Batsch took a second victory of the year at the Dubai International Swoop League meet #3. The new league is really growing and promoting our sport to new levels. There was tough competition for a quickly growing field of competitors across the pond.
Pictures courtesy of Skydive Dubai and Max Haim
Team Alter Ego Announces New Teammates
Team Alter Ego is excited and proud to announce the addition of two new team members to their lineup, strengthening the team even further. Jay Sanders and Michael McCann join the team this fall, just in time for the 2014 competition season.
“I’m really excited about Jay and Mike joining the team,” team member Curt Bartholomew said. “We have been keeping our eye out for newcomers to the competition scene, and it was great to see these guys putting in the amount of effort it takes to get to where they are now. The team has been watching Jay for over a year now and he’s a great fit and talks with Mike have been going on for a little over a year. He’s got some unique ideas and visions that will help put a different twist on the projects that we are involved in.”
Sanders, from San Diego, has been jumping for 12 years with over 11,000 jumps and has been making waves on the competition circuit for the past two years and Alter Ego has been watching him as an up and coming competitive skydiver as a possible good fit for the team. Sanders’ performance during the 2013 Competition Circuit, where he earned a spot on the US Canopy Piloting Team further solidified his position as a prime candidate to join the team.
“Making the US Team this year and winning Speed at Performance Design’s Project Orange Competition was awesome,” Sanders said, “but announcing that I was part of this team was the highlight of that comp. I’ve secretly wanted to be on Alter Ego for some time now, so when they asked me to join, I was very honored and happy”.
McCann is also a long-time jumper with over 7,500 jumps and first started talks to join the team earlier this year.
Finding the right photographer for the team wasn’t easy. Alter Ego has been scouting several people for well over two years looking for the right fit and after meeting and flying with McCann, the search finally ended. With a Bachelor of Science in Digital Media Production from the Art Institute of Philadelphia and a passion for skydiving, the union of science and art is a perfect fit for the highly technical and championship team Alter Ego.
“I’m really excited to be a part of this team. I am happy to be a part of a team that is leading the evolution of the sport and I like putting more into this sport than I take out,” McCann said. “Alter Ego is the very best and that’s the team I want to be a part of. Boom!”
McCann brings an energy to the team that can only be described as electric and will work as the team’s videographer, photographer, and…..well we can’t say anymore just yet.
“We’ve got BIG plans and I can’t wait to unveil the ideas and show the world what we’re made of,” McCann shared.
As fans of the team know, each individual team member is identified by a personal color choice, so of course the first order of business is: what colors will Sanders and McCann be?!?
“I’m going to be the charcoal grey ranger!” said Sanders.
For McCann, he’s decided on white: ”White is the blending of all colors and I like the symbolism. My job is to capture the great things this team is doing and help represent them all.” McCann said about his color choice.
“We have had amazing growth as a team the last 3 seasons and can’t wait to see what the future brings.”, Bartholomew shared. “We all work extremely hard on a daily basis and having a strong network of teammates surrounding you is indescribable”.
Next up for Alter Ego is the 4th Dubai International Parachuting Championship where Bartholomew, Batsch and Sanders will compete after earning spots on the US Canopy Piloting team earlier this year. Bartholomew is the reigning DIPC champion and Alter Ego is looking to continue their winning streak at the competition.
Curt Bartholomew takes first place overall at the first meet of the season. He was 50 points ahead of second place after 3 rounds! The meet had gone into Sunday due to weather and there was not enough time to complete the full 6 rounds of competition.
Full results can be found at swoopleague.com
http://swoopleague.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/2014-Meet-1-Results-Combined.pdf
Alter Ego Team Member Nicholas Batsch won the 2nd DISL competition in Dubai this past weekend. Nick scored a perfect 100 in accuracy and had an 81point lead overall!
Nick Batsch set a new World Distance Record of 157 meters at the 4th Dubai International Parachuting Championships! Nick proved yet again he is the master of distance by throwing down a new World Record in less than ideal conditions. He awed the spectators by climbing over 30 feet off the ground to accomplish this amazing feat and etched in another record.
This years season will be action packed with five meets in four months. We’ll begin in February and lead up to our famous “nationals practice” meet being held the weekend before USPA Nationals.
This year will have OVER $5,000 in prize money.
Sep. 7, 2013 – DELAND, Fla. — Team Alter Ego had one goal in mind at the beginning of 2013: to sweep the 4 major Canopy Piloting (CP) competitions scheduled for the year. Not only have they succeeded in their goals so far, but Curt Bartholomew’
The Triple Crown of Canopy Piloting Champion is only bequeathed to a competitive Canopy Pilot who wins the World Games, the World Canopy Piloting Championship and the World Cup of Canopy Piloting in the same competition circuit. As the current title holder for each of these championships and the Dubai International Parachuting Championship, Bartholomew solidifies his position as the #1 Canopy Pilot in the world.
Although there are several Canopy Piloting competitions throughout each year, they aren’t all held annually. The World Games are held every four years, with the other two competitions of the Triple Crown being held every two years, further making the Triple Crown distinction a difficult one to achieve. The only other Canopy Pilot who has held the distinction of Triple Crown Champion is Performance Designs Factory Team Member, Jay Moledzki from Canada.
In CP competitions, fractions of inches and points can mean the difference between 1st and 2nd and lead changes are commonplace. For instance, in the World Games competition held earlier this year, Bartholomew trailed the former Triple Crown winner, Moledzki by 0.4 points going into the last day of competition. In only three jumps, Bartholomew would overtake the lead and finish a full 45 points ahead of 2nd place.
One of the keys to consistently winning Canopy Piloting competitions is, well, consistency, which Bartholomew has in spades. Of the three types of jumps completed during a competition (Speed, Distance and Zone Accuracy), Zone Accuracy tends to be the achilles heel of most competitors;
“Being able to land high scores in Zone Acc is tough,” Bartholomew shared. “It can make or break your entire meet and the weather conditions and even event location can be a huge factor in your score”.
Throughout every competition, Bartholomew can be counted on for at least one perfect 100 score in Zone Accuracy (a stand-up landing in a small square after dragging water through a pond). His ability to seemingly score perfect 100’s in Zone Acc at will (and often end competitions with the exciting feat) has earned him the nickname “Clutch” from fans and other competitors. The tighter the competition and the higher the stakes is when Bartholomew shines.
For Bartholomew, the Triple Crown title is one that is both humbling and exciting, especially having earned the title while competing this summer with his teammates.
“We’re on a great run right now,” Bartholomew said. “We work hard to be the best in the field and it is paying off. As a team, Alter Ego hasn’t lost a major competition in two years and we help each other out a lot to keep the level of our flying high. On a personal level, I’ve also learned to fight through pain, injury and disappointment. To this point, this is the greatest achievement of my life”.
All four team members of Alter Ego will gather in force at the next two competitions being held in October (SunPath Open in Raeford, NC and Project Orange in Zephyrhills, FL), with Bartholomew and teammate Nick Batsch returning to Dubai in November where Bartholomew will defend his Dubai International Parachuting Championship.
Bartholomew, a Zionsville, PA native, lives in DeLand, FL with his wife and teammate, Jeannie Bartholomew, where he trains and work at Skydive DeLand.
About Canopy Piloting
Canopy Piloting competitions are judged over the performances in 9 rounds of competition:
2013 marks the 3rd year in a row that Curt Bartholomew and Nick Batsch have been collecting gold medals as Team Alter Ego, and Bartholomew’
2013
– World Cup of Canopy Piloting (Curt)
– Pink Canopy Piloting Open (Nick)
– World Games (Curt)
– USPA National (Nick)
– FLCPA Overall (Curt)
2012
– World Canopy Piloting Championship (Curt)
– USPA National (Curt)
– Pink Canopy Piloting Open (Nick)
2011
– Dubai International Parachuting Championship (Curt)
– World Cup of Canopy Piloting (Nick)
– USPA National (Nick)
– Pink Canopy Piloting Open (Nick)
