Here it comes!
The fifth edition of ESS is taking place on 6-8th March 2024, again in Warsaw, Poland. This is seriously the best way to start your next season: three days packed with knowledge, experience, great deals from manufacturers and… parties!
Experience boost like no other
The previous edition, back in 2022, was a great success. Over 550 skydivers packed in one place to learn, share experience and knowledge, discuss business, make deals, and have fun. Civilians and military representatives; students, fun jumpers and professionals; manufacturers and end-users; a full representation of our diverse, colorful, and exciting sport.
If you wonder if it’s worth spending time and money on attending, we can tell you this: with the intense growth of skydiving popularity, investing in knowledge has never been so important as today. Taking part in the Symposium will make you much more ready for the unexpected, will give you new knowledge and perspective on already known procedures and also will let you benefit from the mistakes of others. This is priceless.
“The main idea of the event is to bring the European community together and prepare for the season 2024” – says Marta Molinska, ESS co-organizer from Sky Camp Drop Zone. “After the wintertime, even experienced jumpers may feel some anxiety before the first jump of the year, not to mention students. We consider the Symposium three Big Safety Days before the new season.”
Content variety
The European Skydiving Symposium is a conference around the safety of skydiving. The fifth edition will present five ‘stages’, aimed at different roles in the sport:
- Fun Jumpers (all levels)
- Tandem/Camera: powered by UPT
- AFF Instructors: powered by MaxFly
- Riggers: powered by Vigil
- DZ Management: powered by CYPRES
“We know each group of our community needs different presentations. If you’re an experienced Tandem Master, you won’t need to listen about the dos and don’ts on a new dropzone. You’d more likely want to listen to the tandem landing techniques and traffic control”, says Arek “Maya” Majewski from LOT G7, organizer of the event. “But if you’re just about to hit your first 100 jumps, you might find a lot of insights that are not really a part of an AFF course. Very often, there is not enough time during the jumping days to explain such matters as the importance of the separation between the groups, jump run mysteries, or risks that come with a brand-new GoPro on your helmet. And – obviously – there are some aspects of skydiving that we all should care about, like potential emergencies on the plane. We’re in the same boat here, literally.”
The agenda is still coming together, but some big names are already confirmed. For the first time in years, Brian Germain will come to Europe. He is going to talk about adopting a holistic approach to safety in skydiving. Also, Regan Tetlow already confirmed his contribution as the MC of the event!
This will be a great start of the Symposium, and more of the good stuff follows:
- Albert Berchtold, USPA
USPA Fatality Report 2023
- Beau Riebe, Performance Designs
Observations from the Road: Downsizing
- Maxine Tate, Flight-1
Canopy Progression – How do we balance progress with safety?
- Mario Fattoruso, Flight-1
XRW done safely: tips & tricks
- Meredith Ottery, UPT
Perfect Tandem Packjob on the example of Sigma & new SR Canopy
- Noah Watts, UPT
Tandem safety-related topic (to be defined)
- Tim Parrant, koala_in_the_sky
Flying safely with a tandem
- Tom Parker, Sun Path
Polish your rigging skills
- Rob Kendall, Sun Path
Container options explained
- James La Barrie, Beyond Marketing
Managing media in times of crisis
- Sebastian Dratwa, Sky Camp
Safety tips for AFF instructors
- Lesley Gale, Skydive Mag
The art and magic of big-ways
- Augusto Bartelle
How skydiving helped me fight my addiction
- Pancho Campo
How to minimize the environmental impact of skydiving
- Szymon Chełmicki
Get out of the entanglement alive: practical advice from a CRW jumper
- … and more to come!
Have an idea of your own to contribute? You can submit your topic in the Call-4-Content form.
The conference like no other
After the success of the fourth edition in 2022, the team already started preparations for the next event. By the decision of the main organizer – Arek ‘Maya’ Majewski from LOTG7 – the European Skydiving Symposium takes place every two years to make sure it doesn’t clash with the PIA Symposium in the USA, held every two years.
“We didn’t want to make an impression of competition between the events,” continued Maya. “The idea was for both events to complement each other. Firstly, because our event takes place in Europe, and secondly – because it’s a conference instead of an expo event.”
Here is what else to expect from the fifth edition:
- New venue, allowing the hosting of a big conference and also to have a pool party, enjoy a spa, go bowling, explore outdoors, and even take your kid to the Symposium, thanks to all-day kids’ animations.
- Shuttle buses from the airport to the venue,
- Live translation of the seminars
- Grand Raffle daily
- Blind Packjob Race
- A big After Party
Expo hall
Also, a very important aspect of the Symposium is the Expo Hall. Whether you’re looking for business, information about gear, measurements taken by your chosen manufacturer, R&D or plan a pull-up cord to get for free – this is the place to be.
Curious who you can meet? See the list of Manufacturers who have already signed up!
Food, drink and social
Tickets to the European Skydiving Symposium include a full 3-course lunch and unlimited soft drinks, tea, coffee, biscuits, snacks, throughout the day. The buffet-style lunch, multiple coffee stations and various chillout areas create a very social atmosphere, which is perfect for meeting other skydivers, who come from all over Europe. Of course the bars are busy and lively throughout the day and a lot of the night. The last night party is normally epic, with everyone celebrating the time they’ve had, the friendships made and the knowledge added to their skydiving toolbox.
Symposium Ambassadors
“We understand that reaching all skydivers in Europe and beyond is difficult for a 3-person team,” says co-organizer Katarzyna Witkowska, Skydive Warsaw. “That’s why we invited friends from various countries to help popularize the Symposium in their local skydiving communities.”
This is how the Ambassadors Program was born. In each country, there is going to be one person (or two maximum) for local skydivers to reach out to and learn about the event: tickets, transportation, agenda, mobile App, and all other aspects that are important to every participant. If you have any questions, check out the list of Ambassadors and reach out to the person you know and trust. If there is no Ambassador for your country, you can also suggest someone!
Information
Register by the end of October for a hefty discount off the normal price.
- Dates: 6-8 March 2024
- REGISTRATION
- ‘Super floater” tickets are available until 31 October 2023 for 43€ per conference day.
- “Formation base” ticket price is 53€ per conference day, booking from 1 November 2022 to 31 January 2024.
- “Last diver” tickets are available from 1 February 2024 and cost 75€ per day.
- Venue: Warszawianka Hotel
(25% discount for Attendees applies when booking via e-mail rezerwacja@warszawianka.pl with “European Skydiving Symposium” in the message’s title). - Wi-fi: Unlimited free wi-fi during all 3 days of the conference.
- Other recommended hotels: Narvil Hotel, Hotel Pan Tadeusz, Zegrzynski Palace, Hotel 500, Hotel Windsor and all Airbnb options nearby.
- Travels: Shuttle buses from the international airport (WAW) twice a day. There is also a train going directly from the airport to the area of the venue.
- All information is on the European Symposium website, which is frequently updated.
Still not sure?
Here’s some feedback from last year’s attendees:
Exceeded my highest expectations, and they were high.
Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld (Skydive Perris)
That was, without a doubt, the best event of its kind I’ve seen in my 32 years as a skydiver.
Regan Tetlow (Air Sports Promotion)
Marta, Maya and Katarzyna put together an amazing event! The European Skydiving Symposium was definitely the place to be!
Uschi Wagner (Pink Skydive Klatovy)
You want it or not, you have now set up a new standard in our industry. Well done!
Willy Boeykens (Vigil)
This was the best skydiving conference I have ever attended!
Tom Parker (Sun Path)
