Competitions explained

Indoor Skydiving is a challenging and exciting experience that only gets better the more you fly. If you are interested in going further in your development as a flyer, becoming competitive will allow you to set specific goals for yourself and enroll in the community of flyers at your local tunnel.

Competitions range from local fun events to international affairs sanctioned by the Federal Aeronautique International(FAI) - World Air Sports Federation and United States Indoor Skydiving (USIS). No matter the scale of the competition, they all include a variety of categories to cater to diverse skill levels.

These categories include:

• Formation Skydiving
• Vertical Formation Skydiving
• Freestyle/Freefly
• Dynamic
• And More!

New to flying?

You may be interested in small events held just at your home tunnel. Contact your local tunnel to see if there are any events planned that you could join! USIS sanctions and hosts a US Nationals event annually for teams from all over to showcase their skills in their selected discipline. Each country will host their own Nationals event, sanctioned by their governing body and the conclusion of the event awards champions for each category and class of events. The winners of the open class (the most advanced competition class) will have the opportunity to represent their country in the World level competitions. 1 major FAI (world) competition is held each year and only top competitors from each class are able to qualify.

While the scale may vary there are some elements of competition flying that are constant:

• All competitions need competitors, judges, and a meet director.
• Once the competition begins, no additional practice or fun flying is allowed.
• A brief is held to ensure all competitors know and understand the rules and to create and/or distribute the Draw (the sequence of moves the competitors will fly for all rounds).
• This provides an opportunity for competitors to ask the judges questions, and if it is a Scrambles meet, pair teammates together.
• Teams are allowed a single practice round prior to the first competition round to determine the appropriate tunnel speed. Practicing the official Draw is normally not allowed at this time.
• Judges will have knowledge of the rules and be able to watch the flights from a location where flyers are in full view, with an option for video replay if needed.
• Teams are allowed enough time after the Brief and between each round to practice their sequences before the next round.

While training for a competition, refer to the IBA Competition Rules for additional guidance and more detailed information on each event.

Also be sure to review videos of the dive pools for a more comprehensive lesson. You can find videos on the Skills page, sorted by disciplines.