The Australian Defence Parachuting Championships has brought over 50 members of the defence force to compete in the Hunter Region for the first time. Teams will be manoeuvring their bodies into as many formations as they can, while freefalling to earth at nearly 200km/hr.
One of the competitors is Naval Petty Officer Matthew Holmes, who became part of the sport after a tandem jump and has now completed over 200 jumps. Matthew first competed in the Championships last year and speaks about the sport in high regard.
"It's quite a competitive and well known sport throughout the world, particularly through the military. I think it's something that the public doesn't see much of but lots of people could be very interested in it."
Creator & President of the Australian Defence Parachute Association, Captain Francisca Molnar, says she was hooked when she completed her first jump and knew she would be skydiving for a long time.
"That was 8 years ago now and I've never looked pack. (The sport) has only gone from strength to strength... there's always a new challenge, a new skill to learn."
The Championships will be held at Maitland Aerodrome till Friday, with the public able to view the defence competitors for the first time in public air space.
To find out what the parachuting competitors experience, 1233's Nick Gerber was invited to go up with some competitors and complete a tandem jump at 14,000 feet over Maitland Aerodrome with Skydive Maitland's Chief Instructor Jason Clarke. Check it out at the 1233 Newcastle Faceboook page.
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