America’s largest skydiving competition coming to the area

U.S. Parachute Association National Skydiving Championships set to launch in Rochelle, Sept. 5-18

Staff
Posted 8/16/18

ROCHELLE - America’s most exciting atmospheric action sport will head to the area this fall for the largest annual skydiving competition in the world.

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America’s largest skydiving competition coming to the area

U.S. Parachute Association National Skydiving Championships set to launch in Rochelle, Sept. 5-18

Posted

ROCHELLE - America’s most exciting atmospheric action sport will head to the area this fall for the largest annual skydiving competition in the world: the 2018 United States Parachute Association (USPA) National Skydiving Championships at Chicagoland Skydiving Center in Rochelle. The events will take place Sept. 5-18.

More than 500 of the country’s most advanced aerial athletes will flock to the area to vie for medals and glory in an array of spectacular disciplines: Formation Skydiving (4-way, 8-way, 10-way and 16-way events), Vertical Formation Skydiving, Mixed Formation Skydiving, Artistic Freeflying and Freestyle, Wingsuit Flying and Speed Skydiving. (See descriptions of disciplines below.)

Chicagoland Skydiving Center, an expansive skydiving facility located at the Rochelle Municipal Airport, will host this exhilarating showcase of skydiving excellence for the first time ever.

Look for high drama this year, as members of the prestigious U.S. Parachute Team - the country’s most elite aerial athletes - face their last competition before heading to Australia in October for the 2018 World Championships. In 4-way Formation Skydiving, multiple national champion Arizona Airspeed will try to defend its title against the hungry and ambitious SDC Rhythm XP. In Vertical Formation skydiving, reigning world champion SDC Core will try to fend off several up-and-coming teams. In Artistic Freestyle, a growing number of spectacular flyers will fight for gold against five-time national champion Animare. And in Wingsuit Flying, skydiving’s fastest-growing discipline, current world and national champion Chris Geiler will try to defend his title.

From sunrise to sunset each day, watch video monitors featuring all the adrenaline-pumping action happening thousands of feet above the drop zone, and view hundreds of colorful canopies filling the sky and thousands of dramatic landings as competitors swoop swiftly, gracefully back to earth. Between jumps, experience the rush of competition firsthand and hang with the pros as they train and practice choreographed moves on the ground called “dirt dives.”

The schedule of events/competitions includes (subject to change based on weather conditions):

Sept. 5-7 - Vertical Formation Skydiving, Artistic Freeflying and Freestyle

Sept. 7-8 - Mixed Formation Skydiving

Sept. 8-12 - 4-Way Formation Skydiving

Sept. 12-15 - 8-Way, 10-Way and 16-Way Formation Skydiving

Sept. 15-18 - Wingsuit Flying and Speed Skydiving

About USPA

Founded in 1946, the United States Parachute Association is a non-profit association dedicated to the promotion of safe skydiving nationwide, establishing strict safety standards, training policies and programs at more than 230 USPA-affiliated skydiving schools and centers throughout the United States. Each year, USPA’s 39,000-plus members and hundreds of thousands of first-timers make roughly 3.2 million jumps in the U.S. USPA represents skydivers before all levels of government, the public and the aviation industry and sanctions national skydiving competitions and records.

For more information visit www.uspa.org or call 800-371-USPA.

Skydiving Disciplines

Formation Skydiving: Teams of 4, 8, 10 and 16 skydivers leap from an aircraft more than two miles above the ground and then race against the clock while falling belly-to-earth to form prescribed geometric formations in freefall before opening their parachutes. Videographers jump with the teams to capture the maneuvers for the judges on the ground.

Vertical Formation Skydiving: Four-person teams exit the airplane more than two miles above the ground and perform a series of maneuvers in freefall on upright and upside-down axes to complete as many pre-designated formations as possible in time. Videographers jump with the teams to capture the maneuvers for the judges on the ground.

Mixed Formation Skydiving: Two-person teams leap from an aircraft more than two miles above the ground and then race against the clock to form a series of maneuvers in multiple orientations, including belly- and back-to-earth, upright and upside-down, while a videographer flies alongside to catch all the action.

Freeflying: A truly three-dimensional competition where two-person teams perform dynamic artistic routines in every imaginable orientation, while a videographer flies around them to film and add artistry to the routines.

Freestyle: Most akin to aerial ballet, a jumper performs a graceful dance in freefall, while a videographer flies around him or her to film and add artistry to the routines.

Speed Skydiving: Individual skydivers dive head-first toward the ground in attempt to clock the fastest vertical speed possible, often approaching 300 mph.

Wingsuit Skydiving: Jumpers wear technologically advanced suits specially designed to increase their horizontal glide across the ground. Wingsuit competition includes two events: performance flying, in which individual competitors are judged on longest flight time, farthest distance and fastest horizontal speed; and acrobatic flying, in which teams of two flyers and a videographer play a thrilling game of aerial tag while gliding across the sky.