Hammerhead Round-up 2025: CD's Report
Precision Flying, Peak Performance, and the Power of Teamwork
By Alexis Nahama, IAC 441876
The 2025 Hammerhead Roundup soared over Borrego Springs on April 11–12, welcoming 36 pilots into the box for two full days of precision aerobatics. From Primary to Unlimited, every category saw strong competition with over 200 flights, each scored meticulously by judges on the ground—including 6 glider flights that needed to be inserted within power flights. It’s the kind of coordination that demands crisp control, mental discipline, and total commitment to clean execution from a group of dedicated volunteers!
This year's Roundup once again proved that a well-run contest is a combination of pilot skill and behind-the-scenes excellence—and that’s where this report begins.
Contest Results (congratulations are in order!) [Editor's note: contest results have been moved to the bottom of this article so that there are no spoilers for score-related content from different authors further down on the page.] - see bottom of page.
Photos by Alexis Nahama
Contest Team Shoutouts – The Real Engine Behind the Roundup
This year’s success wasn’t just about high scores—it was about high-functioning teamwork.
Meadow Chase, the Borrego airport manager, deserves special thanks for helping make this event possible and smoothing every logistical wrinkle along the way. Jessica, our registrar, handled the most critical and least understood job: registration, clipboards, and endless paperwork flawlessly! A single mistake on a judge's clipboard can throw off timing and scoring — Jessica made sure everything ran with precision.
Bella kept everyone cool and coordinated—hydrating volunteers, managing logistics, and being the all-day, all-smiles go-to person. Dan took care of stuff that no one likes to do but that makes a big difference: shopping, organizing the Thursday and Friday BBQ, and the pool party (snacks and beers). Anyone who’s hosted knows how much effort it takes to keep a group of hungry pilots happy, fed and hydrated.
Photos by Alexis Nahama
Photos by Taylor Mershon
Judging is Tough. Being Chief Judge? Another Level.
All judges rotate and get breaks throughout the day—but Chief Judge Michael Church had no such luxury. He was in the heat from 8:00 a.m. until sundown, nonstop, making sure every flight was fairly scored and the contest ran smoothly. That’s a serious mental and physical load, and it doesn’t go unnoticed by the pilot community. Hats off, Michael.
3 Flights Short, Record Wrap-Up, and One Locked Gate
Day 1 ran long—we missed getting in 3 flights. But Saturday? We were done flying, tearing down tents, and cleaning up by 2:15 PM. A new Roundup record! The real motivation? Contestants couldn't get their scores until cleanup was finished—funny how score sheets suddenly turn everyone into high-speed volunteers.
Another fun fact: everyone was literally a captive audience this year. Between flying, judging, and volunteering, the contest director was coordinating car access with airport management—because the main gate was broken and locked, and no technician was available all weekend. Every supply run, car entry, or exit had to be manually managed. Yet, nobody noticed. That’s how smooth the rest of the contest ran.
Photos by Alexis Nahama
Fly, Help, Repeat
Borrego's aerobatic box is world-class, but it’s the world class people—pilots, judges, volunteers—who make the Roundup what it is. This contest isn’t just about results. It’s about building the kind of community where everyone pitches in, supports one another, and flies better because of it. We had fun. We flew a lot. Despite two individuals that heat-stroked, we were able to send everyone home safely. And we ran a NO DRAMA contest where people were all one non-dysfunctional (if that is possible) family.
Thank you all. See you in October 2025 for Akrofest!
For power scores CLICK HERE
For glider scores CLICK HERE
To go to the contest page CLICK HERE
To go to the IAC chapter 36 website CLICK HERE
Photos by Alexis Nahama
Brooks Mershon practicing his sequences (performing the ramp dance). Photos by Taylor Mershon.
Hammerhead Round-up 2025: Awards Ceremony Shake-up
Innovation at the Awards Ceremony, How NOT to Find Your Cell Phone in the Cockpit (While Flying), and What’s Next at Borrego
By Taylor Mershon, IAC 442603, Alexis Nahama, IAC 441876, and Bill Hill, IAC 20509
During the awards ceremony, contest director Alexis Nahama shook things up a little by throwing in a new practice to the traditional medal march. Instead of receiving their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards grouped by their competition categories, competitors from across all competition categories were given their overall 1st place awards together as a group, and 2nd, and 3rd. This mixed things up and allowed for competitors from different categories to stand with each other (something that doesn’t normally happen) for medals and photos. It also created a bit of an extra challenge for IAC chapter 36 treasurer and contest scorer —- who was given the microphone for the awards announcements – before knowing that all of the winners were going to be called out in a completely different order than they were listed on the documents he’d been given! But he handled it like it wasn’t even an issue and the event carried on without a hitch.
Photos by Taylor Mershon
Starting with all of the 3rd place winners: We have from Primary Nick Naiman coming in at 3rd, and from Sportsman Gino Maneri. Intermediate 3rd was taken by Joseph McMurray, Advanced 3rd by Josh Horwich, and Unlimited 3rd by Eric Moore. Primary 2nd place overall winner was Kevin May and Sportsman was Alex Huey. Philippe Sabbagh brought home Intermediate’s 2nd place win, while Alexander Coats did the same for Advanced and Ekaterina Volkova for Unlimited.
David Day won 1st place in Primary, as did Luke Gray in Sportsman and Casey Siebel in Intermediate. Brooks Mershon won 1st in Advanced, and Matthew Dunfee won 1st in Unlimited.
Following the contest awards, a lineup of special awards and trophies were announced. The highest scoring 1st Time Sportsman award was won by Gino Maneri, and the most improved Primary (based on 3 flights) award was won by Everett Brown. The Grass Roots Medal went to Luke Gray and the highest scoring Decathlon flight was awarded to Alexander Huey. The Highest scoring Pitts title was awarded to Jake Speidel, and the Highest scoring Chapter title was awarded to the Chapter 62 Arizona Aerobatic Club. And then, the award for the Highest scoring Flight School was presented to Eric Moore, of FH Aviation (Chapter 62).
Photos by Taylor Mershon
Following that was an announcement that a special, unique, never-been-presented-before prize would be awarded to an incredible pilot that night. The cause for such recognition? And the honorable responsible party? …The Toilet Seat Award for Most Hard-Zeros, (also known as the “Oops, I s*** myself on this one”) was awarded to Daniel Chripczuk for pulling a “Sparky” (hard-zeroing a sequence for flying the opposite way). The trophy for such a unique accomplishment? A toilet seat, apparently authentic, and appropriately decorated for the occasion by those closely involved in the fun and folly.
…And, lastly… (as if this awards ceremony couldn’t stand to get wilder) The Borrego Bunny (Most Outlandish) Champion title was awarded to Matthew Sparks. While flying an open cockpit Great Lakes biplane, before his time in the box, Sparks’s “cell phone dropped in the plane,” he said, “So, I slow-rolled it and caught the phone as it fell."
Photos by Alexis Nahama
Borrego is a place where good times happen, golden memories are formed, and incredible aerobatics are flown– there’s no doubt about that! But the Hammerhead Round-up each April is not the only opportunity during the year to capture some of the epic excitement that this desert valley holds for those who land here. Giving generous time to allow for contestants to recover from the overwhelming awesomeness of the Hammerhead Round-up, the next aerobatic competition in Borrego is AKROFEST which takes place October 23rd (practice day) and 24th – 25th (contest days), 2025.
Stay tuned for more news to come about all the fun AKROFEST 2025 stuff in the works. Mark your calendars for the fourth weekend of October and make plans to come on out and fly hard, make friends, learn stuff, and have fun! Check the contest page on the IAC website HERE for updates.
To pre-register, CLICK HERE and use the link available on the chapter website. This is a different process than the usual IAC contest registration process; it is a new program chapter 36 and some other Southern California chapters are testing out. The pre-registration link should be available beginning July 2025.
Photos by Taylor Mershon
Contest Results (congratulations are in order!) from Contest Director (from CD's report at top of article):
Primary
1. David Day – 8KCAB Super Decathlon
2. Kevin May – 8KCAB Super Decathlon
3. Nick Naiman – Christen Eagle
Sportsman
1. Luke Gray – 8KCAB Super Decathlon
2. Alex Huey – 8KCAB Super Decathlon
3. Gino Maneri – AKRO Spirit
Intermediate
1. Casey Siebel – GB1 Gamebird
2. Philippe Sabbagh – Extra 300
3. Joseph McMurray – GB1 Gamebird
Advanced
1. Brooks Mershon – Sukhoi SU-26M
2. Alexander Coats – Zivko Edge 540T
3. Josh Horwich – MX2
Unlimited
1. Matthew Dunfee – Extra 330SC
2. Ekaterina Volkova – Extra 300L
3. Eric Moore – Extra 330SC
“Oops, I s*** myself on this one” special mention (see picture below)
1. Dan Chripczuk for pulling a Sparky (HZ a sequence for flying the opposite way)
