The idea of creating a parachute belongs to Leonardo da Vinci. It was he who in his manuscripts mentioned the device with which you can safely descend from a height. However, such a device was used only in 1783, when ballooning became very popular. Even later, the design of the parachute was finalized by the British. This review will focus on flights on such devices. We will consider how the winner in parachuting is determined, its history and description of the varieties.
Extreme discipline
Under parachuting should be understood discipline, where a person with a parachute has to jump from an aircraft. During the free flight, falling or planning, he needs to perform some actions and land. It is for safe planning that a parachute is needed.
Talking about what parachuting is , one cannot but highlight the fact that a person will be in free fall for only a minute if the jump took place from a height of 4 km. Moreover, the fall speed reaches 180-200 km / h. It is these indicators that allow the athlete to move freely in the air, using arms and legs to control.
Some historical facts
Parachuting, whose history is rich in various events, originated a long time ago. But it all started with simple jumps. And the first person to experience the parachute was Andre-Jacques Garnerin in 1797. He jumped from a balloon that soared at an altitude of 2,230 feet.
Albert Berry was the first to parachute from a flying airplane from a height of 1,500 feet in 1912. In free fall, he flew about 400 feet, after which he gently landed on the parade ground of the military unit in which he served. The first woman to experience the parachute was Georgia Thompson. It happened in 1913.
Parachuting, the championships of which began to be held since 1951, immediately gained immense popularity. And already in 1982, representatives of approximately 60 countries were included in the parachute commission. Competitions were divided into several categories. Not only landing accuracy could be taken into account, but also free flight time, performed movements and figures, group jumps, as well as dome acrobatics.
Types of sports discipline
To understand how the winner in parachuting is determined, it is necessary to describe the varieties of this discipline. Regardless of the type of jump, the athlete must have some skills. In addition, he must know how to perform a variety of acrobatic elements, controlling the decline and smooth landing.
At the present stage, there are 2 directions. It is about piloting a parachute and free fall. The first direction includes domed acrobatics, high-speed touchdown and precision landing, the second includes group and individual acrobatics, freestyle, free fly and sky surfing.
Dome Acrobatics
The rules of parachuting in this direction imply that the athlete needs to build a variety of figures in the air. Rebuilds will be performed with the parachute already open.
It should be noted that there are several different competition options:
- The judges set the figure, which must be built by a group of paratroopers in a minimum period of time.
- The figure for construction is chosen by lot, to build it in the air should a group of four people. It only takes half a minute.
- A team of four people in half a minute should build the maximum possible number of arbitrary figures.
How is the winner in parachuting in this direction determined? Jumping athletes are recorded by the videographer, the judges render their verdict after watching the recording.
Speed landing
In this kind of parachuting before landing it is necessary to perform a long horizontal flight along the ground. The speed should be quite large.
It is worth noting that the athlete, when approaching the ground, is able to reach 100 km / h. In this case, the height may be less than a meter. Therefore, there is nothing strange in the fact that this discipline is considered the most dangerous, and athletes receive injuries in almost every championship.
Precision landing
Speaking about parachuting, the description and basic rules of which we are considering, it is impossible not to note that this discipline is considered "old." The athlete needs to perform a landing in a designated place for this. And the more accurately he does it, the better. A few decades ago, an error of 80 meters was considered a good result. But at the present stage, the paratrooper is required to hit a special electric target sensor.
Group acrobatics
This discipline implies the need for paratroopers to perform various figures, rearrangements carried out in the horizontal plane. All this should happen in free fall. Before building a specific figure, some of the athletes form a base. The remaining paratroopers fly up to her in strict sequence. This is how the creation of figures in the air occurs.
Individual acrobatics
This kind of parachuting involves performing movements by one athlete at a time. The paratrooper is required to have perfect control of the body, since he will need to perform not only rotations, but also somersaults with spirals. How is the winner in parachuting determined in this situation? If an athlete cannot fulfill the required elements of acrobatics, then he will not receive a high mark. But there are other nuances that will be discussed below.
Freestyle and free fly
A paratrooper in such a direction as freestyle is required throughout the entire free fall, which lasts 60 seconds, to perform a variety of figures, embodying at times the most unexpected and complex ideas. To impress the judges, the athlete needs to demonstrate high coordination of movements, plasticity and grace.
The freefly direction appeared relatively recently, but at the same time has already managed to gain popularity. The rules of parachuting in this situation are not too complicated. A team of 2 paratroopers must perform a variety of acrobatic figures, resorting to various vertical positions: head down, sitting or standing. The fall speed in this direction can vary in the range from 250 to 300 km / h. All movements of athletes are filmed on camera by a paratrooper who is flying nearby. By analyzing the record, the judges will issue their verdict.
Sky surfing
In this direction, the athlete performs the jump not only with a parachute, but also with a special board on his feet. An operator should fly nearby, who will shoot all the acrobatic exercises performed by the paratrooper.
How is the winner in parachuting determined? The rules in this situation are such that a lot depends on the synchronized actions of the athlete and the operator, their interaction with each other.
It should be noted that the competitions are divided into a mandatory and free program. For each of them, on the basis of the record, a separate decision will be made by the judges. The greatest number of championships at the present stage is held in this discipline.
Read more about identifying a winner in parachute double event
Quite widespread in the world received parachuting. Classic parachuting is considered the oldest and most common discipline. It includes two exercises - landing accuracy and individual acrobatics.
On the basis of this parachute biathlon, other sports related to jumping and parachuting arose. In addition, this discipline does not require too much money and is characterized by a relatively easy organization. There is no need for constant training jumps from a considerable height.
Touchdown accuracy
In the first exercise, judges evaluate the accuracy of a touchdown. Jumping is usually done by a group of athletes from a height of 1200 meters. Before opening the parachute, it is necessary to withstand a slight delay. It is also necessary when performing the jump, otherwise you can hurt the athlete who has jumped earlier, or just stop him.
When landing, athletes must hit the target, which is a circular target. In its center is a circle with a diameter of 2 cm - "zero". It is in him that the paratrooper should fall, since the assessment of the judges depends on this. It should also be noted that the first contact with the ground should be touching this same circle with either the heel or the toe of the foot.
The accuracy of the landing is determined by a special sensor that captures the athlete’s touch on the target and displays the result on the scoreboard. At competitions, the parachutist is given several jumps, all results will be summarized and divided by the number of attempts made by the athlete. Judges determine the winner by the average result.
Second exercise
What is an individual acrobatics, has been said above. It is necessary to highlight the mandatory elements that an athlete must fulfill. These are two spirals in opposite directions 360 degrees and a back flip. The paratrooper must perform these acrobatic tricks twice.
Before performing the figures, the athlete should accelerate to the maximum possible vertical speed in free fall. Then he needs to group and consistently perform tricks, controlling his own body with arms and legs.
There are two sets of figures - left and right. It all depends on which direction the first spiral should be made. For example, the right complex includes the right spiral, left spiral, somersault. These exercises are repeated twice in the same sequence. Which complex should be performed is determined immediately before the jump by the judges.
Everything is recorded on camera, members of the judicial commission determine the winner by recording, fixing the time to start performing acrobatic stunts and the moment the complex ends. Athlete errors are also taken into account. The winner can be determined both by one and by the sum of two exercises.
Conclusion
Now you know what parachuting is: types and levels, rules and description, ways to identify the winners. We hope that this review has helped you understand this extreme discipline.