diversity in parachuting
disciplines
The oldest skydiving discipline is target jumping (Accuracy). After jumping 1000 meters above the ground, the athlete heads for a landing point with the parachute open and tries to land as close as possible to the center of a target.
The diameter of the zero point (dead center) measures 2 cm. The deviations are measured in centimeter increments using an electronic target. The individual evaluation is based on eight to ten jumps. In the team competition, the four best results out of five are scored. The decisive factors in this discipline are control of the chute and assessment of the current meteorological conditions.
The artistic events include the two disciplines of freefly and freestyle.
In freefly, the skydivers position themselves in all possible flight positions during the freefall. A freefly competition team consists of two performers and a video flyer who films them. In the compulsory part, the performers have to complete a set program of figures as precisely as possible. In the freestyle, the figures and camera angles are freely selectable.
In freestyle, a single performer jumps a dynamic freefall choreography with different positions and rotations. The performance is recorded by a flying video flyer. In both disciplines, the judging is based on the video recordings. The interaction between the performer(s) and the video flyer is therefore crucial.
In canopy formation jumping, the jumpers fly formations on the open canopy, temporarily holding on to the other team members' canopies.
The jump height is approx. 2500 meters above ground. Jumps are made in teams of two and four. The jumps are recorded by a video flyer for the competition evaluation.
Canopy piloting (swooping) involves the use of very small high-performance canopies. After jumping 1200 to 1700 meters above the ground, they are opened immediately. The aim is to gather as much momentum as possible and, depending on the competition discipline, to use this in a horizontal glide (the swoop).
Distance: The pilots fly through a gate with a light barrier. This is located above an area of water which the athletes must touch. They then continue their gliding flight for as long as possible.
Speed: This measures the time taken by the pilots to fly through a 70-meter-long course, which describes a 75-degree curve and is limited by two light barriers.
Accuracy (precision): The pilots' aim is to fly through an entrance gate, touch the surface of the water and finally stop their very fast gliders in a landing zone measuring just 2×2 meters.
In the two freefall disciplines of Formation Skydiving FS and Vertical Formation Skydiving VFS, teams of four or eight jump. For the competition, a sequence is drawn from a formation pool (images).
This sequence of five to six formations must then be performed as frequently and precisely as possible within the specified time. The jump is recorded by an accompanying video flyer and then evaluated by the judges. The decisive factor is the number of formations shown in eight to ten jumps. The jump height is 3000 or 4000 meters above ground.
There is also the large formation skydiving (big-way), in which many skydivers fly a picture together. An 84-strong formation is the current Swiss record; 400 athletes joined forces to break the world record in freefall.
In indoor skydiving (body flying), the athletes (flyers) perform free or predetermined figures and transitions in various flight positions in a vertical wind tunnel. They can perform impressive moves in the airflow of the flight chamber, which circulates at more than 200 km/h and simulates the conditions of freefall.
Indoor skydiving was officially recognized as a sport by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) in 2014 and assigned to the parachute category. National and international team and individual competitions in the categories Open, Female and Junior are held in the disciplines 2-way Dynamic, 4-way Dynamic, 4-way FS, 4-way VFS and Freestyle.
The modern wind tunnels offer both newcomers and licensed skydivers optimal training conditions, as they enable extremely targeted and efficient training all year round. However, wind tunnels are generally open to anyone who would like to experience the amazing feeling of freefall. Indoor skydiving is also the only flying sport for children (from the age of five).
Para-skiing is a combination sport consisting of giant slalom and target jumping in alpine terrain. This discipline developed from mountain rescue. Before helicopters could be used, the rescuers were dropped by parachute in the rescue area. The skis and other equipment were also dropped. The rescuers were then able to ski to the scene of the accident. This required the emergency services to be able to both ski and parachute.
In the competition, the giant slalom and the finish jump are held as individual disciplines. The time differences from the ski race are converted into centimeters and added to the results from the finish jump. Whoever has collected the fewest points at the end is the winner.
The participants traditionally come from the Alpine countries, but teams from Holland, the Czech Republic and Russia also regularly attend the competitions.
The aim of speed skydiving is easy to explain: the goal is to reach the highest possible freefall speed on a measured route from the exit of the aircraft to 1700 m above sea level.
For this purpose, the athletes try to assume a body position with as little resistance as possible immediately after the jump at 4,000 meters above ground and to accelerate as much as possible. The average speed is determined by a GPS measuring device attached to the skydiver's helmet. The world's best speed skydivers achieve speeds of over 500 km/h.
A wingsuit is a wingsuit with surfaces between the legs and between the body and arms. These "wings" are used to convert the vertical freefall speed into a horizontal gliding movement. As a result, the freefall time can be significantly extended and distances of several kilometers can be covered.
The aim of wingsuit performance competitions is to perform three different tasks as well as possible within a defined measurement range (distance, speed, time)
There are also wingsuit acrobatics competitions in which teams of two fly acrobatic maneuvers accompanied by video flyers.
