U.S. Parachute Team Going for Gold in Russia

To follow along in the action, you can check scores here: results.worldskydiving.org/FrontEnd/CompetitionCollection/1037

To follow along behind-the-scenes, follow our Instagram and Facebook pages where we are posting daily stories from the event: https://www.instagram.com/skydiveuspa: https://www.facebook.com/USParachuteTeam

To learn more about the 2021 FAI World Parachuting Championships and to check the schedule of events, visit tanaymondial2020.ru

UPDATE (August 17) For Wingsuit, CF and Artistic events follow all the action at the links above.

Congratulations to the U.S. medalists!

4-way : SDC Rhythm XP

4-way Female 4th place: Aviatrixx

VFS : SDC Core

8-way : Airspeed Xp\P8

SP Female : Maxine Tate

SP Male : Kyle Lobpries

SP Combined National Team : USA (Kyle Lobpries, Michael Brewer, and Jason Brigmon)

CP Accuracy :Curt Bartholomew

CP Combined National Team : USA (Curt Bartholomew, Travis Mills, Justin Price)

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Maxine Tate and Kyle Lobpries.

UPDATE (August 10) The Mondial has begun! Maxine Tate and Kyle Lobpries already set speed world records in the first round. Canopy piloting and formation skydiving are well underway. For moment-by-moment updates follow "US Parachute Team" on Facebook.

Skydiving Olympics? Not quite…  

While the sport of skydiving is not yet in the Olympics, the FAI Sport Parachuting Championships—Mondial is the closest it's going to get. Starting today, you can tune into the action and see the most talented skydivers compete on the world's stage!

Some of you might be wondering, “what the heck is a Mondial?” or better yet, “who is the FAI?” Well, let’s start with a quick history lesson, The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale —aka the World Air Sports Federation—was founded in 1905 as an international non-government and non-profit organization with the basic goal of furthering aeronautical and astronautical activities worldwide. Like USPA to the U.S., the FAI supports air sports around the world, ratifying world records and coordinating international competitions, and is recognized by the International Olympic Committee. With more than 100 member organizations, the FAI links all the people who participate in and love air sports worldwide, including skydivers.  

Instead of boring you with the entire structure of the FAI, just know that one of the elements includes Air Sports Commissions, which control the activities of different disciplines that the FAI governs, such as ballooning, drones, general aviation, hang gliding and paragliding and, of course, skydiving. The International Skydiving Commission conducts FAI's parachuting and indoor skydiving activities—specifically world records and international competitions. The ISC is responsible for publicizing the rules by which the world meets are conducted, and world records are measured and ratified.

In 1951, the FAI approved its first parachuting records (which were set by a French woman, Monique Laroche) and the first parachuting championships took place in Lesce-Bled. Since then, the world championships have been organized every year, with the disciplines alternating. A Mondial event (with “mondial” translating to “world,” signifying that all the many types of skydiving disciplines will take place in one location) occurs only once every four years.  This year that location is Kemerovo, Russia, at drop zones DZ Tanay and DZ Kemerovo. 

How Are U.S. Athletes Selected? 

Every year, USPA hosts the National Parachuting and Skydiving Championships to recognize national champions in the sport of skydiving’s seven disciplines: canopy formation (CF), canopy piloting (CP), formation skydiving (FS), accuracy landing (AL), artistic events (AE) and wingsuit flying (WS). The top placers from each open class at the USPA Nationals earns a spot to represent the United States at international competitions.  

As more and more disciplines have been added, the U.S. Parachute Team has grown into a powerhouse of skydiving and parachuting athletes, generally around 120 strong. This year, as can be expected, only 60 athletes have decided to make the trek to Russia, against all odds (learn more about that in this month’s Anemometer by Executive Director and U.S. Parachute Team Athlete Albert Berchtold).  

“After all the efforts and struggles over the past two years, I am so excited to see our athletes in Russia competing and getting back to doing what they love,” said Director of Competition, Steve Hubbard.

2020 Mondial in 2021? 

Yes, we know, it’s no longer 2020. The 2020 Mondial was set to be the biggest world championships in history, but we all know what happened there. After the event was postponed, the organizers decided to leave the name as an already accepted brand, much like the Olympics. This years’ event will bring together the world’s best skydiving athletes from more than 33 countries and the ISC has fought hard to make this competition possible. 

“Our U.S. Parachute Team has gone above and beyond to overcome the odds and prepare for this event to bring their very best to the world stage,” said USPA Executive Director Albert Berchtold. “The spirit of competition has never been stronger. We’ve experienced many unique roadblocks to bring this competition to life, yet our skydivers persevere and are ready to fly high at the most elite level.” 

The official opening ceremony is set for Tuesday, August 10, and competition jumps will span over the course of two weeks. The event will end with the closing ceremony on Friday, August 20. 

Let’s Go U.S. Parachute Team! 

Whether or not you know someone on the U.S. Team, competing on the world’s stage is a huge honor and privilege. As a USPA member, we invite you to follow along with your friends and family and help cheer on the U.S. Parachute Team and the 2020 Mondial!  

To follow along in the action, you can check scores here: results.worldskydiving.org/FrontEnd/CompetitionCollection/1037 

To learn more about the 2021 FAI World Parachuting Championships and to check the schedule of events, visit tanaymondial2020.ru

To donate to the U.S. Parachute Team Trust Fund, visit uspa.org/donations. 

Your 2021 U.S. Parachute Team Includes: 

Artistic Events  
Freestyle Team “Axiom”: Jason Brigmon, Josiah Rich 
Freeflying Team “Polaris”: Matthew Fry, Katie Hansen, Chad Ross 

Accuracy Landing 
James Hayhurst 

Canopy Piloting 
Curt Bartholomew, Jeannie Bartholomew, Albert Berchtold, Christopher Bobo, Scott Harper, Matthew Leonard, Travis Mills, Justin Price, Matthew Shull, Greg Windmiller, Jesse Weyher 

Formation Skydiving 
4-Way Formation Skydiving Team “Rhythm XP”: Doug Barron, Justin Wageman, Christy Frikken, Andrew Happick, Andrea Klobuchar, Steven Lefkowitz 

4-Way Formation Skydiving Women’s Team “Aviatrixx”: Cory Kossan, Christy West, Katrina Shows, Jill Stephenson, Sandra Van Der Bilt, Rhonda Wilcox 

8-way Formation Skydiving Team “Airspeed XP8”: Jeana Billings, Elliot Byrd, Matt Davidson, John D’Annunzio, Andrew Happick, Niklas Hemlin, Brian Krause, Chris Kuhlman, Michelle Karamon, Mikhail Markine, Kirk Verner 

4-way Vertical Formation Skydiving Team “Skydive Chicago Core”: Nell Flemmer, Johnny Gunn, Dusty Hanks, Sam Lendle, Jason Russell, Stephanie Strange 

Speed Skydiving 
Michael Brewer, Jason Brigmon, Gentry Boesiger, Joseph Carder, Eugenio Ciurana, Kyle Lobpries, Montana Miller, Maxine Tate, Jesse Weyher 

Wingsuit Skydiving 
Alexey Galda, Chris Geiler, Jeffrey Harrigan, Kyle Lobpries, Nicholas Maieritsch, Joe Ridler, Tristan Setzer, Lane Paquin 

To follow along behind-the-scenes, follow our Instagram page where we are posting daily stories from the event: https://www.instagram.com/skydiveuspa