International Birdman - 2009 Distance Measurement Controversy

2009 Distance Measurement Controversy

The BBC ran a news report after the event titled "Birdman Cheated of 30k win." Sharon Clarke, organiser of the Worthing Birdman event, appears in the video. Using footage recorded by HotDog Media she showed where the flight was scored to.

However the rules published before the event show that this was incorrect and the flight should have been scored several meters further. The original rules that appear on the 2009 entry form are archived here.

The following rules appear on pages 11 and 12 of the 2009 entry form:

1.13 The Aviator will be deemed to “cease to fly” when they stop moving forward and have any significant part of their legs or body immersed in the water, or when additional force is gained from any swimming stroke, push or jump from any obstacle.

1.14 Touching the water does not count against a competitor during a flight and is discounted in all measurements. Video footage will be available to the Judges in the event of any dispute.

2.1 To achieve the £30,000 Jackpot Prize of flying the furthest beyond the 100 metre mark, the Aviator’s head must reach or cross over the measured 100 metre mark inside the prescribed course.

The 2009 rules were removed from the Worthing Birdman website shortly after the BBC TV report and replaced.

The Worthing Argus ran a similar article on 25th August 2009.

In the article the scorer Jim Brooks is quoted, "“We judged that the buoys were being dragged back towards the pier at the time and that he fell short of the 100m mark."

The buoys were dragged by the very strong current at the time but in the opposite direction, to that claimed by Mr Jim Brooks, away from the pier. The effects of the current on the glider when in the water is clearly visible in the slow motion video taken by Hot Dog Media.

Given the direction of the current, it is clear that the buoys would be dragged in the opposite direction to that claimed by Mr Jim Brooks. This would make the flight appear shorter in the video than it in fact was. (Because the 100m buoy was being dragged further than 100m from the pier.)

Mr Jim Brooks has many years involvement with the Birdman event. The current has always run in the same direction during the event(from East to West around high tide) and has been a useful safety feature of the event as competitors taking off to the West are washed away from the Pier.