Competition

Overview

The USPA Constitution binds USPA "to sanction skydiving competitions, to document officially all state, national and world skydiving records set by citizens of the U.S., and to select and train the United States Parachute Team for world competition." The Skydiver's Competition Manual prescribes procedures by which national competitions are selected and conducted, how judges are rated, how records are set, and how teams are selected. Download or purchase a copy of the Skydiver's Competition Manual.

Annually, USPA conducts the National Skydiving Championships to recognize national champions in seven skydiving competition disciplines: Canopy Formation, Canopy Piloting, Formation Skydiving, Freefall Style, Accuracy Landing, Artistic Events (Freestyle Skydiving, Skysurfing, and Freeflying) and Vertical Formation Skydiving. In addition, USPA hosts the National Collegiate Parachuting Championships annually for the collegiate skydiving community.

From the results of the National Championships, except the Collegiates, U.S. Teams are chosen from the top competitors in each Open class to represent the United States at international skydiving meets.

As a division of the National Aeronautic Association (NAA, the national aeroclub of America), USPA has the sole authority in the United States to control all parachuting activities, in consonance with the NAA's responsibilities as the overall representative of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).

USPA is a member of the International Parachuting Commission (IPC), the parachuting arm of the FAI, as a result of its association with the NAA. The FAI is responsible for administering rules by which the world meets and world records are conducted. USPA's delegate to the IPC is Northeast Regional Director Marylou Laughlin and the alternate delegate is Larry K. Bagley, USPA's Director of Competition.

IPC meets each year between January 20 and February 20 to deal with issues of international importance. The meeting in 2008 will be January 23-27 in Paris, France.

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History notes borrowed from Parachuting, The Skydiver's Handbook, by Dan Poynter and Mike Turoff

Parachuting competition dates to at least 1930 in Russia, where jumpers demonstrated who could land closest to a target. In 1948, the Federation Aeronautique Internationale named American Joseph Crane to chair the newly established Commission Internationale de Parachutisme (CIP), now known in this country as the International Parachuting Commission (IPC). The first FAI sanctioned World Parachuting Championships took place in Yugoslavia in 1951, with five European teams competing. The U.S. fielded its first team to world competition in 1956.

In modern competition, the first 4-way sequential event was introduced at the 1970 US National Skydiving Championships. Canopy formation was added in 1983. The FAI accepted freestyle and skysurfing in 1996. The most recent event is freeflying, which became official in 2000. Meanwhile, the original freefall style and accuracy landing events, often called the "classics," remain a part of each U.S. Nationals and World Championships.

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U.S. National Skydiving Competitions

2008 USPA National Skydiving Championships of Canopy Piloting
Dates: August 28 - September 1, 2008
Location: Mile Hi Skydiving Center, Longmont, Colorado
FFI: e-mail us

2008 U.S. National Skydiving Championships of Formation Skydiving, Canopy Formation, Freestyle Skydiving, Skysurfing, Freeflying, Freefall Style, Accuracy Landing, and Vertical Formation Skydiving. 
Dates: October 19-25, 2008
Location: Skydive Arizona, Eloy, Arizona
FFI: e-mail us

2009 USPA National Skydiving Championships of Formation Skydiving, Canopy Formation, Canopy Piloting, Freestyle Skydiving, Skysurfing, Freeflying, Freefall Style, Accuracy Landing, and Vertical Formation Skydiving
Dates: October 12-27, 2009
Location: Skydive Spaceland, Rosharon, Texas
FFI: e-mail us

International Skydiving Competitions

For the latest information on international events, click here.

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Click here to see 2006 National Champions.
Click here to see 2005 National Champions.
Click here to see 2004 National Champions.
Click here to see 2003 National Champions.
Click here to see 2002 National Champions.

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