Curt Bartholomew - 2023 USPA National Canopy Piloting Championships

About Canopy Piloting:
The competition consists of three rounds in each of the events: Speed, Distance and Zone Accuracy. For complete rules visit https://www.uspa.org/SCM

Speed Event:
The objective is to navigate a parachute in as fast a time as possible through Gate 1 to Gate 5 while remaining within the boundaries
of the 70m carved course. The competitor must break the sensor beam(s) with part(s) of the body at G1 to start and at G5 to stop the timing and at least some part of the competitor’s body must remain within the boundaries of the Carved Speed course from G1 through G5.
For Beginner class competitors the effective height of G1 is 3 meters and video camera recording will determine if the competitor is within the gates.

Distance Event:
The objective is to navigate a parachute as far as possible from the entry gate after dragging water at or before Gate 1, flying
through Gate 1 and Gate 5 (50m), and landing within the boundaries of the course. Beginner and Intermediate class competitors are not required to drag water. After scoring G1, the competitor’s landing must start and come to a complete stop within the boundaries of the course. Off-course
landing (OC) applies if surface contact occurs outside of the course and no part of the competitor’s body remains in surface contact within the course boundaries at the same time.

Zone Accuracy Event:
The objective is to navigate a parachute through Gate 1, perform a water drag through as many of the water gates as possible, and
continue on to land within a landing zone. A competitor must score at least one water gate and a landing zone. The competitor is awarded the score of the landing zone with the lowest point value that was touched during landing. There is no penalty for landing in water within the course boundaries – water gate points are retained. There is no penalty for failing to score any water gates – land points are retained.
*For Beginner-class competitors, scoring G1 requires flying between the G1 markers, but at any height. Scoring water gates requires flying at or below 1.5 meters.

Freestyle Event:
In the Freestyle event, the competitor navigates his parachute through the course executing pre-determined or free moves. The
competitor’s objective is to navigate a parachute through course contacting the surface of the water in the manner dictated by
the chosen Freestyle move(s) and end with a stand-up landing. The score will be directly proportional to the amount of water
surface dragged and the time the move is being performed. The water drag must be continuous with minimum skipping.

This competition took place at Skydive Paraclete XP.