WUHAN, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- What are the qualities an accuracy jumper needs to possess? According to Khalid Mashrah from Bahrain, who's competing at the ongoing Military World Games in Wuhan, the secret to success is experience, and a lot of it.
"You need to perform many jumps. If you want to engage in accuracy jumping competitions, you have to start wide and each time narrowing your landing zone to finally be able to touch the electronic plate. With your acquired experience and many competitions under your belt, you can become good at it. So, it's all about experience and tactics," explains the jumper, who is temporarily ranked in 82nd place at the Games in men's indiviual accuracy after round 5 on Monday.
"In the team accuracy competition, the first jumper is often the most experienced one. During the team jump, the team members watch him closely, see which turns he makes, etc. The other jumpers learn from his mistakes and try to fix it in their jump," added the 24-year-old parachuter.
According to Mashrah, accuracy jumpers have to take in a lot of parameters while performing their jumps. "The condition of the wind is crucial," says Khalid. "Any small mistake reading the elements can have serious consequences for missing your landing spot by three or four meters, or even more."
Hence, experience is the key in this sport, he underlined.
"You can only compete in accuracy competitions after you made 300 jumps," explains Mashrah. "But you would generally need 500 to have some decent result. Competing here [at Military World Games] against teams from different countries, at this elite level, at least 1,000 [jumps required]. Accuracy jumping is a pretty popular discipline in parachuting around the world. It's safe and enjoyable from the ground for people to watch the approach towards the target."
The jumper from Bahrain said watching the jumpers from other top teams can be quite helpful.
"We practice a lot and we stress a bit when in competition. We closely watch the other teams and try to be the best. We want to be at least in the top ten," said Mashrah, whose team is now in 14th place after round 5.
Mashrah has been competing at the International Military Sports Council (CISM) events since 2009. "China made this edition a wonderful one. The people working for the Games here are very nice and helpful. They are well prepared. Both accommodation and venue are perfect. I've been competing internationally for ten years now and this is the best competition venue for jumping I've been to. Well done Wuhan!" he noted.
There is one particular sound an accuracy jumper likes to hear, and that's the loud buzz after the parachuter hits the electronic disk in the center of the landing zone -- the bull's eye.
"That's the little sound we all want to hear after landing," said Olivier Menanteau, who made the dot on Monday. He is one of the members of the French accuracy team, which is ranked 10th after round 5.
"It sounds as music in our ears," he joked. "Now we just have to be aware of the other teams and try to repeat that mark in the next rounds. Our first jumper made 2cm, I landed on the spot while the next guys went 2cm, 1cm and 3cm. We're always happy to hear that little tune. We try to trigger it with every jump, that's what keeps us going. Let's hope we will hear it many times during these Games," the Frenchman said while folding his parachute.
The accuracy parachuting competitions will continue on Wednesday with three more rounds to go before the semifinals slated for Friday.
