For the second straight year, the United States Parachute Association will hold its annual National Skydiving Championships just outside Chicago in Ottawa, Ill.
After a dip in popularity following 9/11, skydiving rebounded slowly and is now on a tear. The USPA reported that last year its membership reached an all-time high.
During the 12-day event, which starts Thursday at Skydive Chicago, the USPA Nationals hosts more than 500 of the nation's top aerial athletes. While there are individual competitions in freefall style and accuracy landing, much of the growth within the sport has come in formation skydiving, in which teams of four to 16 divers work together like synchronized swimmers in the sky.
One of the teams competing in nationals is Chicago-based Octopussy. The team is comprised of eight women whose members range in age from mid-40s to 50s.
Montana Miller, Octopussy's team captain, is one of the team's youngest members at 44 and has been jumping out of planes for four years. At 1,100 jumps, she notes the competition will be fierce but that the team is ready with more than parachutes.
"Everyone on our team is incredibly physically fit, [they are] dynamic and able women," Miller said. "[Skydiving] is a great form of human connection and bonding."
ANATOMY OF A JUMP
Once divers exit the plane at approximately 10,000 feet, teams typically have 35 seconds to complete a set of formations before freefalling toward Earth at more than 120 mph. Many teams that will compete at the USPA Nationals are crews of four or eight divers (known as four-way and eight-way teams, respectively).
Whether it's four-way or eight-way, generally teams compete with the aim of completing their formations quickly, with accuracy and agility, while being scored on their form. Teams are accompanied by a freefall videographer, who captures their performance live on video for the judges to award points and penalties.
Practice days involve seven to 10 jumps, with several consecutive days of jumps being common for teams gearing up for competition.
RESPECT AND COMMUNICATION
Most Americans who have gone skydiving for the sake of adventure typically do so attached to an instructor (called tandem skydiving), while seasoned regulars evolve their comfort levels to dive individually. Yet the competitive side of skydiving involves much more than the jump. Communication and teamwork are a part of the deal.
"We're currently the only all-female team training together for the long term," Miller said. "When you have a team of strong, assertive women, it is important to listen and learn from each other. As captain I make sure they know I respect them so much."
It is typical for teams such as Octopussy to structure their formations and practice on the ground. But once in the air, paying attention to each other's moves and body language helps teams cooperate and work more efficiently. Putting the team's interest before one's own, Miller said, can make skydiving an uphill climb.
FEAR? WHAT FEAR?
Miller, who has been skydiving for four years, said the exhilaration of jumping out of a plane wears off. Moreover, fear is not a factor for avid divers.
"It's not so much that we get a big thrill out of jumping out a plane; it feels quite natural to us," Miller said. "It's the sense of working together, flying from grip to grip and being really in sync with each other. That's where the thrill is.
"In skydiving you tend to have real strong, assertive people. They don't shy away from a challenge."
Andy Frye is a RedEye special contributor.
