AF Wings of Blue wins big at collegiate championships

(Courtesy photo)

By Jennifer Spradlin, Jan. 28, 2019

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — Earlier this month the competitive parachute team from the Air Force Wings of Blue won 37 medals at the National Collegiate Parachuting Championship in Eloy, Arizona.

Seventy-three skydivers from 13 universities, including other service academies, participated in the multi-day event.

The cadets said they look forward to the annual competition, which is the longest-running skydiving competition in the U.S., although their primary mission is training other cadets in the Airmanship program here.

“The experience is truly something to be cherished,” said Cadet 1st Class Daniel Zivney. “The competition members typically leave their families the day after Christmas, staying past New Year’s Day, falling through the sky together.”

During the competition, the Junior 6-Way team “AF Mastiff” set an Air Force record by completing a 6-person formation in the first 8.96 seconds of the dive.

“The ultimate goal of the competition team is to succeed at the USPA National Skydiving Championships in September, a level above the USPA Collegiate Championships, but training for any sort of competition places a heavy emphasis on consistency and performance under stress,” said Cadet 1st Class Sydney Heithoff. “This style of inner-competition pushes the Wings of Blue Competition Team to new limits every year.”

To learn more about the cadets on the team, visit wingsofblue.com/competition-team and for more information on the Airmanship program, visit https://www.usafa.edu/military/airmanship/.