Click here to read the article on www.skyleague.com (NSL): Did you know that the Midwest is producing a new top team?

Labels: Articles, Competitions

What a fun weekend. We were at the Paraclete XP wind tunnel in Raeford, NC this weekend and had a full schedule. Butch, Eric, Helen and Andy joined us on Saturday and Sunday for some tunnel coaching. Thanks for joining us -- we had a great time. All were looking pretty sharp in the tunnel by Sunday afternoon.

On Saturday we also did some 8 way training with fellow PD sponosored team, Sebastian Tempest, in the tunnel. Kris from Tempest lead us through 45 minutes of tunnel training. For many of us, it was our first experience with 8 way. We're really looking forward to training with Tempest again in September and competing at Nationals.

On Saturday and Sunday we competed in the Paraclete XP tunnel meet. It was a lot of fun to see all of the teams there, and compete. We entered the chamber and did two rounds at a time. We finished the meet with a team best score (in the tunnel) of 222 points over 10 rounds, finishing tied for 6th place overall. Round five was a highlight, with another team best of 42 points in one round.

In addition to coaching and 8 way and the meet, we also were able to do almost 2 hours of 4 way training. On Saturday we did some b-slot speed drills. On Sunday, we trained in the tunnel with rigs on. Using rig covers and handle covers we were able to fly with our own Infinity containers to make for a very realistic experience. It was quite a workout, but a great learning experience for us.

On top of all of that, JaNette and Steve stayed Monday for some solo work and 2on2 with Kirk and John, and Laurent, Steve & JaNette tried out some back-flying, with expert coaching from Mick at the tunnel. What a blast! Thanks Kirk, John and Mick.

All in all, a pretty awesome weekend. Looking forward to the upcoming 3 day training weekend at CSC, including MWSL meet #2 down at SDC on Saturday. By the way, CSC will be open on Friday morning with loads flying from 9am all day as we train. Come on out and join us!

Labels: Competitions, Events, Training, Tunnel Trips

Thanks to everyone who was able to join us, and for our awesome video guys who make each jump more memorable, better to debrief, and who also provide us with some awesome photos. Photos by Kevin Naftzger and Pete Jabczynski There were some great jumps, a lot of fun, and a lot of learning along the way for team-for-a-day #3.

Labels: Events

Click here to read the article on www.skyleague.com (NSL): Did you know that the new CSC Rhythm XP lineup started with team record scores?

Labels: Articles, Competitions

We put together our 10 jumps from MWSL Meet 1 at CSC last weekend, and posted to youtube. Here it is. Enjoy the star wipes!

Labels: Competitions

Tired of creating random draws off the tops of our heads, we decided to make an over-complicated excel file that could do it for us. The program randomly generates draws for any division you want, and will even put the pictures together for you in an easily printed format. If you know the dives you want to do, you can enter them and have the generator make the pics for you as well. Check it out and let us know what you think. Make sure to save the file to your computer before opening it. Then, enable Macros when you open the file. Download here

Labels: Resources, Training

The MWSL held its first meet of the season this Saturday, May 31, coinciding with the team's second 3-day jump camp. Three teams attended: SDC On The Fly, CSC Victory Hop, and CSC Rhythm XP. With Kirk Verner providing meet coaching, Alan Butt running the meet, and CSC working with the teams to make sure everything went smoothly, the competition was a lot of fun for everyone. On the Fly and Victory Hop had some close competition for the first few rounds, but On the Fly was able to pull away in round 4. Unfortunately, due to winds, the official meet ended with 4 rounds. Still, Sunday was a beautiful day, and those who stuck around got to get a lot more jumps in. We finished the meet with a 15.6 ave over 10 rounds - a team best and personal best for everyone. We are really excited to see our work at the Paraclete XP tunnel and CSC paying off, and looking forward to learning and growing more. We are also psyched to see the other Chicago area teams making good progress and enjoying 4-way like we do.

Labels: Competitions, Training

What a great weekend! We had our first jump training camp at CSC this past weekend with our coach, Kirk, and despite a few weather holds, made 34 jumps over 4 days. It was great to finally get in the air.


We're looking forward to our second training camp this weekend, and our first meet at CSC. Kirk Verner will be the meet coach for all teams to use.

Labels: Training

We had a great turnout of almost 6 teams for Scrambles #1. Unfortunately, the May weather did not cooperate and high winds kept us on the ground -- a common theme in Chicago this time of year.

Rather than jumping, we had our second bad-weather-day creeper meet. Competition was tight, but JaNette, Kevin, Allison, Pawel and Asia finished in first with Rich, Tom, Tracy and Jean close behind.

Labels: Events

We had a great time last weekend at our second Team for a Day event. Saturday brought great weather and smiling faces! We had three teams plus video, with some participants just getting into 4 way all the way to seasoned competitors. Teams completed 6-7 jumps each, repeating each dive to focus on improving technique.

Thank you to CSC, including Melissa and Lisa and the packers for keeping us on loads all day. Thank you also to our videographers, Kevin, Pete and Ben.







Our next team for a day is scheduled for June 14/15 and we're already getting full -- sign up now!


Congrats to Butch for his 400th!

Labels: Events

West Suburban Living, a magazine dedicated to Chicago's western suburbs, covered the increasing popularity of skydiving in its March/April 08 issue. The article highlights the experiences of CSC and CSC Rhythm XP specifically. It's a nice article that does a much better job of getting to the appeal of skydiving than many others that portray the sport as nothing more than a thrill. Plus, there's a somewhat funny misunderstanding of what the writer calls "Rhythm teams."
Click here to see the article

Labels: Articles

This past weekend was our first of seven Team for a Day weekends. We had all of our slots filled, for three teams on Saturday and two on Sunday. We had a great turnout on Saturday despite 30+mph winds. We didn't let that stop us from stretching, prepping and creeping with the group, and then holding an impromptu creeper meet in the heated hangar. Surprisingly there were no crushed fingers! Congrats to the winners: Team "We Rule Even More (even though we're unoriginal)" Scott, Annie, Lem, Laurent, and videoguy Kevin. In second was Team "Infinity", followed by Team "We Rule" in 3rd place.

Slots are already filling up for the next few Team for a Day events, so sign up now!




It was also great to see "What's the Point" on Saturday and work out some exits at the mock up. Hope to see you gals & guy again soon!






On Sunday, despite a dismal forecast we were still able to get in 5 jumps with Phil, Eric, Asia and Greg. Happy 100th Phil -- thanks for letting us share it with you!

Labels: Events

Ranch Fallout, Cross Keys O2 Project, and CSC Rhythm XP met up at the Paraclete XP windtunnel this weekend for another great weekend of training fun. As always, we learned a lot, and even got to see what an in-air wrestling match between the Dave's on Fallout would look like . Our money's on Dave.

Labels: Tunnel Trips

We just posted 2 new videos in our gallery. One is a compilation of video with the various skydivers who joined us for the skills camp. Check out those skills!
We also put up video of our attempt at the Bedford tunnel meet.

Labels: Events, Tunnel Trips

What a fun weekend! We just got back from our tunnel skills camp at Paraclete XP. 11 people joined us for over 14 hours of tunnel. We worked on solo skills, did some 4 way, and a few did some freeflying. Everyone was looking great!

Stay tuned for plans for the next one.

More pictures can be seen here

Labels: Events, Tunnel Trips

Neither rain nor wind nor snow nor sleet nor dark of night will deter Rhythm from the tunnel. This time, when a late-March snow storm cancelled over 200 flights from Chicago on Friday, Steve, Laurent and JaNette, inspired by Brian's great trek two weeks previous, packed up and road-tripped from Chicago to Raeford, NC to make the tunnel camp. After a long night of driving, some annoying detours, and a heated debate on the value of the letter "H", the three rolled in to the Paraclete parking lot at 6:52 am to meet Brian at 7 for the first session at 8! Just enough time to chow down on some food that Brian brought, including the team snack - Ham and Croissants!

We were joined again by Ranch Fallout and CT Centerline. It was nice to catch up again with those guys and see all three teams making big improvements. The rock band Three Doors Down came to fly in the tunnel while we were there as well. We worked on funky randoms, building consistency and did a few draws. We also got to try out our new TonySuit jumpsuits -- they look and fly great! Another fun weekend!

We're very excited to be back at the tunnel next weekend coaching/organizing our Tunnel Skills camp!

Labels: Tunnel Trips

Labels: Sponsors

Labels: Tunnel Trips

Under the guise of team building, Steve and JaNette had a party at their apartment. We had a great turnout, and everyone had their fill of beer and pizza. The TV played 4-way videos and other skydiving movies all night. Plus, we had a surprise visit from Grayson Smith who won the late night drooling contest hands down. While it wasn't formal, along the way we got to talk about the team-for-a-day's, scrambles, and tunnel camp we'll be organizing this season.
A good number of skydivers are interested in forming new teams this year, and we're happy to do anything we can to help encourage that. See the Photo Gallery for more pictures from this event.

Labels: Events

Feb 22-23 - We escaped the cold Chicago weather (and Texas) for our second tunnel training camp this past weekend. Did some B slot work and speed drills, and had lots of fun. We also split the time with CT Centerline and Ranch Fallout. It was really great to get to know these teams better. Looking forward to more camps together in the future. We're back in less than 2 weeks and can't wait!

Labels: Tunnel Trips

Holly hosted a great party last Saturday at her house. It was an opportunity to talk about some of the exciting events coming up this year and watch a lot of videos, including some fun "vintage" that Marc had. Holly is already preparing the coming season with her 1st 4-way team. Everybody had a good time. Thanks Holly!

Labels: Miscellaneous

CSC Rhythm is teaming up with fellow PD sponsored team, Sebastian Tempest, to compete in 8-way at USPA Nationals. Our plan is to do tunnel time in the Paraclete XP windtunnel and some jumps. We are looking forward to getting to know each other better, doing some fun flying together, and taking advantage of the large tunnel to practice the 8-way randoms and blocks.

Labels: Miscellaneous

CollegeSkydiving.com is a great resource for college students, beginner jumpers, and anyone looking for good skydiving information on the web. Last November, while at the Orlando Tunnel, JaNette, Brian and Steve met Ben Lee, who runs the site. Since then, the team has been exchanging ideas on how we might contribute to the great work Ben is doing, and how Ben could help us get the word out on the programs we are starting in the Midwest. Meanwhile, PD has been supporting college jumpers for some time now, and even created a blog on Ben's site where skydivers can ask questions specifically addressed to PD athletes. We are enthusiastic about helping out, and since we are now part of the PD team, the relationship makes an even more perfect fit. Please make sure to check out CollegeSkydiving.com, and let us know what you think.

Labels: Miscellaneous

Click here to read the article on www.skyleague.com (NSL)

Labels: Articles

Last weekend was a time for many firsts for CSC Rhythm. It was the first tunnel camp in 2008, the first camp with the new team, the first camp with Kirk Verner, and the first camp in the new Paraclete XP windtunnel. Each of these new experiences far exceeded our expectations.
In a short time, the team has developed a great rapport that is evident both in the air and on the ground. Kirk is a great coach, who is guiding us both jump-by-jump and helping to lay out a longterm vision for the team. This includes not only flying and 4-way technique, but also team building.
The new Paraclete XP windtunnel is extremely impressive. We heard tons of great things about it, and yet only after entering the tunnel that first time did we really appreciate how superior it is. For starters, the size and smoothness of the air are awesome, but every detail from the moment you walk in the facility is the best we have experienced.
Finally, thanks to O2 for joining us as well. They looked great, and we enjoyed sharing the experience with another team. Can't wait till the next camp!

Labels: Tunnel Trips

CSC Rhythm proudly announces that Tony Suits has agreed to sponsor the team. Tony has been making jumpsuits for over 20 years and is now the largest jumpsuit manufacturer in the world. The team has put Tony Suits through its own test through thousands of jumps and about 200 tunnel hours. The jumpsuit is the piece of gear that gets the most wear, getting abused in the tunnel and in the air, during jump camps from sun-up to sun-down. They have to be comfortable, fit perfectly, and take hours of tugging, yanking, grabbing, scraping and pulling. Tony Suits Jumpsuits stand up to the worst we can do, and we're proud to be a part of that quality team.

Labels: Sponsors

Over the New Year's break, Steve and JaNette visited SkydiveRatings.com in Zephyrhills for the coach rating course. We had a great time and learned a bunch. Thanks to Bram and Nathan for running a fun, informative, and valuable course, and also to Louis French for the challenging evaluation dives.

Labels: Miscellaneous

CSC Rhythm is extremely excited to announce that Performance Designs will sponsor the team in 2008. PD is a premier, world-class canopy manufacturer. Continually setting new standards in performance, quality and customer support, PD has produced some of the most successful ram air canopies built to date. Team members have flown a number of PD canopies, including the Sabre, Sabre2, Silhouette, Spectre, Velocity, Katana and the PD Reserve and so our enthusiasm for the company is drawn from the experience of 1000's of jumps. In the 2008 season, we will fly a variety of canopies from the PD selection, including the new Optimum reserve. Teaming up with CSC, a demo center for PD, CSC Rhythm is looking forward to sharing our enthusiasm for PD's products with anyone who is interested in learning more.

Labels: Sponsors

There was a bug in the 12/11/2007 version when we added the option to use keys to time jumps. If you downloaded this version, the data won't be copied to the "Data" page from the timer. Please download the latest update to correct this bug.

Labels: Resources

Click here to read the article on www.skyleague.com (NSL)

Labels: Articles

We have developed a tool that we use to time dives and track statistics. Some highlights include:

• The excel file is the stop watch. Instead of timing then transposing results, you can click a button in the tool, and all the information is automatically passed to the jump database for analysis. This saves time and reduces errors.
• Charts and tables display block, random and exit statistics from week to week, and track against goals. If there's a statistic missing, please suggest it -- we'd love to make this file even better.
• The tool uses your historical results to calculate an estimated score on any jump you enter. This can be a useful training tool in itself. We often competed against its predictions in mock meets.
• It can be used to measure 4 way as well as 8 way.

We want to share this tool so that others may benefit from it, and to get additional feedback on how to improve the tool. If you have any suggestions for improvements, corrections or questions please contact us.

Detailed description and downloads (Blank version/Demo CSC Rhythm 2007 stats)

Here are 2 screen shots:

Labels: Resources

CSC Rhythm is proud to announce that Paraclete XP Skyventure is our newest sponsor. Wind tunnels have become invaluable tools for skydivers who wish to improve their skills, and Paraclete XP Skyventure is the largest and most powerful in the world. This tunnel is 16'4" in diameter, 51' tall, and boasts 4 huge fans at 541 horsepower each. It is recirculating, which means contrary to "open air" tunnels, temperature is regulated and turbulence, dead spots and "choking out" of fans are virtually eliminated. All of our team tunnel camps will be at Paraclete XP Skyventure. Please see our 2008 schedule, and contact us if you are interested in joining any of our camps, or if you have questions about the tunnel. Also, due to great interest, we are looking at adding a camp before the season starts. Contact us for details.

Labels: Sponsors

CSC Rhythm is happy to announce our newest sponsor, Velocity Sports Equipment. The team will proudly wear Infinity containers and enjoy the Infinity's comfort, safety and reliability - qualities the team has grown to love through first-hand experience for a while now. For more information about the Infinity, feel free to contact a Rhythm team member.

Labels: Sponsors

Brian, JaNette and Steve were all able to get in some tunnel time in Orlando over the holidays. Laurent was stuck in Chicago taking care of his web-site administration duties, however Chromy was able to fill in tail and coach the team. While we were there we met Ben Lee of CollegeSkydiving.com. You can see more pictures of us and our friends who joined us at: http://www.collegeskydiving.com

Labels: Tunnel Trips

We have just added many links to articles talking about 4 way (training, team...). You can see the list on page Resources>Articles. Those links were collected from various places on Internet (www.bpa.org.uk, www.dropzone.com, www.mariosantos.com, www.onthelineskydiving.com, www.skydivemag.com, www.skydivingmagazine.com, www.skyleague.com). There are a lot more when you visit those websites. This is a great reading for this winter!

Labels: Resources

What an awesome weekend! Brian Ball, our new IC for 2008 came out to CSC as a trial training weekend to jump with us, see how we all got along, and start planning for next year. We did 14 jumps, and had a great time. Brian fits in with the team well, both in the air and on the ground. We're all very excited for next year!

Labels: Miscellaneous

We hosted our second scrambles of the season this past weekend. It was a great success. We had 7 teams competing including newly graduated AFF students, seasoned competitors, big way organizers, freeflyers, weekend regulars, and AFF instructors. We had a blast, and were able to break Laurent's undefeated scrambles record.

Congrats to the winners:

• 1st place: Steven Lefkowitz, Butch, Al Burgin, Jeff Pisut (free jumps at CSC)
• 2nd place: Rich Madsen, Sara Spitler, Henrik Csuri, Kevin LaFollette (free case of beer)
• 3rd place: Don Moffet, Tom Bohm, Jean Marquette, Eric Haszlakiewicz (free Sunpath goodies)

Thanks to everyone who participated, including the cameramen, Andy, Shea, Kevin and Fraser. We're looking forward to doing it again next year!

Labels: Events

Nationals were great fun. The pride and excitement we felt coming together and all doing our best when it counted was awesome. We scored a 14.5, which was our highest average ever. Most importantly, we were really enjoying ourselves. You can see it in our faces in all the pictures, and see it in the jumps. While we did not get the bronze medal because we were a guest team, that took nothing away from the experience.
Sunday night, Laurent honored all on-lookers at the Tiki Hut by leading the team in a no-holds-barred Superman-Banana demonstration. Surely, the likes of this have not been seen at the Tiki Hut, or at least not since the previous weekend. What better way for Chromy to ring in his birthday?

Source: www.omniskore.com
This was the perfect ending of our constent progression throughout the season. Below we plot our weekly points average over time. There is definitely some fluctuation as we focused more on blocks or randoms, but the trend is in the right direction!

Labels: Competitions

The current MWSL record scores have local roots? [Read]

Labels: Articles

On August 11th, Tom Bohm, a seasoned competitor from the Midwest skydiving league, subbed in for Chromy, who was in the Czech Republic coaching teams there. Tom is awesome and a lot of fun. We asked him to work with our continuity plan, and as a result he was trying some moves for the first time right in the meet. His experience and skills stood the test though, and we were very happy with how the meet went.
It was a close one, and no one knew how the final results played out until the scores for the last round were announced. The SDC Furies were great competitors, but we were able to hold on to a 2 point lead for the win.

Labels: Competitions

Last weekend's MWSL meet was on a regional record level? [Read]

Labels: Articles

The team was very proud of how we did in the first MWSL meet. This was Rhythm's first meet in AAA. We knew we had been improving all season, but we also knew that the only scores that count are the ones you can post in a meet.

Labels: Competitions

The MWSL features an exciting AAA Class competition this year? [Read]

Labels: Articles

The Furies have a new line-up for the 2007 season? [Read]

Labels: Articles

The team kicked off the jumping season in Deland, FL at the Shamrock Showdown in March. Those were the first jumps CSC Rhythm made as a full team, and it was a lot of fun. It was especially exciting to watch the competition at the top between Airspeed, Fastrax and the Golden Knights.

Labels: Competitions

To get a head-start on the season, Laurent, Steve and JaNette attended an Arizona Airspeed 4-way tunnel and jump camp in November of 2006. There we trained with Eliana Rodriguez, Eric Gin and Andy Honigbaum. That was an awesome time, and it was extremely valuable for starting us off on the right foot.
We spent about 10 hours in the Orlando tunnel as the full team before our first meet, the Shamrock Showdown. Steve learned the hard way that there are only so many times you can attend a track meet to pole vault once a year without getting hurt. With a broken wrist, he missed January's tunnel camp, but was forced to sit and watch as punishment while Kurt Gaebel ably filled in at point. After that, Chromy started an unofficial list of stupid things the team (mainly Steve) was not allowed to do. Other items on that list include unicycling and drunken slip-and-slide.

Labels: Tunnel Trips