![](\"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/\/68a9a946-21c6-4ed9-b2b1-854b2d2fae9e.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Every day I get to see the Nationals 4-way trophy. I’m gloating but I deserve to because my team won the Nationals and I’m still buzzing! I value the trophy as a symbol of unwavering determination, and seeing my name on it makes me feel extremely proud. The harder I train and the more I understand about what it takes to get to the top, the more I respect the best teams and most especially the individuals who just keep going. I want to know what makes people like John and Pete tick. <\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Pete<\/em> I lost count of the number of times that I tried to close third and fourth (that’s what we had to do back in the Dark Ages) but I\u2019m going to guess at ten. I remember lots of tumbling out of planes, hoping for at least a view of the three people that I was supposed to be docking on.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n John<\/em> From memory, it only took a couple of tries as I and some friends had plenty of practice. As soon as we had passed our\u00a0Cat 8s we used to manifest ourselves as three solos and exit as close\u00a0together as possible\u2026 trying our best to look like individuals! Then we\u2019d dive at each other and eventually build a 3-way \u2013 most of the time!\u00a0I\u2019m not sure it was the best route but I still have some great memories\u00a0from that time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pete<\/em> A team with a Dutchman, an American and two Brits. We all started jumping at Ipswich in the 70s and did a team with a goal to travel to other DZs, and to check out the girls \u2013 which worked for me as I met my first wife! Symbiosis was my first ‘proper’ team.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pete<\/em> Similar passion for 4-way, with an attitude that is more ‘what can I do for the team?’ rather than ‘what can the team do for me?’.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n John<\/em>\u00a0Well I guess all my teammates from XL had all the qualities I would\u00a0look for. We quit in 2003, but whenever we meet there is\u00a0still a strong connection and friendship.\u00a0After joining Satori as player coach, I recognised something in them\u00a0that renewed my love for skydiving. There is an amazing enthusiasm to learn and at the same time enjoy their training. My\u00a0favorite quality in a team player is an ability to keep quiet, talk when necessary and get on with it!<\/p>\n Pete<\/em> Mum ‘n’ Dad, Symbiosis, Scot Meek, Dan BC, Jack Jefferies, my past and current team mates and both of my kids.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n John<\/em> Big into mountain biking, downhill free riding, cross country. Also\u00a0into running, gym plus loads of other active stuff.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pete<\/em> No, it started off as a two year plan that succeeded and therefore opened the door to the possibility of XL and the long term. We won the UK Nationals in ’95\/6, then Andy Grimwade offered us the chance to go full-time at his new DZ in Sebastian, Florida. Since I was 15 I had wanted to train with a team full-time.\u00a0 <\/p>\n John<\/em> I guess the answer to that is both a curse and gift.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n John<\/em> At home watching a movie with the family, training with Satori,\u00a0mountain biking in Scotland or the Alps.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n John<\/em>\u00a0Actually I feel pretty proud. One of my goals set back in the early\u00a0nineties was to win the 4-way nationals just once \u2013 that\u2019s what I told\u00a0Judi anyway! I guess I enjoyed that feeling so much I had to\u00a0carry on.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pete<\/em> Since I first wandered on to a DZ at the age of 12 and saw the sport of competition skydiving, I wanted to win just one National Championship. The satisfaction yet frustration of always trying to get better and deal with all the challenges along the way took over.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n John<\/em>\u00a0None. I could say I wish I had a pension, bigger house,\u00a0savings, better car, security, but that\u2019s not me. Oh yeah, lots of top competitors said we made a mistake splitting in\u00a02003 when we had a pretty strong team that could have carried\u00a0on to collect some medals. I\u2019m not sure about that though!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pete<\/em> The UK has the same passion and talent as USA and France but there is an environment in both of those countries that makes it easier to breed champions. In France there is a national association that dedicates itself to creating World Champions, one that trains its ex champions to become national coaches. The athletes chosen for the national team are given the opportunity to train full-time. In America, the breeding ground for teams is sponsorship from DZs or the US Army, basically giving the opportunity to train full-time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n John<\/em>\u00a0My advice probably wouldn’t help too much! When Pete and I\u00a0first talked, and then followed through with going full time with XL, nothing was going to stop us. We decided on a rough plan of training with Toby Stafford and Chris Lynch then we all moved to Florida, originally without sponsorship\u00a0of any kind. I turned up with 50 dollars\u00a0looking for packing or coaching work. I left the family at home with\u00a0the task of renting out our house and joining me later. Our intention\u00a0was to train hard then head off to the World Meet, 1997 in Turkey and then\u00a0probably call it a day. I ended up spending nine years in Florida. In my\u00a0case I had such a desire to do what I did, there was no stopping me.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pete<\/em> I have a very understanding wife!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n John<\/em> Well umm err\u2026!\u00a0 I also have an understanding wife and family! I\u2019ve just got to do it , whether its skydiving, surfing, mountain biking, climbing, whatever. I’ve been splitting my time between training with Satori\u00a010 days per month , 10 days plus as a self employed Sparky, several\u00a0days working at Bodyflight tunnel in Bedford and at Airkix wind tunnel in Manchester, just ten minutes from our house. I find the time away really\u00a0makes me appreciate the time at home.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I have heard that the competition bug is like a curse, and that you never feel completely satisfied with your performance so you have to keep trying to improve. What I know for sure is that people like Pete Allum and John McIver inspire me to keep going. It’s impressive to be the best once but to do it repeatedly a dozen times is extraordinary.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every day I get to see the Nationals 4-way trophy. I’m gloating but I deserve to because my team won the Nationals and I’m still buzzing! I value the trophy as a symbol of unwavering determination, and seeing my name on it makes me feel extremely proud. The harder I train and the more I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pmpro_default_level":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","pmpro-has-access"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat was your first team?<\/h1>\n
What do you look for in your teammates?<\/h1>\n
Who are your mentors?<\/h1>\n
What other sports are you into?<\/h1>\n
You spent eight years on XL, was it an eight-year plan?<\/h1>\n
\nI am very pleased with what we achieved with XL Not winning a world medal was frustrating but also what helped keep us training and pushing our abilities. I hope that some of what we did is partly responsible for the incredible talent that we have in the UK now.<\/p>\n![\"John](\"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/\/f6e2deb3-55ca-4393-8c1d-5d4fab1539c7.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nJohn, is the fire in your belly a gift or a curse?<\/h1>\n
Where is your favourite place?<\/h1>\n
How do you feel about winning the British 4-way Nationals twelve times?<\/h1>\n
Do you have any regrets?<\/h1>\n
The open 4-way is dominated by USA and France, what do they have that we don’t?<\/h1>\n
What advice would you give to someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?<\/h1>\n
Pete, you compete at the World Challenge, the World Championships and various Nationals all with different teams, how do you do it?<\/h1>\n
![\"It's](\"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/\/09157787-8e03-4614-ab55-6ac324c28eac.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nHow about you John?<\/h1>\n