UK freefly coach rating, any suggestions?

[Andrewnewell 0]

Hi'ya everybody,
Im big in favor of getting a freefly coach rating introduced to the UK. Just wondering if anyones got any ideas relating to the following?

1. what should be the criteria to gain such qual.

2. Is there already a current model/ system in place in other countries{ discounting the AD tests, as we can't jump the ball in the UK }

3. Who would assess the persons trying to gain this qualification?{ i.e. examiners}

[fedykin 0]

well in honesty the current system works fairly well
lets go through the criteria
1. be approved by a british CCI(100%likelyhood of being a flatflyer-who doesnt understand the discipline)
2. have a generally bad attitude towards students
3. have fairly low flying skills yourself
4. charge extortionate amounts of money(aka tim porter) for minimal instruction which is of a low standard

[WrongWay 0]

I'm just waiting for any sign of a competent freefly license in the US besides the AD and the 3d Award.

Wrong Way
D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451
The wiser wolf prevails.

[LukeH 0]

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well in honesty the current system works fairly well
lets go through the criteria
1. be approved by a british CCI(100%likelyhood of being a flatflyer-who doesnt understand the discipline)

Being a flat flyer does not necessairly mean they do not have an understanding of a disipline. Are you suggesting that to become a CCI someone has to be competent at every skydiving disipline including FF, RW CrW, VRW, Wingsuit, Speed Skydiving, Ball Jumps, Freestyle, Sky Surfing, etc etc ?

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2. have a generally bad attitude towards students

You obviously weren't at the sweedish freefly festival.
Lots of excellent coaches (including brits) with a great attitude

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3. have fairly low flying skills yourself

Every sport has coaches of varying skills. FF has some highly skilled coaches. There are a number of british FF coaches of a very high international standard.

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4. charge extortionate amounts of money(aka tim porter) for minimal instruction which is of a low standard

I assume you meant to say a la not aka.
I have made coach jumps with Tim Porter, and am very happy with the amount and standard of instruction. Skydiving is Tim's livelihood, and the rates should not be compared to coaches that skydive as a hobby but have another source of income.

There are plenty of people that will take you up for little or no cost, but in most cases you get what you pay for.

Most PROFESSIONAL freefly coaches in the US charge about $35 + slots for instructional jumps with 1 student, Max charges $40.
Babylon charge 62 - 73 euro (inc slots) depending on how many jumps you are doing.


If you don't have anything constructive to contribute then why bother?

I notice that most of your reviews are negative and unhelpful; perhaps your 1,000,000 jumps have taken their toll.

[Andrewnewell 0]

Yep know where your comin from bro!

But you guys have a large pool of very talented coaches in the US. Is it really need over there?

Can you explain to me what the 3d award is?

" WE ARE THE PILGRIMS MASTER, EVERY DAY WE STRIVE TO GO A LITTLE FURTHER"

[Andrewnewell 0]

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Being a flat flyer does not necessairly mean they do not have an understanding of a disipline. Are you suggesting that to become a CCI someone has to be competent at every skydiving disipline including FF, RW CrW, VRW, Wingsuit, Speed Skydiving, Ball Jumps, Freestyle, Sky Surfing, etc etc ?

I think what Fedykin in suggesting here { in his uniquely sarcastic way} is that there is a lack of control in reguards to who gets to coach freeflying on a particular DZ.
It is my opinion that we should have a coach's rating so that CCI's who don't have a good understanding of the dicipline have some way of controlling individuals who wish to coach.

As for the other stuff, Id just take it with a pinch of salt. Its good to have as many opinions as posible {however extreme}.It would be a dull world if we were all PC.

Fedykin, are you gonna play nice?

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[WrongWay 0]

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Yep know where your comin from bro!

But you guys have a large pool of very talented coaches in the US. Is it really need over there?

Can you explain to me what the 3d award is?

This is true, we have LOTS of awesome coaches all over the US. Still, I think it'd be kinda cool as your usual weekend warrior to have a decent freefly license. An example, if someone has their AD, you know they can fly on their head and can probably do at least a four to six way with no problems. But what about upright skills, backflying, etc.? Personally I liked the idea posted a while ago about the "Rebel Freefly License" thing, but I'll not go into it, because I don't want to hijack this thread. Just look it up.

The 3d award.....taken from the 2003 SIM....

"Applicants qualify by successfully completing formations that include three maneuvers in each of three orientations, in this order:

- A head down 3-way right of left hand flower, a round and an opposite hand flower.
- Next, in the sitting position, a right or left hand vertical stairstep followed by two rotations, such that each jumper takes the top formation for one of the three points.
- Concluding in the horizontal orientation with a compressed accordion, individual 180 degree turns to a second compressed accordion, followed by a round (star)."

Wrong Way
D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451
The wiser wolf prevails.

[Andrewnewell 0]

Cheers bro, will have a look.

[fedykin 0]

again, ill take it point by point

1. no, i dont expect a CCI to be an expert in every discipline, the only person in the UK who i know qualifies in this regard is andy ford(good flyer, arrogand bastard!). but an understanding of things you are expected to govern isnt a great deal to ask for, which i havent yet seen in the UK

2. no i wasnt at the sweedish festival, and i dont know what your getting at

3. The Uk has to lowest standard of flying ive seen anywhere in the world. the Uk has a part time FF coach pool, taking Chris Lynch and Rob Silver out of this statement. The rest are fairly low ability, including the MeCocks.

4. yes, it is constructive to compare coach fees and relate them to whom is charging what, and what ultimately you gain from the experience. Tim overcharges, no matter where he coaches, and has given some pretty lackluster results from people he has coached. I loved his statment(being 100% serious) to a friend, ' Dont go to the fly boyz, i am a far better coach and flyer then any of them, go with me'. Interesting. And i also love him offering to do a tube jump with people and only when in the plane telling everyone its 5 pounds a person for 'wear and tear' on his tube. Nice.

My constructive statement is this.
Given the exchange rate, and the desparity in coaching ability, save your money, go to the US, they own the sport, you'll get much better results for much less cash.

[fedykin 0]

please dont correct me andy, it sickens me
give us a call, im off to the obvious on sunday, get your feet together YOU!!!!

[Andrewnewell 0]

Yo fedykin don't sit on the fence bro! just tell it how it really is! Ha ha ha.

All I say is that I agree with the last point you made.
sorry I can't comment on the others as i'm not interested in being sucked into a "brit political freefly vortex"{ It's pretty entertaining to look over the event horizon though}.

Anyhow bro have you got any suggestions on how a freefly coach's rating should be set up in a country where people can't jump the ball?

If you feel that your comments could be a little controvertial for public viewing here, we can chat about it later{ coz I know you wouldn't want to offend anyone!}. looking forward to subsequent O groups with you!

"Their firing sir!There firing!"
"Yes number one, be sure to point it out when they hit me!"

[fedykin 0]

yeah, its pretty simple.
go to a country where you can jump the ball, achieve a reasonable standard ie... ad b minimum, then come back to the UK.
complex stuff