EXPLORE Sky´n´Tunnel Skillcamp 2019 Recap

On Monday 19 August 2019, the EXPLORE Skill Camp started in the tunnel in Bottrop.

Coaches and participants traveled to Bottrop from Barcelona, St. Petersburg, Leipzig, Münster, Hamburg and many other cities. Before the first session started at 15:30, we had enough time to plan and brief the groups. Already during the allocation of the groups to the respective coaches, the individual strengths and goals were considered. So Boris took over the static flying and Will the dynamic flying in the first place. Not only tunnel time was shared, but also cake and pizza.

On Tuesday, with lovely weather, the group organization for jumping started exactly at 08:00 AM.

From then, there was only one speed for all participants and coaches up to Saturday evening: FULL SPEED!

Like in the tunnel, the daily division was based on skill levels, individual abililties and and preferences. In most cases there was a permanent core of the particular groups. In rare occasions, small adjustments were done, in order to make everyone feel happy in his/her group. Jumping was done in three or four plus one-groups.
The coaches rotated groups daily to give each participant the opportunity to fly with each coach and the average number of jumps was 6-7 jumps per day. Despite packing and the usual lunch break, everyone made the best of themselves and the jumps. Briefing and debriefing were also very important and were held at all times. That’s the crucial difference between a skill camp and a boogie: Every participant is given a detailed briefing, constructive tips and support for each and every jump. So actually every jump is an improvement on the previous one.

On Saturday evening, after the sunset load,

we had a barbecue and a drink together and as a highlight, watched the aftermovie (created by Sven Jaspers). We partied until deep into the night, had fun and shared stories. I dare to say that every single attendee got his money’s worth, learned a lot and left the camp with a big smile on his face.

Special thanks go to Andreas Riekes, who brought the camp to life. I take my hat off to his efforts as well as all the hard work and dedication he has put into this event. A great thank you to Sebastian Igel, Boris Gaykovich and Will Penny for the great jumps, thanks to the Skydive Soest crew and thanks to all participants who made this event so unforgettable. See you next year, I am looking forward to it!

BLUE SKIES AND STAY SAFE ♥

In 2020, there will of course be a next edition. And also a “light” version. The camps are already fully booked and CYPRES is happy to support this unique skill camp dimension again.

Links:

#1: Introduction of the first edition in our blog

#2: Explore Skillcamps on Facebook

#3: The aftermovie of the EXPLORE SKY’N’TUNNEL SKILLCAMP 2019