USPA Attends Parachute Industry Association Meeting

Industry News
Monday, March 7, 2022

The Parachute Industry Association—a organization consisting of equipment manufacturers, dealers, riggers, drop zone operators and other skydiving industry representatives—held its winter meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona, February 24-26. PIA’s mission is to advance and support the growth, development, training and safety of parachuting activities and serve participants in the parachuting industry. PIA and USPA have a history of working together to develop industry guidelines and promote skydiving safety, and USPA staff attended the recent meeting to participate in discussions and represent the interests of our members.  

Some topics of interest at the Scottsdale meeting included: 

• The upcoming PIA Symposium—The PIA Symposium Committee is working to attract more skydivers to the symposium, which is scheduled for the Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno, Nevada, Feb 27-Mar 5, 2023 (dates not yet confirmed). Manufacturers of all things skydiving, including those who manufacture various components of skydiving equipment, are present at the symposium to share information, show off their latest innovations and answer questions about their products. Skydivers may have an interest in the information and products on display in Reno next year. 
• Guidelines for high-altitude skydiving—As excitement around high-altitude skydiving continues to expand, the PIA Technical Committee is prioritizing developing guidelines to ensure the safety of equipment used in these types of jumps. 
• After-market components—The PIA Technical Committee is finalizing a statement regarding after-market components used on United Parachute Technologies Sigma Tandem parachute systems. USPA will share the information with our members once PIA releases its statement.