Canopy Piloting
Canopy Piloting is a competitive discipline in which skydivers navigate their parachutes through a course that begins over a body of water. There are two canopy piloting events: the standard event, which includes zone accuracy, drag distance and carved speed tasks; and the freestyle event, where the objective is to perform complex and entertaining maneuvers while skimming over the body of water.
Complete rules can be found in the Skydiver’s Competition Manual Chapter 12.
Zone Accuracy
Course:
There are four water gates and 10 landing zones that each have a separate point value assigned. The landing zones are within an area filled with a material such as pea gravel that reduces the impact when the competitors land.
Objective:
Competitors navigate through gate 1 (G1), perform a water drag through as many of the water gates as possible and attempt to land precisely within a landing zone.
Scoring:
The competitor’s landing must start and come to a complete stop within the boundaries of the course. A competitor must earn water-gate points for at least one water gate to be awarded any landing-zone points. A competitor must earn landing-zone points for at least one landing zone to be awarded any of their water-gate points. The competitor earns a score based on the zone with the lowest point value that they touched during the landing. Landing in the water after gate 1 yields a default result (DR).
A competitor’s score is the sum of water-gate points and landing-zone score. Competitors will receive minus 10 points for the failure to perform a stand-up landing.
Final Scores:
The competitor with the highest score in a round will receive 100 points. The remaining competitors’ scores of the round are calculated as a percentage of the top ranked competitor’s result.
There is a maximum of three rounds for competition unless there is a tie-breaking jump for a podium finish.
Drag Distance
Course:
Gate one (G1) is the set of buoys in the water and gate five (G5) is the set of buoys on land. The distance between G1 and G5 is 50 meters. The distance between G5 and the end of the course is 200 meters minimum.
Objective:
Competitors navigate a parachute as far as possible after dragging water at or before G1, flying through to G5 and landing within the boundaries of the course.
Scoring:
Distance is measured from the entry gate (G1) to the point on the course closest to G1 that the competitor touches during landing. A competitor’s score for a landing is 35 meters if the landing is between G1 and G5 or surface contact was made with the land portion prior to G5.
Final Scores:
The competitor with the highest score in a round will receive 100 points. The remaining competitors’ scores of the round are calculated as a percentage of the top ranked competitor’s result.
There is a maximum of three rounds for competition unless there is a tie-breaking jump for a podium finish.
Carved Speed
Course:
The course begins at Gate 1 (G1)—the first set of buoys in the water—and ends 70 meters away at Gate 5 (G5). A set of electronic sensors at each gate trigger when the competitors fly through.
Objective:
Competitors navigate a parachute as quickly as possible through G1 to G5 while remaining within the boundaries of the carved course.
Start time:
The competitor must break the sensor beams with a part of their body at G1.
Stop time:
The competitor must break the sensor beams with a part of their body at G5.
Scoring:
Time expressed in seconds from start time to stop time.
Final Scores:
The competitor with the highest score in a round will receive 100 pts. The remaining competitors’ scores of the round are calculated as a percentage of the top ranked competitor’s result.
There is a maximum of three rounds for competition unless there is a tie-breaking jump for a podium finish.
Freestyle
In the Freestyle event, the competitor navigates their parachute through the course executing pre-determined freestyle moves while contacting the surface of the water in the manner dictated by the chosen move.
Scoring:
All moves must be pre-declared on a “drama sheet” and presented to the Chief Judge at least 48 hours before the start of competition. Competitors may present a move or combination of moves per round. A panel of 5 judges evaluate the competition. Three judges score the presentation of the freestyle move with a maximum of 10.0 points with a stand-up landing. Two judges score the technical aspect of the freestyle move which includes the difficulty of transitions and the precision and control of the body and canopy. The Degree of Difficulty (DoD) is the base for the technical score. Contact with water, with no other performance yields a default result (3 points). Failure to perform any one of the predeclared moves, performing them in a different sequence or performing them in such way that the move cannot be recognized from the drama sheet yields a default result.
Final Scores:
The competitor with the highest score in a round will receive 100 pts. The remaining competitors’ scores in the round are calculated as a percentage of the top ranked competitor’s result.
There is a maximum of three rounds for competition unless there is a tie-breaking jump for a podium finish.