Competition Disciplines
Vertical Formation Skydiving (VFS)
This is very similar to 'formation skydiving', but you need to be a little more advanced. You have to be able to fly 'Head-up' and 'Head-down' depending on the competition level.
The most common form of competition consists of teams of 2 or 4 people, who have to fly 6 or 8 formation rounds. Just like with formation skydiving, the formations are only determined just before the match. You get 45 seconds per round to make as many formations as possible.
The formations consist of so-called 'randoms' and 'blocks'. A random is simply one formation where each flyer has to take a certain position. If you form that formation well, you earn 1 point. A block consists of a starting position that everyone must take, followed by a transition to another position (or back to the previous starting position). If you carry out the formations and transition well, you earn 2 points!
Dynamic Flying
The matches can consist of 'speed' rounds and 'free' rounds. During speed rounds (normally 6 with a different selection of patterns) it is all about the fastest time. For each pattern that is not executed correctly you get 5 penalty seconds. If you skip a pattern, it will cost you 20 seconds. So precision is very important! Oh, and try not to bounce into your team members, that would be such a shame!
During the free rounds each teams gets between 60 to 120 seconds per round to fly freely. Here it's not about the fastest time, but about creativity and the skills you show. The assessment of the jury is slightly less strict here. You don't score points per pattern, but after each round the jury decides between themselves which team comes out on top.
Freestyle
This is the most artistic discipline in indoor skydiving. It is not so much about speed, but whether you steal the show. So you can put all your creativity into it! The number of rounds depends on the event and usually you get 60 seconds per round to impress the jury. Sometimes you have to include certain mandatory moves in your routine, but the sequence and the rest of the choreography is entirely up to you. If you want to take it a step further, you can even run the routines on music. If your movements are synchronized with the track you have chosen, that will have even more impact!
The jury assesses Freestyle rounds on different parts. Some parts are mainly technical: how difficult are the movements you make, do you perform them smoothly and controlled, do you show many different techniques and skills? But you can also score points with the presentation: do you keep the jury fascinated during your performance? Have you created a nice start and end to your routine and do you show interesting new movements?
Guaranteed to be spectacular and a joy to watch, even if you are not a skydiver yourself!
Formation Skydiving (FS)
Formation Skydiving is not one of the disciplines during the Double Dutch championships.
This is one of the classic disciplines in skydiving and a nice starting point if you want to participate in competitions. If you can fly comfortably in the 'belly' position, you can already participate. The matches are divided into different skill levels, from Rookie to Advanced.
In teams of 2, 3 or 4 people you make as many formations as possible within 35 seconds. Which formations those are, you will only hear just before the match. After these mandatory formations have been announced (we call this a 'Draw'), you are not allowed to practice in the tunnel anymore!
At the end of all rounds (usually between 6 and 10), the points are added together; the team with the most points wins!
