Flying wtih Fools at the Calgary Stampede
For us Calgarians, it is that time of year again when we get to watch all sorts of people dress up like Cow-people, hoot and holler and pretty much have a blast for a week. It is called the Calgary Stampede and is branded as The Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth, (I somehow doubt that the person who came up with that ever saw the Northern Lights or saw a Sunrise in the middle of summer while camping, but I digress) with a million people passing through the gates to take part in the fun and festivities.
This year I felt the need to go down to catch some video of Luke Ross from Dive Calgary and The Rocky Mountain Dive Club in a new venue called the Bell Circus with his friends called the Flying Fools.
I met Luke while I was at physio and watched him and the other fantastic divers show off magnificent feats of arial acrobatics combining power with finesse creating perfect dives in split seconds. I eventually asked Luke if he would wear a GoPro camera for a couple of dives, which he agreed to with no hesitation (expect to see some of that video in the next short weeks to come).
I later found out that Luke is one of the top 25 divers in all of Canada and his skill levels in diving are only matched by his ability to coach the young generation of divers. Luke is a dedicated elite athlete who has put in many hours to master his sport but still takes the time to pass on his love of diving to others. (No, he is not paying me to say all of this.)
When I found out that he was going to be performing at the Calgary Stampede, I knew I had to go and not only watch but capture on video the performance. This is what I saw. ( I am sorry for some of the video, I am still on crutches and on a scooter. I have hopes that the quality will improve as I get more time in shooting)
Thanks again to the Flying Fools for the great show!