Why FS teams rehearse every formation on the ground first. The dive pool, the LSD principle (Level, Slot, Dock) and clean exit techniques explained.
Why do FS teams rehearse a formation on the ground before they even board the plane? The honest answer: because there's no time to think in freefall. Dirt diving — walking through the planned formation on the ground — is the real training work; the sky is just the exam.
The tool for that is the dive pool: a fixed catalog of formations teams build their jumps from. For four-way teams there are 22 blocks (two connected formations with a fixed move between them) and 16 randoms (single, self-contained formations). Almost 40 pre-set shapes — like a deck of cards a team has to know by heart before the round even starts.
On the approach to a formation, a simple mnemonic helps: LSD — Level, Slot, Dock. First reach the right altitude (level), then take the right position (slot), only then grip (dock). Skip this order and you shoot past the formation or destabilize it on arrival.
You walk through every planned formation together on the ground — position, eye line, who takes which grip from whom. This isn't formality: rehearse a move ten times on the ground and you don't have to invent it in the air, only recall it.
Randoms are single formations with complete grip separation before and after. Blocks consist of two formations with a defined move between them, called the inter. A correctly built block scores up to two points, a random exactly one.
Visualize every formation from a bird's-eye view before you jump: which position do you hold, which grip do you take, which grip do you give to whom. This top-down perspective makes the abstract shape tangible in your head long before you see it in freefall.
Level: reach the formation's altitude first, don't approach from above or below at an angle. Slot: identify your position before flying closer. Dock: only once level and slot are right do you extend in a controlled way and take the grip. This order prevents the most common beginner mistake — trying to grip too early.
On a joint exit (linked exit), everyone must leave the plane at the same time in the same body position. What matters is presentation (body position to the relative wind), placement, timing and fixing if something's off. A clean exit is the foundation for everything that follows.
A rushed approach to a formation is one of the most common causes of team collisions. Stick strictly to the LSD order — it exists because docking too fast and too directly destabilizes others and provokes collisions.
Always agree on exit techniques on the ground, never first in the plane door. An unclear exit doesn't just cost points — it can get dangerous if jumpers make unplanned contact in the door. Take deliberate time for this agreement, even when the next load is already waiting.
Film your dirt diving on your phone and watch it together afterward. Almost every team only notices on video how differently each person imagined the same formation — and that's exactly the gap you close on the ground, not in the air. Repeat this check regularly, even for formations you've built many times before.
Walking through a planned formation together on the ground: positions, eye lines and grips are set beforehand so nobody has to improvise in freefall.
Level, Slot, Dock — reach the right altitude first, take the right position, only then grip. This order prevents the most common beginner problem: trying to dock too fast and too hard.
Randoms are single formations with full separation before and after, blocks consist of two formations with a fixed move between them. A four-way dive pool contains 22 blocks and 16 randoms.
Because a sloppy, out-of-sync exit throws the formation off from the very start. Presentation, placement and timing on the joint exit decide whether you fly together immediately or have to struggle to find each other first.
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