11Month7day,2015“Wings for Love” The Wings for Love BASE Jumping World Cup concluded in Dashanbao Town, Zhaotong, Yunnan.
In the end, Team Ram of Italy won the championship,likewiseTeam Orbit Rabbit from Italy and Team Squirrel Tail, led by American captainEllen Brennan, ranked second and third respectively, while Team Heart Wing, named after the theme of this competition, came in fourth.
During the three days of exciting competition,12athletes from36countries completed the straight-line speed race, target accuracy race, and formation flight race as teams.9BASE jumping teams took turns leaping off the platform in the order arranged by the organizing committee, then performing low-altitude flying between ridges,360° pendulum flips, and formation gate crossings, with their superb flying skills earning cheers and amazement from all the media and spectators on site.After the competition,just as everyone was still savoring the previousexquisiteflyingskills,the judges of the event,Sam HardyandNathan Jones, jumped from a high altitude aboard the organizing committee’s “Squirrel” helicopter, screaming over the platform, pushing the competition atmosphere to its climax.
2015“Wings for Love” The Wings for Love BASE Jumping World Cup chose to be held in Dashanbao Town, Zhaotong, which is not only a national nature reserve for the Class I protected black-necked crane but also because last year a magnitude6.5earthquake with an epicenter depth of12kilometers struck here. The earthquake resulted in617deaths,112people missing,3143injured, and229700evacuated. The affected area covered1088400people,80900Several houses collapsed. Many local residents lost their homes, and numerous innocent children were left orphaned and homeless.MilesWhen the disaster struck, Xu Kai, who was in the area surveying terrain and routes along with others, was deeply shocked and saddened. They had to halt their surveying work and head to the disaster zone to visit the affected people and children.
Prior to the race, the organizing committee specially invited Rinpoche Rouqiu, a living Buddha from Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan, to Dashanbao Town to lead everyone in praying for the victims of the Ludian earthquake.
The event aimed to raise awareness about the lives of those affected by the disaster and the support needed for orphans. Upon hearing about the situation, many wingsuit pilots participating in the competition, after concluding the Wingsuit Flying World Championships in Zhangjiajie, Hunan, made the effort to come to the disaster area specifically for this charity event. They expressed their willingness to donate all prize money from the competition to the affected people and orphans. This included Italian female wingsuit pilot Roberta Mancino, who showed great concern after learning about the earthquake’s impact and brought toys, food, stationery, and other gifts for the children in the disaster zone.
It is reported that prior to this event, the CEO of the World Wingsuit League, the director and chief judge of the Wingsuit Flying World Cup,Miles Daisheralong with his wife,Nikki Daisherhave been supporting underprivileged children in poverty-stricken areas in China for11years, with cumulative donations amounting to20U.S. dollars.2015“Wings for LoveAt the closing ceremony of the Wingsuit Flying World Cup, event chairman Xu Kai, on behalf of the wingsuit pilots, donated twenty thousand U.S. dollars to the Zhaotong Civil Affairs Bureau for the orphans in the Ludian earthquake-stricken area. One of the event’s partner organizers, Huaxia Insurance, also established a special fund for the Ludian earthquake zone to aid in reconstruction and support efforts in disaster-affected regions.