Day 2 Switzerland: 4 way and Womans Accuracy begins

We woke to some rain and clouds but that cleared up as we drove to the drop zone. The clouds were  low but breaking up fast to open up to sunny skies. The day started off with the 3rd round of mens accurarcy.  The men did fairly well, like mentioned early, they do not train for this event. Then the announcement was made that they will be switching to mens 4way freefall formation.  The mood around the drop zone quickly changed. It could be compared to the main event at a UFC fight.  Teams rapidly made their way to the parachute gear storage area, coming back with their swoop rigs and “creepers”.  This is what we have been waiting for. Its the strongest event for the US.

While the men geared up, It was time finally for the woman to start their events. The womens team tried to start style  but with the clouds still lingering around, that was put on hold. So the women’s competition switched to accuracy. The girls hung out around the tuffet watching the other teams landings, eyeing up the competition. China came out strong with a 6cm round and held first place. Finally, at the end of the day it was the girls turn to shine.  Today’s crowd has been the largest so far, and they were all around the tuffet to watch.  SFC Tennyson led the Team in for a 2cm, starting off the round. LTC Rhonda Reichel landing last, closes it out with dead center. That sealed a tie for first place with China.

Soon after the girls landed, the men’s team was landing from their first round of formation skydiving. They came in with smiles on their faces. A good sign that it was a good skydive.  SFC Heinsheimer, like always when he sees a crowd, swooped in for a nice landing near the crowd that had formed. They loved it, cheering and waving their hands. SSG Joe Jones came back from the judges booth with the “unnofficial results”. A 23 point dive, great jump for 4 guys that only have 35 jumps together. That puts them in 5th place after first round.

Great day all around for the Team. It was hot and very long. We even had visitors from town stop by our tent. SSG Acevedo spent time talking to some kids and even let them help pack his parachute.  With the start of 4 way it brings excitement all around the drop zone. Tomorrow will begin with womans style and mens accuracy, projected weather- Sunny and HOT.