of each but there is only so much Pig's head, Cow's knees and lamb's stomachs that one can manage. Thankfully there was a little mashed potato and salad to graze on to stop the stomach from having to deal with alcohol alone. The room quickly dispensed with dinner and moved onto the practical matter of drinking. Shirts and jackets exchanged hands as well as rounds of drinks. Dangerpants introduced us to "Suicide Tequila's" and there were plenty of willing volunteers to snort a line of salt off the bar, drink a shot of Tequila and then squeeze the juice of a lime or lemon in their eyes. Even Jessica Edgington got in on the fun though she had a look of absolute dis-belief on her face as she stepped up to the bar. I amo not sure how late the party ran but I remember that a bunch of us headed back to the DZ bar and carried on until the very early hours. My cap from Pete's Parachuting was taken from me as a souvenir for the bar and nailed to a beam above the bar and I think I was lucky to get it off my head before they started to hammer.

From there is was just a matter of dealing with the sore heads in the morning. Michael was the only one without a sore head and he took a perverse pleasure in scraping his chair loudly on the floor tiles at every opportunity as well as speaking far louder than is his norm. Then it was time to say goodbye to our New South African Mum. Mikey donated his shirt for her and I had an Aussie flag that we all signed as a gift as well. I am sure I speak for the whole team in extending our deepest thanks and appreciation to Lourina for making us the envy of every other team and for looking after us in such fine style.

Once we were loaded into the Bongo Bus it was time to head for the airport. After only three laps of town we finally found the was onto the highway and we were off. All was good until a wrong turn took us heading North on the wrong side of Jo'burg and it was time to consult the iPhone as the only GPS/map that we had. The route marked we made the next turn and found ourselves in the derelict suburbs of downtown Johannesburg. The narrow streets were filled with bustle and hawkers and a few interesting looks at a van full of hungover skydivers. Once we made the airport it was check in and meet at the bar.

There were some very happy people in various states that made their way onto the plane. I was sad not to be joining the main group headed for Sydney, instead doing a leap-frog to Perth then Brisbane.

This years Aussie Team did you all proud. Most posted new Personal Bests. Others carried themselves in a manner that was the epitome of the Aussie Sportsman. All had fun and before we had even left Johannesburg Skydiving Centre there were comments on how much we were looking forward to the Nationals and I know that there will be en extraordinary show of talent this year as it looks like there will be many serious contenders for the 8 places.

See you all at the Nationals.........

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