Precision at 13,500 feet: Pro skydivers battle for national titles above Arizona

ELOY, Ariz. — Some of the best skydivers in the country and the world have descended on Eloy for the United States Parachute Association’s National Championship, where hundreds of athletes are free-falling for gold at Skydive Arizona.

From 13,500 feet above the Arizona desert, world-class competition unfolds with dozens of formations, perfect precision and only seconds to execute each maneuver.

“We’ll have about 500 or 600 of the nation’s best skydivers coming to compete in various disciplines, and we’ll pick our national champions in each one,” said Albert Berchtold, USPA executive director.

Teams like Arizona-based Fliteshop are among the top of the sport, competing in mixed formation skydiving on Thursday. 

“We fly on our belly, we fly on our back, we fly on our feet and we fly on our head, all in the same jump, so it’s a pretty technical discipline,” a team member said.

The Fliteshop team consists of two performers and one videographer. During competition, they work under extreme time constraints.

“We have a 35-second working time from the time we leave the plane and we have about 45 seconds in freefall,” the team member said.

Between the three teammates, they have logged nearly 50,000 jumps.

Cadets with the U.S. Air Force Parachute Team, who have been skydiving for only about two years, found themselves tied for first place Thursday afternoon, halfway into the mixed formation skydiving event. 

 “So that was jump number five, so we’re halfway through this competition, feeling really good, right now we are actually tied for first which is exactly where we want to be as a team,” an Air Force team member said.

Their success stems from rigorous preparation.

“We train hard so we can fight easy so this is normal for us. We jump all day, 12 hours a day for training events,” one coach said.

The competition continues immediately after landing, with judges scoring each team’s performance. Berchtold said the pressure intensifies as teams vie for podium positions.

“Nobody wants to wait for the scores. Everybody’s usually chomping at the bit, especially if they’re in a fight. There are a few close ones right now for podium spots,” Berchtold said.

The U.S. Nationals run through the end of October.  Members of the French national team are competing as guests and cannot place in the U.S. Nationals, but they are using the opportunity to prepare for future competition.

“Next year we have the World Championship here, so for us it’s very important to see the drop zone and take some good experience here,” a French team member said.

“Skydive Arizona is an amazing place. One of the best drop zones in the world. People come here from all over to train. The weather’s great and the facilities are amazing,” Berchtold said.

Spectators are welcome to watch the action at no charge. Skydive Arizona will host the World Championships next year.