Seven teams consisting of 31 competitors braved the 100-degree Texas heat on August 10 to participate in the 2019 Annual Dallas Super Cup hosted by Skydive Spaceland–Dallas in Whitewright, Texas. Continuing a tradition begun in 1994, this year’s event, which included 2-way and 4-way FS, stoked the competitive formation skydiving flames in both seasoned and new jumpers.
Deanna Anderson was the least experienced participant, starting the competition with just 60 jumps. She competed in the 2-way rookie FS category and said she was excited to see “significant improvement in our formation over the six jumps!” Her teammate Dylan Tompkins said, “I competed in Super Cup because I’ve been drawn to the competitive side of skydiving since I started jumping last year. Four-way FS has been my dream for a while, and the 2-way rookie class was an excellent ‘pre-second’ stepping stone into competition and building skills for flying 4-way in the future.”
Several freeflyers even joined in on the FS fun, including first-time competitor Kayleigh Bowers. “I hadn’t flown belly since I started working in a tunnel. I knew my belly skills had improved in that time and wanted to see how much better I could perform!” Her teammate and first-time competitor Amanda Hart said, “The feeling of nailing the exits and getting points was incredibly satisfying. I’ll definitely be competing in the future, sky and tunnel. I love the challenge and camaraderie.”
Christy Clevenger had 70 jumps before the competition began. Her team FUP Ducks took second place in the 4-way rookie class. Regarding whether she’d compete again, she said, “Well, I got silver, so I have to (compete) again to get first!” Tomkins agreed: “That taste of competition lit a fire in me, and all I’ve been able to think about is getting a 4-way team together for next year’s Super Cup!”
Team Space Force BTR (Mike Anderson, Erika Barczak, Scott Latinis and Amber Taylor with John Cheesmond on video) from Skydive Spaceland–Houston in Rosharon, Texas, took the gold in the AAA Class with a solid 13-point average. Super SISters (Bowers, Hart, Erin Lewis, Vanessa Shirazi and Zach Lewis on video) won the AA class with an 8.8 average, and Just 4 Fun (Patricia Duttlinger, David Garcia, Jorge Rodriguez, Sarah Watson and Al Levy on camera) won the rookie class with a 1.8 average.
The day also included a special dedication of a parking space reserved for a veteran in memory of Gary Latinis, a 20-year Air Force veteran. With his wife and son in attendance, the dedication included an American flag jump by DZ general manager Ben Nelson.
The day ended with a sunset cookout on Appleton’s Deck with Zach Lewis as grillmaster. The Dallas Disturbance 16-way team sponsored the dinner for around 100 competitors, students and staff who came together to celebrate a day well flown.
Vanessa Shirazi | D-33756
Dallas, Texas