Kansas City Area Pyrotechnicians Achieve the Largest Fireworks Display Shot with COBRA Firing Systems and Win Pro Division Competition at Sky Wars

INNSBROOK, MISSOURI, USA, November 10, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — Donnie Toms of Wellington, MO was crowned the Winner of the Sky Wars US Invitational Fireworks Championship Professional Division on Saturday, September 23 in Innsbrook, Missouri. Toms, a member of the Kansas City Area Pyrotechnicians (KCAP), competed against David Anglin of Mishawaka, IN, and Tim Traphagan from Indianapolis, IN.

The show was originally set for Saturday evening but was delayed by 24 hours due to a lightning storm that forced event organizers to postpone the final display. Despite this setback, the 14-minute display, which was choreographed to Taylor Swift songs, was declared the winner after it successfully launched on Sunday evening.

The record-breaking display featured 4,896 “cues” or electrical matches, making it the largest show ever shot on COBRA Firing Systems, and included fireworks up to 16 inches in diameter.

“It’s an honor to say this was a world record COBRA display,” said COBRA Firing Systems creator Scott Smith, who’d flown to Sky Wars to witness the show firsthand. “The combination of world-class design and our equipment’s ability to handle the scale and precision was humbling to watch.”

“It really feels surreal,” Toms said when asked about his team’s Sky Wars win. Their 14-minute display was the second record-breaking show of this year’s Sky Wars event; for 24 hours, AJ Plata of Sandwich, IL held the record after his ‘Pro-Am’ competition piece on Saturday night featured 4,400 cues. Before that, the record had been held by a show shot in Taiwan with 3,600 cues.

Donnie Toms and his KCAP team spent nine months meticulously planning the display, which utilized sixty pyrotechnic positions across the Sky Wars field. Their creative approach included three 360-degree positions suspended by 80-foot man lifts, adding a unique dimension to the show. The show also featured innovative techniques such as creating words, numbers, and symbols with fireworks.

The display was the ninth and final ‘pyromusical’ at Sky Wars, attracting a sold-out crowd of over 10,000 attendees.

Looking ahead, Toms expressed his willingness to participate in the “Championship of Champions” in the Sky Wars Pro Division in 2025.

Sky Wars, the US Invitational Fireworks Championship, presented annually in Innsbrook by the Missouri Pyrotechnics Association (mopyro.org), is the nation’s largest and most prestigious fireworks competition. Videos of all the shows and tickets for the 2024 US Fireworks Championship are now available on the Sky Wars website at skywarsevent.com.

Robert W Cima Jr
Missouri Pyrotechnics Association
+1 314-484-0500
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