Nationals are fast approaching, so if you’re newbie jumper there’s no better time to grab some mates, get into a team, and get involved. I caught up with Random Fixation last year’s winner of the 4 Way FS Blast category and asked them a few questions which will hopefully inspire you to get involved!
Tell me a little bit about Random Fixation. Who are you and where do you jump?
Emily: We’re a 4-way FS team based in Picton, NSW. The team formed in 2021 and consists of Chloe Creecy (Point), Chris Graham (Outside Centre), Emily White (Inside Centre) and Skye Parsons (Tail). We first competed in Blast at the 2022 Nationals where we took home the gold medal which was amazing!
How long and how often do you train together?
Skye: At the moment we are training for the 2023 National Championships. We’ll be going up against great teams, so competition is going to be intense! We aim for one weekend of dedicated training a month, as well as 30 mins of tunnel time with our coach, Andrew Barker. As Nationals approaches, we will be trying to ramp that up as much as possible, especially getting the blocks under our belt.
Who inspires you?
Chloe: I’m constantly inspired by everyone in this sport and how much everyone is frothing on new achievements and smashing goals. One of the mentors I am most grateful for is Jules McConnell. I’m also inspired by Gibbo at Skydive Oz by the pure joy he gets from this sport and the way he spreads this to every person at the drop zone.
Emily: Kate Vaughan is a big inspiration at this point in my skydiving career – she’s an absolute gun in the sky, and so amazing at sharing her knowledge with everyone.
Skye: There are so many incredible humans that I’ve had the pleasure to get to know on this journey, I really couldn’t name them all or we would be here all day! However, special shoutout to our cameraman Jarrad Nolan, and to Christy Frikken who has been both an incredible inspiration and an extraordinary mentor.
Chris: My inspirations are always changing, but if I boil it down, I think I’m inspired by three types of flatties – the first are those legends who are so far advanced I can only ask “How the hell are they doing that”, like Arizona Airspeed. The second would be those AAA teams at Nationals and our coach AB as they provide inspiration and guidance a bit closer to home and thirdly, I’m inspired by newbie jumpers who are just at the start of their skydiving career and having an absolute blast every single time they jump out of the plane!
What’s the best thing about being in a team?
Chloe: The best thing about being in such an awesome team is getting to jump with incredibly talented friends and progressing as a team. It is so gratifying being able to turn points down the hill. It’s something I never expected to achieve and would never have experienced if it weren’t for Random Fixation.
Skye: The best thing about being in a team is sharing the pure froth with four other people when you nail that move or that jump, and all that hard work and dedication comes together. The hardest part is when you’re all exhausted, working your asses off, and feeling like it’s just not happening. Especially when everyone in the team has different opinions on how it should be fixed! It can be super frustrating, but it’s all part of it – and learning to work together and being there for each other no matter what. I think, it’s what turns us into family – and the setbacks and frustrations are what make the good times so much sweeter.
If you have a bad jump in a comp, how do you motivate yourself and stay positive?
Chloe: Just move on and don’t fixate on a bad jump. Competition is fast paced so there’s no point wasting time worrying about something you can’t change any more.
Skye: I think a big part of getting past a hard jump for me is trying to keep positive and keeping up a good vibe for my teammates. We all know when a jump doesn’t go as planned, but we smile, and hug, and encourage each other. We try not to talk about it, and all do our best to completely forget about it, remove it from our minds, because the only thing that matters now is the next round. We have little team rituals we do on the ground and in the plane to get our energy and excitement up, and get amped for the next jump
What are your goals for Random Fixation?
Emily: The current goal is to learn all the blocks for ‘A’. Once we’ve conquered that – we’ll take those new skills and try take out another medal at the 2023 nationals. Our goal is to work together to make our way up the categories, competing in each until we win a medal and then moving up.
Skye: I would love to make it all the way to AAA with Random Fixation. Medals would be nice, but even more important to me is to keep increasing our skills together and kicking goals together as a team.
Best skydiving memory?
Chloe: I’ve got so many amazing memories both in the sky and on the ground. One of my best memories was getting to jump with Poo and Gibbo. It was a silly nonsense jump but these two people mean so much to me and so far in my 450 jumps I have only had this opportunity once, so I still cherish this memory as a unique jump with a couple of legends.
Skye: Team-wise, getting down from a jump in Nationals and finding out we had gotten fifteen points. It was an unbelievable feeling! Personally, I’ll never forget my no undie hundie. It was a sunset jump at Elderslie. I pitched a bit higher than usual and flew my canopy under the orange and pink sky feeling the freest I have ever felt in my life.
What advice would you give to any new jumpers reading this who might be thinking about getting a team together for Nationals?
Emily: JUST DO IT!!! I promise you won’t regret it. My top tip would be to make sure the people you’re joining a team with are people you get along with (you don’t have to be super close – that will come naturally – but there needs to be the potential). It also really helps to all have similar goals to work towards. And set those time and training commitments early!
Chris: Like Emily said, JUST DO IT! Don’t wait for the perfect time because there isn’t one. Well, there is. Right now, 😊 Just find some mates and have a go, and have some fun. You won’t regret it!
Best dad joke?
Skye won with this pearler: Two fish in a tank. One fish turns to the other and says, “You man the guns, I’ll drive.”
Nice work guys and gals! Good luck with Nationals and for those of you who think you might like to get a team together jump over to the APF page and read all about it! Even better it’s a virtual event, so you’ll be able to compete from the comfort of your home DZ!
