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COMMUNICATION OF THE 4-WAY FORMATION SKYDIVING TEAM “MATRIX FS”

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Tomar on February 09, 2003

Following unexpected and unforeseen occurrences, the 4-Way Formation Skydiving Team "Matrix FS" instead of starting the Season of 2003, as scheduled, has decided to call for a Team Meeting yesterday, February 08, 2003, by 11h00 am, where the only point of the agenda was the Team's Continuity.

At the end of this meeting, by 02h00 pm, was decided, by general agreement, that both the conditions and the presuppositions met since the Team's genesis on December 05, 2001, until yesterday, February 08, 2003, could not be held anymore, which has implied the project's extinction.

The main reasons considered at the meeting, which have led to this decision, were as follows:

>>> The impossibility, by professional reasons, of its original camera flyer to ensure his slot for the Season of 2003;

>>> The difficulty, which later has became impossibility, faced by the Team to get a camera flyer who could verify both of the 2 following premises: interest and possibility to adhere to the project in the very same conditions of the original camera flyer and time availability to suit to the training planned for the Season of 2003;

>>> The lack of sponsorship since the Team's beginning, associated to each of the team members budget restrictions, has had as the most direct consequence the impossibility to choose the option of services' payment to a "hired" camera flyer; anyway, we have always preferred, to better suits into the Team's project, that the camera flyer should be someone as any other team member, with the very same rights and obligations and not some "strange" element, merely rendering a service;

>>> The perception that with these limitations, the main Team's benefit as a 4-Way Formation Skydiving learning tool for its team members, had became threatened;

>>> The "erosive" characteristics of the current portuguese skydiving scene, very unfavourable to the “fair-play” and healthy fellowship, proclaimed by many but practiced by a few;

>>> The lack of quality, in terms of information, regulations, statutes and organization, of the national institution which superintends the practice of the 4-Way Formation Skydiving itself and of the skydiving in general.

To avoid any type of speculations, we should add that there hasn't occurred any episode of personal conflict among any of the team members who have finished this project... rather the contrary, our friendship became reinforced and this was only possible because each of us has really believed in his contribution to the Team, in the adopted methodology and in the defined common goals.

With the “Matrix FS” extinction, one more page of the portuguese skydiving current scene was turned over. The “Matrix FS” already belong to the past... today is present and tomorrow is the future.

With the end of this Team and for the majority of those who have integrated it, it has been closed a sportive cycle, leaving opened a space that we hope and wish can be occupied by the portuguese "renewed first-class" skydivers, that will naturally emerge among all of those who have already started skydiving little ago or that will still join the sport.

We thank to all of those we have supported us and that have expressed it explicitly and positively, with a special remark for all of those that, still short of age for the skydiving practice, have showed us such intention, through the suggested interest and example they have found in our Team and project.

At last, we'd like to leave behind a word of incentive and wishes of good luck and sportive success, both for those that will feel happy and pleased with this Team's end, but also and mainly for those that, as ourselves did, will feel sad, because we know that our extintion is not contributing to increase the context value of the portuguese skydiving, called, fortunately by a few, as of "bygone days". For us, it remains the comfort that, at least, we left behind more "free room"... let's just hope that room will be well occupied, although that's a question which goes beyond us, as there will be others and not us dealing with it.

The disclosure of this communication is the last official action of the 4-Way Formation Skydiving Team "Matrix FS”.

Blue Skies,

Henrique Merino

José Consciência

Mário Santos

João Henriques

Benvindo Martins

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Posted at http://www.mariosantos.com/ on February 09^th, 2003