Bartholomew earns gold in Zone Accuracy at World Parachuting Championships

Team USA member, Curt Bartholomew, is on track to win Canopy Piloting Overall at 2012 World Parachuting Championships with a Gold win in Distance Monday

Following his Gold win in the Speed division of Canopy Piloting, Bartholomew dominated the final Zone Accuracy rounds Monday, earning his second gold medal at the 2012 World Parachuting Championships in Dubai.

After an 89 point Accuracy run in the first round held two days ago, Bartholomew showed competitors he meant business by scoring a perfect 100 score on Round 3. Bartholomew finished the Zone Accuracy rounds 22 points ahead of the 2nd place competitor, Pablo Moll.

With only Distance remaining, Bartholomew is positioned well to bring home the Gold Overall, making him the #1 Canopy Pilot in the world. Only two Distance rounds remain and are currently in progress.

Bartholomew is representing Team USA at the World Parachuting Championships, but stateside, he is the founder of a four-person Canopy Piloting team, Team Alter Ego. He has exploded into the competition scene over the past years and is the current National and International Champion.

Canopy Piloting is the newest skydiving discipline to be included in the World Parachuting Championships, made possible by the development of smaller and faster canopies in the mid 1990's. The discipline was originally called "blade running" but soon evolved into the format used today. While competitors compete over a stretch of water for safety reasons because of the high speeds involved (called "swooping the pond"), the nature of the action makes it the most spectator-friendly of all the skydiving disciplines.

Three events are held to determine the overall Canopy Piloting Champion: Speed, Accuracy and Distance. In Zone Accuracy, Canopy Pilots pass between course markers, earning extra points for dragging a part of their body along the surface of a pond, staying between the water gates and land in a specified marked area. Penalties are awarded in the landing phase if the competitor falls over or is not in the central zone with they first touch upon landing.

The remaining Canopy Piloting rounds are underway and Bartholomew is currently ranked in 1st Place Overall.