A TEAM of ‘fabulous four’ kids stole the show by competing at adult level at a national indoor skydiving competition held in Basingstoke over the weekend.
The team named iFLY Mini Jets, comprising of Rachel Gould (aged 11), Alexa (six), Leo Falconer (eight) and Logan (12), were the youngest competitors by some margin.
Despite having never jumped from a plane, the young team wowed the judges with an impressive four-way performance that not only won the hearts of the spectators but also their fellow competitors.
In the events held at Leisure Park on December 2 and 3, more than 200 of the UK’s elite skydiving performers and competitors descended on Basingstoke to go head-to-head, fighting to be crowned British Champions and to represent Great Britain at the upcoming World Cup in Slovakia.
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NFTO (Not For the Ordinary), an all-girl team that recently won the World Skydiving Championships in Arizona, were crowned champions at the Basingstoke Indoor Skydiving Championships.
They came first in the FS AAA which is the formation skydiving.
Team Omni, a Basingstoke-based team made up of four University friends headed by Tim Gaines came first in the VFS category (Vertical Formation Skydiving).
They met at Warwick University and have been competing together for the last seven years.
They won their category and will be heading for Slovakia for the World Champs.
The Mini Jets finished the competition at an impressive sixth in the FS 4 Way Rookie category.
Formation skydiving is judged by the number of shapes that the team can build in 35 seconds using their bodies.
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‘‘It’s all a bit nerve-racking to compete here,” Rachel said after the event.
“We have been trained by NFTO, the world champions, and we were absolutely thrilled to come sixth in our category.”
The competition also saw 13-year-old Emily King battling against adults in a solo, freestyle event.
More than 1,000 people watched on – witnessing some of the World’s most spectacular freefall skills, only otherwise seen 12,000 feet above ground.
The event was opened by Basingstoke and Deane Mayor Paul Miller, who was joined by his wife Sandra.
iFLY Basingstoke was opened in 2013.
For more information, visit iFLYworld.co.uk or follow ‘iFLY Indoor Skydiving UK’ on Facebook and ‘iflyuk’ on Instagram.
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