Coach Lanier used to tell us at the end of every little league baseball game, "You guys did great! You hustled out there! You ran out every ball! You played hard every inning! You should be proud of yourselves for what you've accomplished! You guys got some little wins today!"
And even though we just got slaughtered 18-0, the game ended in the 4th inning due to the "mercy rule", and poor little Colin Herbert got run over by Billy Burton from Holy Name while trying to protect home plate, there was definitely some wisdom in what Coach Lanier said that day many years ago.
How does this apply to today?
I'll get to that soon - just keep reading. But first, let me re-cap what's happened in the last few days.
On Wednesday, we did the 2nd run for solo. The judges had us do a restricted, free program for the solo which meant we were allowed to chose our maneuvers but they could only appear once. (In an announced program of 5 tricks, pilots will typically put "Tumble left, tumble right, assymetric SAT, helico left, helico right" to garner max points but also to cover for deficiencies in their repertoire.)
My program:
1) Tumble - I've been in a groove with this one, getting 180 over the wing every time - got a bad collapse while the wing was underneath me on the 2nd turn but I exited nicely
2) Rhythmic SAT - took a chance with this one and it didn't pay off as I got a nasty collapse which ended in a cravatte. Felix was also having the same problem.
3) Twister - haven't done this one since Paranoia last summer
4) Helico-to-SAT - a staple in my program that I usually do well, but I missed it this time
5) Helico - I used the energy of the SAT to do a Misty Flip that I changed to helico - got the highest points I've every received for a trick (88)
Because I got a horrible score for the Rhythmic and a low score for the Helico-to-SAT, I finished 16th for the day which put me 13th overall.
On Thursday, we had a day off which was welcomed by all of us. I went to see Chad Bastian compete in microlights but totally missed it. Sorry Chad!
That night, we finally got a proper poker game going other than the heads-up game (one-on-one) Pal and I were playing every other day. I knew there were some pilots who wanted to play but I didn't think actually would, so I was surprised when Antoine quietly asked, "Nova, we play tonight?"
When Pal & I got the chips out for the 10E minimum buy-in No Limit Hold 'em micro stakes cash game at the table sat me, Gabor, Felix, Antoine, Horacio, Hernan, (first timer), Cyrille, and Pal. This was a lot of fun and if you must know who won the most, let's just say that Kid Nova made an easy 30 euros. (Gabor actually won the most when he bluffed me out of a big pot . . . . I really hate it when he does that.)
Back to the point of this post.
So what did I accomplish today? What little wins did I get?
Well, macrocosmically (love that word), I took 10th for the day which I'm pretty proud of considering the level. Microcosmically (another word on the love list), it gets better.
My Tumble (88) was only one point below Felix's and I think our SAT-to-Helicos were the same (88). My Twister score (84) was higher than Pal's which just absolutely astounds me. For the first time, I scored at least 80 in 3 tricks. (Scoring in the 80s is really good as one judge told me.) I have so much respect for their acro that for me to be at the same level as them - or beat them! - even for just a few tricks in single run, is absolutely HUGE.
Overall, I finished 13th in solo which was short of my goal of being in the top 10, but I accomplished one unexpected milestone . . . . I've broken the belief barrier on what's possible for me in acro and that I can be a threat in these comps especially for the World Championships in 2010.
Thanks, Coach, wherever you are.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Day 5 - June 10, Wednesday morning
The day started off great as I got a very nice compliment over breakfast from someone whom we all consider the "godfather of acro". Out of nowhere, he said, "I watched your synchro run yesterday and your tumble was beautiful - it looked like how we do it when we make the Infinite." Whoa!
Then, as we watched this tumble on video, he gave me a key tip on how to keep the wing going to infinite which prompted the comp leader to say jokingly, "Man, don't help the enemy!"
Maybe all the practice I make at Mussel Rock, all the money I've spent in towing, and all the time I spend visualizing my tricks is paying off and being noticed by my acro peers?
Lately, my other-than-paragliding-life hasn't been the greatest with many disappointments and heartaches. On this morning, though, I felt absolutely amazing.
Too bad the day didn't end there! : )
Then, as we watched this tumble on video, he gave me a key tip on how to keep the wing going to infinite which prompted the comp leader to say jokingly, "Man, don't help the enemy!"
Maybe all the practice I make at Mussel Rock, all the money I've spent in towing, and all the time I spend visualizing my tricks is paying off and being noticed by my acro peers?
Lately, my other-than-paragliding-life hasn't been the greatest with many disappointments and heartaches. On this morning, though, I felt absolutely amazing.
Too bad the day didn't end there! : )
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
WAG 2009 - 1st 4 days
After arriving late on Friday evening on June 4th, Saturday was a day of catching sleep, reacquainting with friends, and realizing I was actually in Italy. So strange this travel thing, isn't it? 18 hours ago, I was saying good bye to my cat, Tama, back home in Pacifica . . . . and now I'm at the Hotel Ninfa in Avigliana, Italy.
Bizarre.
On Saturday evening, we attended the opening ceremony held at the center square of Torino. At first, I had no idea whom I'd walk with as I couldn't find any Americans nearby, but then my Norwegian friend, Pal, grabbed me and said he was standing behind some. So, I ended up walking with Chad Bastian and the rest of the US Microlight team. Having no idea of WAG's publicity, we expected it to be some little procession of air sport athletes grouped by country with some photographers here and there. Surprisingly, there were a LOT of folks watching this ceremony!
The first day of competition on Sunday was an exciting and stressful one for us. It's exciting because it's the first one of the year, but also stressful because we're doing d-bag helicopter launches. (It's also exciting, too.) If you've never done one, just imagine jumping backwards off a helicopter with your wadded up paraglider, stuffed in a manner it wasn't meant to be stuffed, freefalling and waiting for it to open cleanly in a way that it wasn't meant to be opened, hoping that all the lines that just got stuffed don't get tangled, while trying to ignore the very real existence of prop wash, and - oh yeah! - praying that the one reserve you packed will work if it all goes to shit . . . . this is what we get to experience every day!
SWEET!!!!
And oh, don't forget, after all this, we then have to remember our routine and deal with the pressure of performing perfectly (nice alliteration) in a world-class acro competition.
YEAH!!!! I feel very lucky to be here!
With the first solo task on Sunday, the competitors would get an announced run of 5 maneuvers. Here's what I did and the points out of 100 I received:
1) Tumble (76)
2) Helico - left (71)
3) Helico - right (71)
4) Helico-to-SAT (79)
5) Misty Flip (60)
With this, I finished 12th for the day. While not-so great out of 20, considering that 11 of the world's very best acro pilots are here, I'm not-so disappointed with my placement. I think I will replace the Misty Flip w/the SAT-to-Helico as I have the same chance of making it but with a higher difficulty rating. If I can make cleaner runs from here on out and just do what I do, I think I can make the top 10. It's definitely a stretch, but there's a chance. (For general competition coverage, go here.)
Monday's task was cancelled due to rain. For today, Tuesday, I did my first competitive synchro run with my Norwegian friend, Pal Rognoy. It was a great experience since I'm not-so focused on synchro at the moment, but more importantly, it's always good to get another helico drop and practice more acro. Our run was terrible, but I was SUPER happy with my tumble as the entry AND exit was very nice which is another piece in the puzzle that brings me closer to making more tumbles towards the Infinite very soon.
I'll post a video of one of my runs when I get back home as the upload speed for a video 0f 16 seconds - even at 12:40 a.m. - can take 30 minutes. (A video of my run is about 4 min.)
It's late now and we have an early briefing at 9 a.m. to try and get a solo and a synchro run in.
I'll post again soon!
Bizarre.
On Saturday evening, we attended the opening ceremony held at the center square of Torino. At first, I had no idea whom I'd walk with as I couldn't find any Americans nearby, but then my Norwegian friend, Pal, grabbed me and said he was standing behind some. So, I ended up walking with Chad Bastian and the rest of the US Microlight team. Having no idea of WAG's publicity, we expected it to be some little procession of air sport athletes grouped by country with some photographers here and there. Surprisingly, there were a LOT of folks watching this ceremony!
The first day of competition on Sunday was an exciting and stressful one for us. It's exciting because it's the first one of the year, but also stressful because we're doing d-bag helicopter launches. (It's also exciting, too.) If you've never done one, just imagine jumping backwards off a helicopter with your wadded up paraglider, stuffed in a manner it wasn't meant to be stuffed, freefalling and waiting for it to open cleanly in a way that it wasn't meant to be opened, hoping that all the lines that just got stuffed don't get tangled, while trying to ignore the very real existence of prop wash, and - oh yeah! - praying that the one reserve you packed will work if it all goes to shit . . . . this is what we get to experience every day!
SWEET!!!!
And oh, don't forget, after all this, we then have to remember our routine and deal with the pressure of performing perfectly (nice alliteration) in a world-class acro competition.
YEAH!!!! I feel very lucky to be here!
With the first solo task on Sunday, the competitors would get an announced run of 5 maneuvers. Here's what I did and the points out of 100 I received:
1) Tumble (76)
2) Helico - left (71)
3) Helico - right (71)
4) Helico-to-SAT (79)
5) Misty Flip (60)
With this, I finished 12th for the day. While not-so great out of 20, considering that 11 of the world's very best acro pilots are here, I'm not-so disappointed with my placement. I think I will replace the Misty Flip w/the SAT-to-Helico as I have the same chance of making it but with a higher difficulty rating. If I can make cleaner runs from here on out and just do what I do, I think I can make the top 10. It's definitely a stretch, but there's a chance. (For general competition coverage, go here.)
Monday's task was cancelled due to rain. For today, Tuesday, I did my first competitive synchro run with my Norwegian friend, Pal Rognoy. It was a great experience since I'm not-so focused on synchro at the moment, but more importantly, it's always good to get another helico drop and practice more acro. Our run was terrible, but I was SUPER happy with my tumble as the entry AND exit was very nice which is another piece in the puzzle that brings me closer to making more tumbles towards the Infinite very soon.
I'll post a video of one of my runs when I get back home as the upload speed for a video 0f 16 seconds - even at 12:40 a.m. - can take 30 minutes. (A video of my run is about 4 min.)
It's late now and we have an early briefing at 9 a.m. to try and get a solo and a synchro run in.
I'll post again soon!
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