The best skydivers in the country are coming together for the 2021 United States Parachute Association (USPA) National Championships to compete and ultimately form representative U.S. Teams to participate in future international competitions. More than 400 skydivers are expected to participate in the event taking place in Eloy, Arizona. The event will officially kick off on Friday, October 15, and practice and official competition will span the course of two weeks.

Nationals competitors will compete in a variety of disciplines – from Canopy Piloting – where pilots swoop over water clocking speeds up to 100 MPH – to artistic routines in freefall, to performances in specially designed wingsuits, to dropping through the sky at the fastest speeds humanly possible. 

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This competition is the largest single national skydiving event in the world, bringing together accomplished athletes from across the globe. The event will take place at renowned drop zone Skydive Arizona, one of the largest skydiving centers in the world.

“Sports connect us, and the camaraderie and competition at the national level is unlike anything else,” said USPA Executive Director Albert Berchtold. “We’re thrilled to bring together the skydiving community with this year’s spectacular event and welcome our U.S. champions along with many international guests to compete on this national stage.”

At Skydive Arizona, spectators can witness a variety of exciting parachuting events in person from the ground and watch fun freefall disciplines from a large LED screen that will broadcast in-air footage from each skydive.

The event follows successful performances from U.S. skydivers at the 2021 Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Parachuting Championships, where more than 60 USPA members competed with athletes from over 30 countries, taking home 13 medals across all disciplines. Curt Bartholomew, the 2019 USPA National Champion in canopy piloting said, “Competition unlocks a level that would otherwise be untouchable. It pushes your mind into a state of focus you can’t achieve in training, and you find your parachute achieving things that you thought weren’t possible.”

Learn more about the 2021 USPA National Championships at www.championships2021.com. To learn more about USPA, visit www.uspa.org.